Immigration & Citizenship - Resources by Region

North and South America

General works

日・中南米交流史概観 (Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Available only in Japanese. Historical overviews of the relations between Japan and Central/South America.

福井千鶴南米移民と日系社会－日系人のアイデンティティーを中心に－（『地位政策研究』（高崎経済大学地域政策学会、第５巻・３号、２００３年３５－５２ページ）（日本語）

"South Ameircan immigration and the Japanese Society - Foucs on the Identity of Japanese Descendants" by Fukui Chizu. Article in Japanese with a brief summary in English.

This article takes into consideration the tendencies Japanese immigrants have had within the Argentine society and examines the changes of the identities of the descendants, various aspects of overseas migrants and the structure of cultural exchanges. Furthermore this paper cross-examines various aspects of Okinawa, which has a high overseas migrant population, and summarizes the historical circumstances of migration to South America.

Daniel M. Masterson with Sayaka Funada-Classen, The Japanese in Latin America. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2004.

"Japanese migration to Latin America began in the late nineteenth century, and today the continent is home to 1.5 million persons of Japanese descent. Combining detailed scholarship with rich personal histories, The Japanese in Latin America is the first comprehensive study of the patterns of Japanese migration on the continent as a whole."

Book review. American Historical Review 110, no. 1 (February 2005). Excerpt only; subscription required to read entire review.

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Cuando Oriente llegó a América.

Oriente no es una latitud geográfica y culturalmente lejana. Es una presencia viva en América Latina y el Caribe. Llegó en los baúles de los culíes chinos que en el siglo XIX reemplazaron a la mano de obra esclava de los negros y en las esperanzas de los que huían de revueltas políticas que los expulsaban de su tierra. Viajó más tarde con los japoneses y los coreanos....Este libro se refiere a los aportes de los asiáticos y sus descendientes y a ese complejo proceso de asimilación, rechazo y mestizaje que comenzó cuando Oriente llegó a América.

Louis Fiset and Gail M. Nomura, Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians in the Twentieth Century. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005.

"Challenging the notion that Nikkei individuals before and during World War II were helpless pawns manipulated by forces beyond their control, the diverse essays in this rich collection focus on the theme of resistance within Japanese American and Japanese Canadian communities to twentieth-century political, cultural, and legal discrimination. They illustrate how Nikkei groups were mobilized to fight discrimination through assertive legal challenges, community participation, skillful print publicity, and political and economic organization."

"Latin America: Japanese Immigrant History, Life & Values". (Monterey Bay Educators Against War)

Wide-ranging bibliography of works in all media and genres on Japanese immigrants in Latin America.

Carl Mosk, "Economic Assimilation of Japanese Immigrants in North America: The Importance of Country of Origin as well as Country of Destination". Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis (RIIM) Commentary Series 02-03 (September 2002). [PDF]

Paper presented to the conference "Changing Japanese Identities in Multicultural Canada," University of Victoria, August 22-24, 2002.

Carl Mosk, "Asian Immigrants to the Pacific Northwest: Canadian and American Experiences Compared". Research on Immigration and Integration in the Metropolis (RIIM) Working Paper Series No. 01-14 (May 2001).

Abstract: "Driving Asian immigration to the Pacific Northwest is Asia's expanding trade presence, pioneered by Japan. Being demographically closed, Japan was not a model for Asian emigration, but its emphasis on human resource development has proven revolutionary. Indeed, the Human Development Index (HDI) of Asian source countries is associated with the performance of emigrant Asian ethnic groups. For instance, investment in education heavily shapes ethnic achievement. This is true in both British Columbia and Washington State, where the determinants of economic achievement are virtually identical."