Research Project (Ongoing)

A Study on Postwar Industrial Migration from Japan to Brazil

Brazil hosts the world’s largest Japanese diaspora, comprising approximately 2.7 million individuals of Japanese descent. Japanese migration to Brazil began in 1908 and was formalized as a national policy in 1924. It ceased during World War II, but government-sponsored programs resumed in 1954 and continued until 1993. A distinctive feature of Japan’s postwar emigration policy relating to Brazil was the introduction of industrial migration alongside the long-established agricultural migration.

This research project examines industrial migration, a form of migration largely overlooked in favor of agricultural migration. Japanese migration to Brazil was almost exclusively agricultural until the launch of the industrial migration program in 1961. However, even after its implementation, industrial migration attracted limited public attention and today remains under-researched. Consequently, it risks becoming a “forgotten chapter” in the history of Japanese overseas migration.

This inquiry aims to elucidate the origins and significance of industrial migration to Brazil, investigating why the system was established and what motivated Japanese technicians and engineers to relocate. Furthermore, the project explores the dynamics between Japanese migration and Brazil’s economic development while assessing the role of JICA and its predecessors in this process.

This study combines archival research with oral history and adopts a multidisciplinary approach that integrates migration history, economic history, and international relations. In addition, it aims to produce an empirically grounded account of industrial migration and its broader historical implications through the analysis of primary sources and interviews conducted in Japan and Brazil.