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Japanese Peruvians ( es, peruano-japonés or ''nipo-peruano''; ja, 日系ペルー人, ''Nikkei Perūjin'') are Peruvian citizens of Japanese origin or ancestry. Peru has the second largest ethnic Japanese population in South America after
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. This community has made a significant cultural impact on the country, today constituting approximately 0.1% of the population of Peru.Lama, Abraham
"Home is Where the Heartbreak Is,"
''Asia Times.''October 16, 1999. In the 2017 Census in Peru, only 22,534 people self reported ''Nikkei'' or Japanese ancestry. Peru was the first
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...
n country to establish diplomatic relations with Japan, in June 1873.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...
(MOFA), Japan
Japan-Peru relations
 Peru was also the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigration. The ''Sakura Maru'' carried Japanese families from
Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...
to Peru and arrived on April 3, 1899, at the Peruvian port city of
Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Call ...
. This group of 790 Japanese became the first of several waves of emigrants who made new lives for themselves in Peru, some nine years before emigration to Brazil began. Most immigrants arrived from
Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...
,
Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...
, Hiroshima,
Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...
and Osaka prefectures. Many arrived as farmers or to work in the fields but, after their contracts were completed, settled in the cities. In the period before World War II, the Japanese community in Peru was largely run by ''
issei is a Japanese-language term used by ethnic Japanese in countries in North America and South America to specify the Japanese people who were the first generation to immigrate there. are born in Japan; their children born in the new country are ...
'' immigrants born in Japan. "Those of the second generation he ''nisei''">nisei.html" ;"title="he ''nisei">he ''nisei''were almost inevitably excluded from community decision-making."


Japanese schools in Peru

Peru's current Japanese international school ''Zaigai kyōiku shisetsu'' ( 在外教育施設 "Overseas educational institution"), or in English, Japanese international school or overseas Japanese school, may refer to one of three types of institutions officially classified by the Ministry ...
is Asociación Academia de Cultura Japonesa (Peru)">Asociación Academia de Cultura Japonesa in Surco, Lima.


