Dekasegi
Encyclopedia
Dekasegi is a term used in Latin America
n cultures to refer to ethnic Japanese
people who have migrated to Japan
, having taken advantage of Japanese citizenship or nisei visa and immigration laws to escape from economic instability in South America. The vast majority are Brazil
ians, but there is also a large population of Peru
vians, as well as far smaller populations of other Latin Americans.
The original Japanese word dekasegi roughly translates as "working away from home". This can cause annoyance to those of Japanese descent who were born abroad, but have come to regard Japan as their permanent home, and therefore object to being regarded by Japanese (in Japan) as gaijin
or foreigners.
There are approximately 275,000 such people in Japan from Brazil alone. Some are bilingual in Japanese
and Portuguese
, but many are monolingual in Portuguese
alone when they first come to Japan and face additional challenges due to this language barrier.
Due to the Financial crisis of 2007–2010, many people of Brazilian and other Latin American citizenship lost their jobs in factories, multi-national corporations and the services industry. The Japanese government is offering ¥
300,000 or roughly US$ 3,000 to each Latin American migrant to return to their country of origin. This includes an additional US$ 2,000 for each additional family member. They may not return with a nisei visa even after the Japanese economy recovers. This caused anger amongst the immigrants, some of whom have been living in Japan for many years.
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n cultures to refer to ethnic Japanese
Ethnic Japanese
Ethnic Japanese may mean:* Japanese people, when referring to people of Japanese descent** May also be used as a term to refer to the Yamato people as opposed to the minority peoples of Japan: the Ainu, Ryukyuans, Burakumin and immigrant groups such as the Han Chinese and Koreans.* Japanese...
people who have migrated to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, having taken advantage of Japanese citizenship or nisei visa and immigration laws to escape from economic instability in South America. The vast majority are Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ians, but there is also a large population of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vians, as well as far smaller populations of other Latin Americans.
The original Japanese word dekasegi roughly translates as "working away from home". This can cause annoyance to those of Japanese descent who were born abroad, but have come to regard Japan as their permanent home, and therefore object to being regarded by Japanese (in Japan) as gaijin
Gaijin
is a Japanese word meaning "non-Japanese", or "alien". This word is a short form of gaikokujin , which literally means "person from outside of the country". The word is composed of two kanji: , meaning "outside"; and , meaning "person". Thus, the word technically means "outsider"...
or foreigners.
There are approximately 275,000 such people in Japan from Brazil alone. Some are bilingual in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, but many are monolingual in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
alone when they first come to Japan and face additional challenges due to this language barrier.
Due to the Financial crisis of 2007–2010, many people of Brazilian and other Latin American citizenship lost their jobs in factories, multi-national corporations and the services industry. The Japanese government is offering ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
300,000 or roughly US$ 3,000 to each Latin American migrant to return to their country of origin. This includes an additional US$ 2,000 for each additional family member. They may not return with a nisei visa even after the Japanese economy recovers. This caused anger amongst the immigrants, some of whom have been living in Japan for many years.
See also
- Ethnic issues in JapanEthnic issues in Japan- Demographic :About 1.6% of Japan's total legal resident population are foreign nationals. Of these, according to 2008 data from the Japanese government, the principal groups are as follows....
- IsseiIsseiIssei is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify the Japanese people first to immigrate. Their children born in the new country are referred to as Nisei , and their grandchildren are Sansei...
, NiseiNiseiDuring the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
, SanseiSanseiSansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
and YonseiYonsei (fourth-generation Nikkei)is a Japanese diasporic term used in countries, particularly in North America and in Latin America, to specify the great-grandchildren of Japanese immigrants . The children of Issei are Nisei . Sansei are the third generation, and their offspring are Yonsei... - Japanese Brazilian
- Japanese PeruvianJapanese PeruvianJapanese Peruvians are people of Japanese ancestry who were born in or immigrated to Peru. The immigrants from Japan are called the Issei generation. Second and third generation Peruvians are referred to as nisei and sansei in Japanese...
- Japanese peopleJapanese peopleThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
- Language minority students in Japanese classroomsLanguage minority students in Japanese classroomsMinority students can be found throughout the entire Japanese education system. An incomplete list of possible cultural and or language minorities represented in Japanese schools include:...
External links
- Japanese Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...
(MOFAMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...
): Future Policy Regarding Cooperation with Overseas Communities of Nikkei - Portal for 100-20 years of immigration between Japan and Brazil, Rare pictures