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Brazil Apologizes for Discrimination Against Japanese-Brazilians
The apology comes after action by Okinawan activists.
By Jay Andrew Allen
The links between Japan and Brazil date back over a century. Today, Brazil remains home to the largest ethnic Japanese population outside of Japan. However, the country wasn’t always kind to its Japanese-Brazilian population. Now, Brazil’s government is apologizing for the past and seeking to make amends.
“Hostile foreigners”
Between 1885 and 1923, the Japanese government, facing crushing poverty at home, encouraged mass migration abroad. Some half-million Japanese citizens went overseas looking for greener pastures during that time. After the US passed laws limiting Japanese immigration, many turned instead to Brazil, which was facing a severe labor shortage.
By the 1940s, the issei, or first-generation immigrants, were a powerful economic force in Brazil. However, they faced massive discrimination — both from regular citizens as well as from the government. The government cracked down on immigration and discouraged interracial marriage to prevent the “yellowing” of Brazil.
Under dictator Getúlio Vargas between 1930 and 1945, Brazil dubbed the Japanese-Brazilians “hostile foreigners.” It pursued a policy of forced assimilation that banned multi-lingual texts and forced children of immigrants into military service. It also led to incidents such as the forced evacuation of Japanese citizens from the city of Santos in 1943.
The suppression led to a backlash. It helped to fuel a Japanese nationalist movement that was responsible for dozens of deaths of Japanese-Brazilians in the post-World War II years.
Making amends
In the mid-1990s, during the tail of Japan’s economic boom, the country made it easier for Japanese-Brazilians and other nisei (second-generation) Japanese to obtain visas…
