Japanese Immigration Anniversary Ceremony Held in Brazil

July 22, 2018

Sao Paulo- About 4,000 people, including Japan's Princess Mako, attended a ceremony in Sao Paulo on Saturday to mark the 110th anniversary of the arrival of first Japanese immigrants in Brazil.

In a speech, Princess Mako expressed her gratitude to the government and people of Brazil for warmly welcoming immigrants from Japan.

She also said she "sincerely respects the efforts of Japanese immigrants and their descendants to build, develop and support Japanese-Brazilian communities."

The princess is the first child of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and the eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

Harumi Goya, president of the Brazilian Society of Japanese Culture and Social Services, told the ceremony that following periods of hardship, Japanese-Brazilians now feel they are seeing fruitful results.

Brazilian vice foreign minister Marcos Galvao, who once served as ambassador to Japan, praised immigrants from Japan, saying they came from far way to make great contributions to the development of the country.

An estimated 250,000 Japanese people have immigrated to Brazil since the first group of 781 immigrants from Japan arrived in the South American country aboard the Kasado Maru in 1908.

Currently, Brazil is home to the world's largest community of Japanese descendants outside of Japan, totaling about 1.9 million people.

Later on Saturday, Princess Mako visited Sao Paulo's Ibirapuera Park and laid a wreath at a cenotaph for early Japanese immigrants. She also held talks with volunteers from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and young Japanese-Brazilians. Jiji Press