At the end of the 19th century, Japanese citizens began to emigrate to Peru who decided to settle in our country both for migratory companies and for their relatives. Officially, on August 21, 1873, the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the Republic of Peru and the Empire of Japan was signed in Japan. This allowed us to visit; Thus, Peru became the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with the Asian country.
In 1889, 790 Japanese immigrants arrived at our shores who were destined to work in the sugar cane fields of the British Sugar Company; Because labor was scarce and the natives of the mountains did not acclimatize to the conditions of the capital. From the date mentioned until 1923, 102 mixed groups of Japanese arrived for other farms. It is only on this date, five years after the Peruvian Peruvian Association has been formed that they begin to place themselves in conditions of free immigrants. They concentrate in Lima and Trujillo where they open grocery stores and hairdressers. Immigrants preserved their customs but also adapted to the Peruvian Creole spirit, thus begins a new culture called Nikkei.
During the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Peru being an ally of the US government, the properties of the Japanese were confiscated and 1,771 people were captured and sent to concentration camps in the United States. Later in 1945 Peru declared war on Japan. After this period, the first 100 Japanese deportees return.
Currently, Peru has 160,000 Nikkei citizens (Japanese born in Peruvian territory) who stand out in various fields such as sports, gastronomy, politics, among others. The significance of the Nikkei citizens is recognizable because they managed to make Peru their own community; even one of them managed to be president of our country, former president Alberto Fujimori.
Activities of the Peruvian Japanese Association:
During this month, various activities will be held by the Japanese Peruvian Association to learn more about their culture, we invite you to be part of them.
XX Japanese Film Series (Thursday, January 16): Reproduction of the movie The Passage to Japan (Fukuzawa Yukichi). Place: Dai Hall Auditorium. Japanese Peruvian Association.
MITTE Exhibition (until January 30): exhibition of photographic images, audios and artistic installations to represent the Japanese migration and its roots. Place: Ryoichi Jinnai Art Gallery. Japanese Cultural Center
Exhibition of Japanese calendars (until January 31). Place: Hall of the Japanese Cultural Center.