World War II

Although there had been ongoing tensions between non-Japanese and Japanese Peruvians, the situation was drastically exacerbated by the Second World War. Rising tensions ultimately led to a series of discriminatory laws being passed in 1936, the results of which included stigmatization of Japanese immigrants as "bestial," "untrustworthy," "militaristic," and "unfairly" competing with Peruvians for wages. Fueled by legislative discrimination and media campaigns, a massive race riot (referred to as the "Saqueo") began on May 13, 1940 and lasted for three days. During the riots Japanese Peruvians were attacked and their homes and businesses destroyed. Despite its massive scale, the saqueo was underreported, a reflection of public sentiment towards the Japanese population at the time. By 1941, there were around 26,000 immigrants of Japanese nationality in
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
. In December of that year, the Japanese
Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...
, would mark the beginning of the Pacific war campaign for the
United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.Densho, Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
Japanese Latin Americans
" c. 2003, accessed 12 Apr 2009. After the Japanese air raids on
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, the U.S
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all bran ...
(OSS), formed during World War II to coordinate secret espionage activities against the
Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
for the branches of the
United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
and the
United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
, were alarmed at the large Japanese Peruvian community living in
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
and were also wary of the increasing new arrivals of Japanese nationals to Peru. Fearing the
Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...
could sooner or later decide to invade the
Republic of Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy fo ...
and use the Southern American country as a landing base for its troops and its nationals living there as foreign agents against the US, in order to open another military front in the American Pacific, the
U.S. government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
quickly negotiated with
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...
a political-military alliance agreement in 1942. This political-military alliance provided Peru with new military technology such as military aircraft, tanks, modern infantry equipment, and new boats for the Peruvian Navy, as well as new American bank loans and new investments in the Peruvian economy. In return, the Americans ordered the Peruvians to track, identify and create ID files for all the Japanese Peruvians living in Peru. Later, at the end of 1942 and during all of 1943 and 1944, the Peruvian government on behalf of the U.S. Government and the OSS organized and started the massive arrests, without warrants and without judicial proceedings or hearings and the deportation of many of the Japanese Peruvian community to several American internment camps run by the U.S. Justice Department in the states of Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia and Virginia. Racism and economic self-interest were major motivating factors in Peru's eager compliance with American deportation requests. As noted in a 1943 memorandum, Raymond Ickes of the Central and South American division of the Alien Enemy Control Unit had observed that many ethnic Japanese had been sent to the United States "... merely because the Peruvians wanted their businesses and not because there was any adverse evidence against them." The enormous groups of Japanese Peruvian forced exiles were initially placed among the Japanese-Americans who had been excluded from the US west coast; later they were interned in the Immigration and Naturalization Service (
INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *''Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insulin ...
) facilities in
Crystal City, Texas Crystal City is a city in and the county seat of Zavala County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,354 at the 2020 census. It was settled as a farming and ranching community and was a major railroad stop being from San Antonio. Spinach b ...
; Kenedy, Texas; and
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...
The Japanese-Peruvians were kept in these "alien detention camps" for more than two years before, through the efforts of civil rights attorney
Wayne M. Collins Wayne Mortimer Collins (November 23, 1899 – July 16, 1974) was a civil rights attorney who worked on cases related to the Japanese American evacuation and internment. Biography Personal life Collins was born in Sacramento, California, to ...
, being offered "
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
" relocation to the labor-starved farming community in
Seabrook, New Jersey Seabrook is an unincorporated community located within Upper Deerfield Township in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08302. The unincorporated community and the census-desig ...
. The interned Japanese Peruvian ''
nisei is a Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants (who are called ). The are considered the second generatio ...
'' in the United States were further separated from the ''issei,'' in part because of distance between the internment camps and in part because the interned nisei knew almost nothing about their parents' homeland and language. The deportation of Japanese Peruvians to the United States also involved expropriation without compensation of their property and other assets in Peru. At war's end, only 79 Japanese Peruvian citizens returned to Peru, and about 400 remained in the United States as "stateless" refugees. The interned Peruvian ''nisei'' who became naturalized American citizens would consider their children ''sansei,'' meaning three generations from the grandparents who had left Japan for Peru.


Post-war Japanese-Peruvians


Alberto Fujimori

Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto ( or ; born 28 July 1938) is a Peruvian politician, professor and former engineer who was President of Peru from 28 July 1990 until 22 November 2000. Frequently described as a dictator, * * * * * * he remains a ...
was born in Peru to Japanese parents and was the president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.


''Dekasegi'' Japanese-Peruvians

In 1998 with new strict laws from the Japanese immigration many fake-nikkei were deported or went back to Peru. The requirements to bring Japanese descendants were more strict including documents as "zairyūshikaku-ninteishōmeisho" or Certificate of Eligibility for Resident that probes the Japanese blood line of the applicant. With the onset of the global recession, among the expatriate communities in Japan Peruvians accounted for the smallest share of those who returned to their homelands after the global recession began in 2008. People returning from Japan also made up the smallest share of those applying for assistance under the new law. As of the end of November 2013, only three Peruvians who had returned from Japan had received reintegration assistance. The law provides some attractive benefits, but most Peruvians (at present 2015, there are 60,000 Peruvians in Japan ) who have regular jobs in Japan were not interested in going home. Peruvians in Japan have come together to offer support for Japanese victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck in March 2011. In the wake of that disaster, the town of
Minamisanriku is a town in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , it had an estimated population of 12,516, and a population density of 77 persons per km² in 4504 households. The total area of the town is . It is a resort town on a coastline of wooded islands and moun ...
in
Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the n ...
lost all but two of its fishing vessels. Peruvians raised money to buy the town new boats as a service to Japan and to express their gratitude for the hospitality received in Japan.


The Japanese press in Peru

In June 1921, Nippi Shimpo (Japanese-Peruvian News) was published.


