Latest news with #JapaneseDescendants
NHK
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- NHK
Japan Festival kicks off in Sao Paulo
The annual Japan Festival has begun in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, offering visitors the chance to sample local Japanese dishes and experience the country's atmosphere. Brazil is home to the world's largest community of Japanese descendants. The festival is said to be one of the world's largest of its kind outside Japan. The event showcases Japanese culture, including traditional drum performances. At the food corner, about 40 prefectural associations have set up booths where people can enjoy local dishes and sweets from around Japan. One Brazilian visitor who has plans to visit Japan came to try Japanese food. Another said the hand-rolled sushi and matcha green tea were delicious. The festival runs through Sunday. The organizer expects about 200,000 visitors.
NHK
08-06-2025
- NHK
Japan's Princess Kako meets elderly residents of Japanese descent in Brazil
Japan's Princess Kako, who is on an official visit to Brazil, has met elderly people of Japanese ancestry near the country's largest city of Sao Paulo. The South American nation is home to the world's largest community of Japanese descendants. The second daughter of Crown Prince and Princess Akishino visited an elderly care facility for the Japanese community on Saturday. Established in 1958, the facility currently houses about 60 people, including some aged 100 or older. The princess was welcomed with a bouquet of flowers presented by Yuasa Tisue, a 92-year-old second-generation Japanese-Brazilian from the southern state of Parana. Princess Kako shook hands with the residents one by one. She said she was very happy to meet them and wished them good health. Kumada Koki, a first-generation Japanese-Brazilian, said he was very honored to meet the princess, who came from far away. The 93-year-old, who used to work at a coffee farm in the state of Sao Paulo, also said he was moved by the once-in-a-lifetime encounter. The princess will travel to Maringa in the state of Parana on Sunday. Many Japanese descendants also live in the city.
NHK
19-05-2025
- Politics
- NHK
Japanese descendants left behind in Philippines ask for citizenship
People of Japanese descent in the Philippines have called on the Japanese government to do more to help them gain citizenship. They were left behind in the chaos of World War Two. An association of Japanese descendants celebrated its 45th anniversary on Sunday in the southern city of Davao. Some of the 300 participants wore yukata -- traditional Japanese summer wear. The group supports people born to Japanese fathers and Filipino mothers before and during the war. They struggled after their fathers died or were deported to Japan. Even now, 49 individuals who claim their fathers were Japanese remain stateless and are seeking recognition from Tokyo. In their final years, they're trying to collect documents and testimony to prove their kinship. Esterlita Sakue Matsuda Opena, a 93-year-old Japanese descendant, said she hopes the Japanese government will recognize her as a daughter of a Japanese man. "I want to meet the Matsudas in Japan before I die," she said. Minister Hanada Takahiro of the Japanese Embassy attended the event. He reiterated his government's commitment to help the descendants gain citizenship as soon as possible.
