Indians in Japan
Encyclopedia
Indians in Japan consist of migrants from India
to Japan
and their descendants. , there were 22,335 Indian nationals living in Japan. Roughly 60% consist of expatriate IT professionals and their families.
s and Sindhis
, had settled Yokohama
as well as Okinawa. In 1891, Tata
, then a small trading firm, established a branch in Kobe
. By 1901, Japanese government statistics recorded 30 people from British India living in Japan. Local statistics of the Hyōgo Prefecture
government showed 59 Indians living in the prefecture in 1905, among whom all but one were men. After the destruction wreaked on Yokohama in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
, the Indian traders there also migrated to Kobe; from then on, Kobe became the center of gravity of Japan's Indian community.
By 1939, on the eve of World War II
, the number of Indians in Hyōgo Prefecture had reached 632. However, due to British sanctions against Japan and the 1941 halt of shipping between Japan and their homeland, many closed their shops and left; by 1942, there were only 114 remaining. Three years after the Partition of India
, their numbers had recovered somewhat to 255; there were also four Pakistanis
. Prior to 1990, the Indian community in Japan remained centred around the city of Kobe
. However, the numbers in Tokyo began to show a sharp increase after then. Migrants who arrived in the 1990s included industrial trainees sent by Japanese car manufacturers
which had set up factories in India. IT professionals and their families also came to Tokyo, settling primarily in Setagaya
and Minato
wards.
. On the whole, Tokyo has fewer religious facilities for Indians than does Kobe.
There are Sikh gurudwara in both Kobe and Tokyo; the latter is of more recent provenance, having been founded in 1999 in the basement of an office building. Some Sikhs employed as unskilled labourers in small and medium enterprises cut their hair short
and remove their turbans in violation of the principle of kesh
, because their employers are unfamiliar with their customs and do not give them any latitude in their style of dress. They consider this just a temporary adaptation to Japanese society. However, this practise is not common among Sikhs in skilled professions such as IT.
ward at the initiative of some of the old trading families based in Tokyo and Yokohama. The Global Indian International School, a Singapore-based school, has operated a branch in Tokyo
since 2006, and plans to open another in Yokohama
in 2008. They follow the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education
curriculum. The schools are popular not just among Indian expatriates, but among some Japanese as well, due to a reputation for rigour in mathematics education
. Other migrants leave their children behind in their native states, either with grandparents or at boarding schools, in order to avoid interrupting their education.
, an area with a high concentration of Indian IT engineers founded the Indian Community of Edogawa. Others include the Indian Community Activities Tokyo, whose Diwali
celebration draws 2,500 participants, as well as the Indian Merchants Association of Yokohama.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
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...
and their descendants. , there were 22,335 Indian nationals living in Japan. Roughly 60% consist of expatriate IT professionals and their families.
Migration history
The history of Indians in Japan goes back more than a century. As early as 1873, a few Indian businessmen and their families, primarily ParsiParsi
Parsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
s and Sindhis
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
, had settled Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
as well as Okinawa. In 1891, Tata
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
, then a small trading firm, established a branch in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
. By 1901, Japanese government statistics recorded 30 people from British India living in Japan. Local statistics of the Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
government showed 59 Indians living in the prefecture in 1905, among whom all but one were men. After the destruction wreaked on Yokohama in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake
1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
, the Indian traders there also migrated to Kobe; from then on, Kobe became the center of gravity of Japan's Indian community.
By 1939, on the eve of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the number of Indians in Hyōgo Prefecture had reached 632. However, due to British sanctions against Japan and the 1941 halt of shipping between Japan and their homeland, many closed their shops and left; by 1942, there were only 114 remaining. Three years after the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, their numbers had recovered somewhat to 255; there were also four Pakistanis
Pakistanis in Japan
form the country's third-largest community of immigrants from a Muslim-majority country, trailing only the Indonesian community and Bangladeshi community...
. Prior to 1990, the Indian community in Japan remained centred around the city of Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
. However, the numbers in Tokyo began to show a sharp increase after then. Migrants who arrived in the 1990s included industrial trainees sent by Japanese car manufacturers
Automotive industry in Japan
The Japanese automotive industry is one of the most prominent industries in the world. Japan was the world's largest vehicle manufacturer in 2008 but lost one rank in 2009 to current leader China...
which had set up factories in India. IT professionals and their families also came to Tokyo, settling primarily in Setagaya
Setagaya, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo in Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood within the ward. The ward calls itself the City of Setagaya in English...
and Minato
Minato, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
wards.
Business and employment
, there were also around 800 Indians working in the IT industry in Japan, up from 120 in 1993. Kenichi Yoshida, a director of Softbridge Solutions Japan Co., stated in late 2009 that Indian engineers are becoming the backbone of Japan's IT industry and that "it is important for Japanese industry to work together with India." Another 870 Indians were employed as cooks. Others are engaged in trading, importing Indian handicrafts, garments, precious stones, and marine products, and exporting Japanese electronic goods, textiles, automotive parts, and jewellery.Religion
Indians in Japan speak a number of different languages and follow various religions; there is little correlation between religion or language and profession, except in the case of the Jains, many of whom work in the jewellery industry. The Jains are generally concentrated around Okachi-machi in Taitō, TokyoTaito, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it calls itself Taito City.As of April 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 168,909, with 94,908 households, and a population density of 16,745.86 persons per km². The total area is 10.08 km².-History:The ward was founded...
. On the whole, Tokyo has fewer religious facilities for Indians than does Kobe.
