Japan and Brazil

by Atsushi K.
(Ibaraki)

When I was a junior high school student, I learned that Brazil's production of coffee is the best in the world. Brazil is a country that exists almost on the other side of the earth. Japanese descendents that live there are about 1.5 million people now. There is no country where such a lot of immigrants exist.

I examined why the Japanese had emigrated to Brazil. Slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888. People who were working on a farm moved to the town and the farms became extremely short of labor.

The Europeans were doing the coffee cultivation first. However, the number of Europeans had decreased by World War I. Then, Japanese manpower was needed and people started going to Brazil to become supporters of the coffee cultivation.

Later the number of people who manage the coffee farms also increased. Japanese descendents' activity in Brazil did not occur only in agriculture, but expanded education, medical treatment, politics, and other activities.

I did not know this history. It is very important that the countries become friendly. I want the relation between Japan and Brazil as it is.