Traditions and customs

After the ravages of World War II, the Peruvian Nikkei community continued with its activities, mainly through the practice of traditions inherited from their ancestors. Thus, festivities such as the celebration of the New Year (Shinnenkai), Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri), Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi), Matsuri, Buddhist festivals such as the Obon and Ohigan, among others, continue preserved in the Nikkei community. The Nikkei in Peru have also known how to preserve precisely some of the customs and traditions brought by their parents and grandparents, and that they are part of their natural heritage. At the same time, Peruvians of Japanese descent, previously seen as a "closed" community, are today citizens who perform in all fields. Currently, the Peruvian-Japanese are one of the largest Nikkei communities in the world and the second largest in Latin America. Japanese-Peruvians mainly inhabit the central Peruvian coast (Lima and Trujillo has the most of them) and in some villages in the Amazon area.


Cuisine

The cuisine of Peru is a heterogeneous mixture of the diverse cultural influences that enriched the South American country. An important influence was the Japanese immigrants and their descendants through Nikkei cuisine, which fuses Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. It has become a gastronomic sensation in many countries. The origins of this cuisine lies in the importance of fresh products, encouraged by the prosperous fishing industry of Peru, the Japanese knew how to use fresh fish and mix it with ceviche, which is the Peruvian flag dish. As well with the Chifa (fusion cuisine that came from the Chinese community in Peru), Japanese dishes were created with using the recipes and flavours from the indigenous Peruvians. Fish was added with basic products in the Peruvian pantry, including corn, chili, cassava, potatoes and limes. Some examples of chefs who use Nikkei cuisine include Nobu Matsuhisa,
Ferran Adrià Ferran Adrià i Acosta (; born 14 May 1962) is a Spanish chef. He was the head chef of the ''El Bulli'' restaurant in Roses, Girona, Roses on the Costa Brava and is considered one of the best chefs in the world. He has often collaborated with h ...
and Kurt Zdesar.


Notable people

* Anthony Aoki *
Alberto Fujimori Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto ( or ; born 28 July 1938) is a Peruvian politician, professor and former engineer who was President of Peru from 28 July 1990 until 22 November 2000. Frequently described as a dictator, * * * * * * he remains a ...
: Former President of Peru *
Koichi Aparicio Roberto Efraín Koichi Aparicio Mori (born 6 June 1992), commonly known as Koichi Aparicio, is a Peruvian footballer of Japanese background who plays for UTC Cajamarca in Torneo Descentralizado. He primarily plays as a central defender. Club c ...
: Peruvian footballer *
Ernesto Arakaki Ernesto Seikō Arakaki Arakaki (born June 13, 1979, in Lima) is a Peruvian retired football defender. Club career He had played for the Second Division team Deportivo AELU since he was twelve years old. In 1998, he was bought by the First Div ...
: International footballer * Hideyoshi Arakaki: Peruvian footballer * Keiko Fujimori: Former First Lady, Congresswoman and businesswoman (daughter of Alberto Fujimori) * Kenji Fujimori: Congressman (son of Alberto Fujimori) * Santiago Fujimori: Lawyer (younger brother of Alberto Fujimori) *
Víctor García Toma Víctor Óscar Shiyin García Toma (born 2 June 1954) is a former Peruvian justice minister during the Second Presidency of Alan García. Biography Victor Garcia studied at the Faculty of Law of the University of San Martin de Porres. Mem ...
: Former Minister of Justice * Susana Higuchi: Politician, former First Lady, ex-spouse of Alberto Fujimori *
Jorge Hirano Jorge Hirano Matsumoto (born 16 August 1956 in Huaral) is a former Japanese Peruvian football player. Club career Hirano didn't have the looks of a prolific goal scorer nonetheless of a forward but he compensated his slight figure with extraordi ...
: International footballer *
Fernando Iwasaki Fernando Iwasaki Cauti (born 1961, in Lima) is a Peruvian writer and historian. Born into a family with multiple roots (Japan, Ecuador and Italy). While in Peru, he taught at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and the Universidad del ...
: Writer *
Aldo Miyashiro Aldo Marcos Miyashiro Ribeiro (Lima, Peru, February 9, 1976) is a Peruvian actor, screenwriter, playwright, film director and presenter. Known mainly for his roles as Caradura in the Misterio series and Tony Blades in the series La gran sangre, ...
: Writer, TV host and celebrity * Augusto Miyashiro: Mayor of the City of Chorrillos since 1999, an important middle class southern suburban district of Metropolitan Lima * Kaoru Morioka: Japanese futsal player * Venancio Shinki: Artist * David Soria Yoshinari: International footballer *
Akio Tamashiro Alfredo Akio Tamashiro Noborikawa is a Peruvian karateka who has won several medals including a bronze in Individual kata at the 2010 World Karate Championships in Belgrade. References External links

