Japanese Brazilians

Japanese Brazilians (Japanese: 日系ブラジル人, Hepburn: Nikkei Burajiru-jin; Portuguese: Nipo-brasileiros, [ˌnipobɾaziˈle(j)ɾus]) are Brazilian citizens who are nationals or naturals of Japanese ancestry or Japanese immigrants living in Brazil or Japanese people of Brazilian ancestry. Japanese immigration to Brazil peaked between 1908 and 1960, with the highest concentration between 1926 and 1935. In 2022, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there were 2 million Japanese descendants in Brazil, making it the country with the largest population of Japanese origin outside Japan. However, in terms of Japanese citizens, Brazil ranked seventh in 2023, with 46,900 Japanese citizens. Most of the Japanese-descendant population in Brazil has been living in the country for three or more generations and most only hold Brazilian citizenship. Nikkei is the term used to refer to Japanese people and their descendants. Japanese immigration to Brazil officially began on June 18, 1908, when the ship Kasato Maru docked at Porto de Santos, bringing 781 Japanese workers to the coffee plantations in the São Paulo state countryside. For this reason, June 18 was established as the national day of Japanese immigration. Immigration to Brazil ceased by 1973, with the arrival of the last immigrant ship, the Nippon Maru. Between 1908 and 1963, 242,171 Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil, making them the fifth-largest immigrant group after Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and German immigrants. Currently, most Japanese Brazilians live in the states of São Paulo and Paraná. In the early 20th century, Japan was overpopulated, and its predominantly rural population experienced significant poverty. At the same time, the Brazilian government was encouraging immigration, especially to supply labor for coffee plantations in São Paulo. Coffee was Brazil's main export product, and the country's financial health relied on it. Much of the labor on Brazilian coffee plantations came from Italian immigrants, whose passage by ship was subsidized by the Brazilian government. However, in 1902, the Italian government issued the Prinetti Decree, which banned subsidized immigration to Brazil due to reports that Italian immigrants were being exploited as laborers on Brazilian farms. Consequently, the São Paulo government sought new sources of labor from other countries, including Japan, and Japanese immigration to Brazil developed in this context. Labor contracts on coffee plantations required immigrants to work for five years, but conditions were so poor that many left within the first year. Through great effort, some Japanese workers managed to save enough to buy their own land, with the first Japanese land purchase occurring in 1911 in the São Paulo countryside. Over the decades, Japanese immigrants and their descendants gradually moved from rural areas to Brazilian cities. By the early 1960s, the Japanese Brazilian urban population had surpassed the rural one. Many Japanese immigrants began working in small businesses or providing basic services. In Japanese tradition, the eldest son would continue the family business to help support his younger siblings' education. By 1958, Japanese and their descendants, though less than 2% of the Brazilian population, accounted for 21% of Brazilians with education beyond high school. A 2016 IPEA study found that Japanese descendants had the highest average educational and salary levels in Brazil. With Brazil's economic deterioration from the late 1980s, many Japanese descendants from Brazil began migrating to Japan, in search of better economic conditions. These individuals are known as Dekasegis.

Tables

Japanese immigration to Brazil by period, 1906–1993[26][27] · History › First immigrants

1906–1910

Years

1906–1910

Immigrants

1,714

1911–1915

Years

1911–1915

Immigrants

13,371

1916–1920

Years

1916–1920

Immigrants

13,576

1921–1925

Years

1921–1925

Immigrants

11,350

1926–1930

Years

1926–1930

Immigrants

59,564

1931–1935

Years

1931–1935

Immigrants

72,661

1936–1941

Years

1936–1941

Immigrants

16,750

1952–1955

Years

1952–1955

Immigrants

7,715

1956–1960

Years

1956–1960

Immigrants

29,727

1961–1965

Years

1961–1965

Immigrants

9,488

1966–1970

Years

1966–1970

Immigrants

2,753

1971–1975

Years

1971–1975

Immigrants

1,992

1976–1980

Years

1976–1980

Immigrants

1,352

1981–1985

Years

1981–1985

Immigrants

411

1986–1990

Years

1986–1990

Immigrants

171

1991–1993

Years

1991–1993

Immigrants

Total

Years

Total

Immigrants

242,643

Years	Immigrants
1906–1910	1,714
1911–1915	13,371
1916–1920	13,576
1921–1925	11,350
1926–1930	59,564
1931–1935	72,661
1936–1941	16,750
1952–1955	7,715
1956–1960	29,727
1961–1965	9,488
1966–1970	2,753
1971–1975	1,992
1976–1980	1,352
1981–1985	411
1986–1990	171
1991–1993	48
Total	242,643

· History › Prestige

Ethnic origin (based on last name and color/race)

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Ethnic origin (based on last name and color/race)

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Salary (in Brazilian real per hour)

Japanese

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Japanese

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

73,40

Italian

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Italian

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

51,80

German

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

German

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

48,10

Eastern European

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Eastern European

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

47,60

Iberian (whites)

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Iberian (whites)

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

33,90

Pardo (brown)

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Pardo (brown)

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

27,80

Black

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Black

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

26,50

Indigenous

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

Indigenous

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.

26,10

Salary of Brazilians, according to their last name and color.
Ethnic origin (based on last name and color/race)	Salary (in Brazilian real per hour)
Japanese	73,40
Italian	51,80
German	48,10
Eastern European	47,60
Iberian (whites)	33,90
Pardo (brown)	27,80
Black	26,50
Indigenous	26,10

· Integration and intermarriage › Generations and intermarriage

Generation

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Generation

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Denomination in

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Proportion of each generation in all community (%)

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Proportion of mixed-race in each generation (%)

Japanese

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Japanese

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

English

1st

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

1st

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Issei

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Immigrants

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

12.51%

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

2nd

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

2nd

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Nisei

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Children

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

30.85%

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

3rd

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

3rd

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Sansei

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Grandchildren

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

41.33%

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

42%

4th

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

4th

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Yonsei

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

Great-grandchildren

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

12.95%

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)

61%

Intermarriage in the Japanese Brazilian community (data from 1987)
Generation	Denomination in		Proportion of each generation in all community (%)	Proportion of mixed-race in each generation (%)
Generation	Japanese	English	Proportion of each generation in all community (%)	Proportion of mixed-race in each generation (%)
1st	Issei	Immigrants	12.51%	0%
2nd	Nisei	Children	30.85%	6%
3rd	Sansei	Grandchildren	41.33%	42%
4th	Yonsei	Great-grandchildren	12.95%	61%

· Integration and intermarriage › Demographics

Federative Unit