There are Sikh gurudwara in both Kobe and Tokyo; the latter is of more recent provenance, having been founded in 1999 in the basement of an office building. Some Sikhs employed as unskilled labourers in small and medium enterprises cut their hair short
Sehajdhari
In Sikhism, a sehajdari is a person who disregards the religious prohibitions against haircuts and shaving, but otherwise follows the tenets of the [Guru Granth Sahib]: they are often gradualist converts....
and remove their turbans in violation of the principle of kesh
Kesh (Sikhism)
In Sikhism, Kesh is the practice of allowing one's hair to grow naturally as a symbol of respect for the perfection of God's creation. The practice is one of the Five Ks, the outward symbols ordered by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 as a means to profess the Sikh faith...
, because their employers are unfamiliar with their customs and do not give them any latitude in their style of dress. They consider this just a temporary adaptation to Japanese society. However, this practise is not common among Sikhs in skilled professions such as IT.
Education
Indians who send their children to school in Japan generally select English-medium schools. The first Indian-specific school was established in 2004 in Tokyo's KotoKoto, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 442,271 and a population density of 11,070 persons per km². The total area is 39.48 km². The ward refers to itself as Kōtō City in English....
ward at the initiative of some of the old trading families based in Tokyo and Yokohama. The Global Indian International School, a Singapore-based school, has operated a branch in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
since 2006, and plans to open another in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
in 2008. They follow the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education
Central Board of Secondary Education
The Central Board of Secondary Education is a Board of Education for public and private schools, under the Union Government of India.-History:...
curriculum. The schools are popular not just among Indian expatriates, but among some Japanese as well, due to a reputation for rigour in mathematics education
Mathematics education
In contemporary education, mathematics education is the practice of teaching and learning mathematics, along with the associated scholarly research....
. Other migrants leave their children behind in their native states, either with grandparents or at boarding schools, in order to avoid interrupting their education.
Community organisations
One of the earliest Indian community organisations, the Oriental Club, was established in 1904 in Kobe; it changed its name to The India Club in 1913, and continued operating up to the present day. More were founded in the 1930s, including the Indian-dominated Silk Merchants' Association, the Indian Social Society, and the Indian Chamber of Commerce. In 2000, Indian expatriates living in Edogawa, TokyoEdogawa, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. It takes its name from the river that runs from north to south along the eastern edge of the ward. In English, it uses the name Edogawa City....
, an area with a high concentration of Indian IT engineers founded the Indian Community of Edogawa. Others include the Indian Community Activities Tokyo, whose Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
celebration draws 2,500 participants, as well as the Indian Merchants Association of Yokohama.
Notable people
- Anastasia MalhotraAnastasia Malhotrais a Japanese professional tennis player.Malhotra was born in Gifu, Japan to a Japanese mother and a British father. Her grandfather was from India and grandmother was from Greece. She moved to the United Kingdom when she was 3 and stayed in the country for 8 years. She made her professional...
, professional tennis player - Annu MariAnnu Mariis an Indo–Japanese actress. She is best known in the West for her role as the femme fatale in Branded to Kill . Her sisters are model Prabha Sheth and actress Yuka Kumari...
, actress - Arata IzumiArata Izumiis an Indian-Japanese football player, who currently plays attacking midfielder for Pune in the I-League.- Career :After graduating from high school, he joined Albirex Niigata FC of Singapore's S.League. He has played in India since he played in Japan Football League for one season.Arata wears the...
, football player - Arvind NarayanArvind NarayanArvind Narayan is a former football player from Japan. He is best known for being one of the few players of Indian origin....
, football player - Bob Singh DhillonBob Singh DhillonBob Singh Dhillon is a Punjabi Indian-Canadian Sikh, property Multi-Millionaire businessman. His family comes from Tallewal in the district of Barnala Punjab, India. His grandfather left for Hong Kong for business reasons and set-up the North China Shipping Company to carry back between Japan. He...
, multi-millionaire businessman - BodhisenaBodhisenaBodhisena was an Indian Buddhist scholar and monk, known for traveling to Japan and establishing the Kegon school, the Japanese transmission of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism....
, Indian Buddhist scholar and monk - Gonsalo GarciaGonsalo GarciaSaint Gonsalo Garcia, O.F.M., was a Roman Catholic Franciscan friar from India, who died as a martyr in Japan and is venerated as a saint. Born in the western coastal town of Vasai, now an exurb of the city of Mumbai, he hailed from the town--then known as Bassein--during the time the town was...
, Roman Catholic saint - Radhabinod Pal, Indian jurist
- Sarbjit Singh ChadhaSarbjit Singh ChadhaSarbjit Singh Chadha is an Indian singer, who is said to be the first non-Japanese enka singer. He went to Japan for studying agricultural industry, but he began to like enka. He gained popularity via Japanese television program Kinyō 10 Ji: Uwasa no Channel. He debuted as an enka singer with...
, EnkaEnkais a popular Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form which arose in the context of such postwar expressions of modern Japanese nonmaterial nationalism as nihonjinron, while adopting a more...
singer - Yoshiaki MurakamiYoshiaki Murakamiis a Japanese investor known for highly publicized corporate raid. He was the founder and the former president of M&A Consulting, Inc., usually known as the "Murakami fund"....
, investor - Jun Hasegawa (Jun Kauluwehi Hasegawa), famous fashion model, half Indian
- Rena, fashion model, half Indian
- Romash Tasuku Dass, baseball player currently for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, half Indian
See also
- Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian OriginNon-resident Indian and Person of Indian OriginA Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
- India–Japan relations
- Hinduism in JapanHinduism in JapanHinduism, unlike the closely related Buddhism, is a minority religion in Japan. Even so, Hinduism has played a somewhat significant role in Japanese culture.-History:There is a relatively small number of Hindus found throughout Japan...
- Japanese people in IndiaJapanese people in IndiaThere is a small community of who are mainly expatriates from Japan. Most of them in live in Bangalore, Kolkata and most notably, Haldia.-Haldia:...