Excerpt: "Peruvians of Japanese descent, though constituting only 0.3 percent of Peru’s population, were brought to the world’s attention by the election of Alberto Fujimori, the son of Japanese immigrants, as president, and today they are arguably one of the country’s most influential ethnic communities both economically and politically. While well integrated into Peruvian society, they remain a racial/ethnic minority and a close-knit community. Prominent but closed, the Japanese-Peruvian community has evolved through the processes of immigration, settlement, and racialization over the past century."
Abstract: "This article examines the consequences of transnational community formation for immigrants' communities and ethnic identity. Focusing on a culturally, nationally, and racially mixed group of Japanese Peruvians who are dispersed across Peru, Japan, and the United States, the author examines how their communities and ethnic identity are transformed as a consequence of their migrations and transnational ties. During ethnographic fieldwork in their communities, the author found that Japanese Peruvians across the Pacific create their own ethnic identity as Nikkei, distinct from others, by exploiting their international ties and resources. She argues, therefore, that migrants' transnational ties can accentuate their group boundaries both within the sending and receiving countries, particularly when migrants perceive that there are benefits. Hence, the process of transnational community formation can hinder migrants' assimilation in nations."
Article written in commemoration of the centennial of the first Japanese migration to Peru, and of the ceremonial visit of Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori to Japan.
Tatiana Mackliff, a student in the International Development Education Program at Florida International University, has interviewed three Japanese Peruvians living in the Miami area. Roberto and Ken Taninaka are college students; Marcela Inokuchi is a retired executive secretary. Among the questions posed: "How would you define yourself culturally?"
Abstract: "This article analyzes the search for identity and community in essays written for a Peruvian contest on the theme 'Mi experiencia en el Japón: Una lección de vida.' I argue that the texts show complex relationships among ethnicity, nationality, language, and class as the authors consider the effect of their time in Japan on themselves and their communities. Peruvians of Japanese descent, the nikkei, write of their suffering and alienation whereas a non-nikkei finds inspiration for Peru’s future in Japan. All the authors try to reconcile an ideal of global citizenship with their individual experiences of difference."
"This article first appeared in the September/October 2001 issue of NACLA: Report on the Americas. In December 2001, Japanophile reprinted it as "The Ebb and Flow of Anti-Japanese Sentiment in Peru." The article has been used in courses at the University of Michigan and Skidmore."
Chiori Santiago, "The Spirit of African Peru". Nikkei Heritage vol. XVI, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 15. (Republished on Discover Nikkei)
Profile of Gabriela Shiroma, a Peruvian Nisei of Okinawan descent, working to preserve Afro-Peruvian traditions of music and dance.
History of the Asociación Okinawense del Perú, established officially in 1910, five years after the first Okinawans arrived in Peru.