Exporting Japan: Politics of Emigration to Latin America

2. The Second Wave: Post-World War II Period

2. The Second Wave Post–World War II Period Yuko ka san pauro, kaero ka japon Koko ga shian no parāshū Kiite gokuraku, kitemirya jigoku Ochiru namida wa akara gawa Shall I go to São Paulo, or shall I go back to Japan? I am lost in thoughts in Pará I heard it was paradise, but found hell My tears flow like the acara —An elegy of the Japanese immigrants to Brazil In December 1952, only eight months after Japan regained its independence, 54 Japanese citizens got on board the Santosu-maru, destined for Brazil. They were part of the first contingent of postwar Japanese emigrants to South America and the Caribbean. They also symbolized the “new Japan,” a nation just reclaiming national sovereignty after seven years of occupation (1945–52) as well as freedom of international migration (during the occupation period, the international mobility of the Japanese had been strictly controlled).1 From that time until 1970, 79,534 Japanese, not including Okinawans whose homeland remained under U.S. occupation,2 went to Latin America, predominantly to Brazil, followed by Bolivia, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Paraguay (see table 2.1). In fact, the region was virtually the sole destination of Japan’s postwar overseas migration, except for those who went to the United States for family reunification. Many of these emigrants, having “heard that Latin America is a paradise on earth,” and in high spirits at having a fresh start in the new world, found instead that they “came to jigoku [hell],” as in the song above, popular among immigrants to the Amazon. The ordeals experienced by the postwar Japanese immigrants to Latin America were structural: many of the areas receiving postwar immigration were less-developed economies by any standard. In some cases, such as Bo- 36 origins, historical development, and patterns livia, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic, the destinations were underdeveloped countries as a whole, or the emigrants may have found themselves in less-developed frontier areas of the Brazilian Amazon or interior. Japan had little or no experience with emigration to these localities. Remoteness from major cities, the small scale of these peripheral economies, and the harsh environments of untrodden lands and virgin forests—these conditions suggested a dim prospect of sustainability or success in settlement. As the case of each country below will show, many people became poorer than before immigration. Thus, the paradoxical “from high to low economies” pattern of Japanese migration to Latin America recurred in the postwar period. Meanwhile, Peru and Mexico—once popular destinations—did not receive Japanese immigrants in the postwar period. In particular, the Peruvian government explicitly rejected immigrants from its former enemy. The disadvantageous conditions of Japanese immigration and settlements grew out of the postwar international animosity that faced the defeated Japan . While the GOJ under the occupation was desperate to send its citizens abroad, given the limited domestic resources after the end of the war, it faced widespread rejection by the international community, which did not welcome the forlorn offspring of a former Axis power. This reaction to the Japanese was especially strong in the countries that had fought against or had suffered the aggression of Japanese imperialism. In this general atmosphere of antagonism, some nations in Latin America and the Caribbean stood out as exceptions, and showed a willingness to host Japanese immigration Table 2.1 The Second Wave of Japanese Migration (1952–70) Destination 1952–60 1961–70 Total Latin America: 58,353 21,190 79,534 Argentina 2,377 1,708 4,085 Bolivia 3,043 2,215 5,258 Brazil 44,520 14,938 59,458 Dominican Rep. 1,319 11 1,330 Paraguay 6,168 1,586 7,754 Others 926 732 1,649 U.S. 50,502 36,115 86,617 Source: Kokusai Kyōryoku Jigyōdan, Kaigai ijū tōkei, 98–101. Note 1: The number of immigrants is defined as the number of passports issued for the purpose of permanent migration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Note 2: The number of immigrants in this table does not include Okinawans. Note 3: Other major Latin American destinations of Japanese immigrants are Mexico and Peru. Note 4: Other major destinations of Japanese immigrants are Canada and Australia. The Second Wave 37 on a large scale. Although the level and size of the regions’ economies were not as desirable as in North America, they still represented potential...