* Year of birth missing (living peo ...
: Karate athlete. Pan American Gold medalist. Head of the Peruvian Karate Federation *
Eduardo Tokeshi Eduardo Tokeshi Namizato (born August 12, 1960, in Lima, Peru) is a contemporary Peruvian artist. Eduardo Tokeshi was born on August 12, 1960, in Lima. His parents are Sara Namizato and Victor Tokeshi; he has one brother Jorge (b. 1957) and one s ...
: Plastic artist * Tilsa Tsuchiya: Artist * José Watanabe: Poet * Arturo Yamasaki: Football referee, famous for officiating the Match of the Century in the
1970 FIFA World Cup The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May to 21 June in Mexico, it was the first World Cup tournament held outside ...
*
Rafael Yamashiro Rafael Gustavo Yamashiro Oré (born 25 June 1963) is a Peruvian politician and a former Congressman representing Ica for the period 2006-2011 and belongs to the Christian People's Party. Yamashiro lost his seat in the 2011 elections when he ra ...
: Peruvian Congressman and politician * Cesar Ychikawa: Singer and economist * Jaime Yoshiyama: Former Prime Minister, former Cabinet Minister, former Vice President and former President of the Peruvian Congress * Carlos Yushimito (Yoshimitsu): Writer and analyst


See also

*
Asian Latin Americans Asian Latin Americans or Latinasians are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-long history in the region, star ...
* Chinese Peruvians *
Japan–Peru relations Japan–Peru relations are the current and historical relations between Japan and Peru. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Forum of East ...
*
Hirohito Ōta was a Japanese freelance writer and Zen monk. Hirohito was a researcher of Japanese graves and missionary history in South America with a focus on Peru. He was the Japanese editor for the Japanese-language Peru newspaper ''Peru Shinpō''. He g ...


Notes


References


Other cited works

*Connell, Thomas. (2002)
America's Japanese Hostages: The US Plan For A Japanese Free Hemisphere
Westport: Praeger-Greenwood.
OCLC 606835431
*Gardiner, Clinton Harvey. (1975)
''The Japanese and Peru. 1873-1973.''
Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press The University of New Mexico Press (UNMP) is a university press at the University of New Mexico. It was founded in 1929 and published pamphlets for the university in its early years before expanding into quarterlies and books. Its administrative ...
.
OCLC 2047887
*Gardiner, C. Harvey. (1981)
''Pawns in a Triangle of Hate: The Peruvian Japanese and the United States.''
Seattle:
University of Washington Press The University of Washington Press is an American academic publishing house. The organization is a division of the University of Washington, based in Seattle. Although the division functions autonomously, they have worked to assist the universi ...
.
OCLC 164799077
*Higashide, Seiichi. (2000)
''Adios to Tears: The Memoirs of a Japanese-Peruvian Internee in U.S. Concentration Camps.''
Seattle: University of Washington Press.
OCLC 247923540
*López-Calvo, Ignacio. (2009)
''One World Periphery Reads the Other. Knowing the 'Oriental' in the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula.''
Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. 130-47.
OCLC 473479607
*Masterson, Daniel M. and Sayaka Funada-Classen. (2004), '' The Japanese in Latin America: The Asian American Experience.''
View at
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
) Urbana, Illinois:
University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projec ...
. ;


External links


Association website
{{Ethnic groups in Peru Asian Peruvian Japanese Latin American Ethnic groups in Peru
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...