Japanese Mexicans
Japanese Mexican youths in Monterrey
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|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
9,537 Japanese nationals residing in the country (2015) |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico City, Bajío Region, Baja California, Chiapas, Guadalajara, Zapopan | |
| Languages | |
| Mexican Spanish and Japanese | |
| Religion | |
| predominantly Roman Catholicism (90%) minority Buddhism and Shintoism |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| other Japanese diasporas | |
|
^ Note: religious classification is for Mexicans of Japanese descent and does not include recent immigrants |
9,537 Japanese nationals residing in the country (2015)
Japanese immigration to Mexico began in the late 19th century, to found coffee growing plantations in the state of Chiapas. Although this initiative failed, it was followed by greater immigration from 1900 to the beginning of World War II, although it never reached the levels of Japanese immigration to countries like the United States, Brazil or Peru. Immigration halted during World War II and many Japanese nationals and even some naturalized Mexicans citizens of Japanese origin were forced to relocate from communities in Baja California, Sinaloa and Chiapas to Mexico City and other areas in the interior until the war was over. After the war, immigration began again, mostly due to Japanese companies investing in Mexico and sending over skilled employees. Currently, there are an estimated 30,000 people who are Japanese or of Japanese descent in Mexico including a recent migration of young Japanese artists into the country who have found more opportunity there than in their home country. It is the fourth largest Japanese community in Latin America.
Japanese were among the Asian slaves who were shipped from the Spanish Philippines in the Manila-Acapulco galleons to Acapulco. These slaves were all called "Chino", which meant Chinese, although in reality they were of diverse origins, including Japanese, Koreans, Malays, Filipinos, Javanese, Timorese, and people from Bengal, India, Ceylon, Makassar, Tidore, Terenate, and Chinese. Filipinos made up most of their population. The people in this community of diverse Asians in Mexico was called "los indios chinos" by the Spanish. Most of these slaves were male and were obtained from Portuguese slave traders who obtained them from Portuguese colonial possessions and outposts of the Estado da India, which included parts of India, Bengal, Malacca, Indonesia, Nagasaki in Japan, and Macau.Spain received some of these Chino slaves from Mexico, where owning a Chino slave showed high status. Records of three Japanese slaves dating from the 16th century, named Gaspar Fernandes, Miguel and Ventura who ended up in Mexico showed that they were purchased by Portuguese slave traders in Japan, brought to Manila from where they were shipped to Mexico by their owner Perez. Some of these Asian slaves were also brought to Lima in Peru, where there was a small community of Asians made out of Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Malays, and others.
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Wikipedia