Carlos Kasuga Osaka

Carlos Kasuga
Carlos Kasuga during a conference at the Semana PyME 2011 sponsored by the Secretaría de Economía.
Born	Carlos Kasuga Osaka (1937-10-26) October 26, 1937 (age 79)
Alma mater	Escuela Bancaria y Comercial
Occupation	Director of Yakult Mexico

Carlos Kasuga Osaka is a Mexican businessman, philanthropist and public speaker. He is the founder of the Mexican division of the yogurt company Yakult, and he served as its director. He also founded the Liceo Mexicano Japonés and served as its chair. He also served as the president of the Pan American Nikkei Association (PANA, Asociación Panamericana Nikkei, APN), having done so since the 1981 establishment of the organization until 1995.

His parents were immigrants from Japan. They settled in Mexico in the 1930s. Originally Kasuga and his family lived in Cerritos, San Luis Potosí. He stated that in 1942, when he was seven years old, soldiers came to his house and told his family they had to leave for Mexico City in 72 hours. He stated that later two soldiers came to the house to escort the family to the train station and that everyone in Cerritos came to the station to say goodbye to the Kasugas.

Kasuga, along with other nikkei, has helped promote Japanese attitudes to cleanliness and education in Acacoyagua, Chiapas; site of the first organized Japanese settlement in Latin America. As a result of his involvement, the municipality decreased its daily production of trash from 18 tons to 5. Kasuga has donated the funds for smart boards and computers at local schools.