A present but non-existent immigration: Japanese-Brazilian return to their ethnic homeland

Abstract

My thesis aims to provide a historical background of the relations between Japan and Brazil, exploring the reasons that caused both Japanese emigration at the end of XIX century and the demand for foreign workforce in Brazil, after the abolition of slavery. My analysis will try to take into consideration the initial difficulties that Japanese emigrants faced on Brazilian coffee plantations, such as the struggle to adapt to a hostile climate and to conform to the unwritten norms of a completely different culture. Afterwards, a significant part of my work will examine the inverse migratory phenomenon began in the late 1980s, that drawn many descendants of the first Japanese emigrated to Brazil back to Japan. As matter of fact, although Japanese-Brazilian return migration is supported by both governments for reasons of mutual convenience, it is my concern to examine the paradoxical situation in which Japanese-Brazilians often experience a crisis of identity in Japan. Indeed, as quite different in demeanour, they are not recognised as “true” Japanese in their ethnic homeland and become the target of discriminatory attitudes. Finally, I will give a general overview on Japanese current immigration policies. Today Japan is coping with a sharp ageing population that will likely turn into a dramatical lack of national workforce in a few decades. Although the introduction of foreign workers has been depicted as a way to save Japan from failure, there are still a lot of debates whether accepting immigrants, and, if so, until what extent should the government accept them. Therefore, my research would try to explore the limits of Japanese immigration policies and suggest some grounds for improvements and feasible solutions to the current crippling situation.