Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the first Japanese immigration to Brazil, beginning the formation of what is today the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, with an estimated population of around 1.5 million. The first groups to arrive in 1908 ended up as laborers on the vast Brazilian coffee plantations of São Paulo and Paraná, the two states with the largest concentration of nipo-brasileiros today. Most Japanese Brazilians today are third- or fourth-generation, and around 40% have at least some non-Japanese ancestry due to intermarriages with other racial groups, a phenomenon practically unheard of in Japan. Not only is Brazil home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, but Japan as well is home to the largest Portuguese-speaking community in Asia - the dekasegi. In the 1980s and '90s, the economic boom in Japan as well as favorable immigration laws allowed for the creation of a new community - the 300,000-strong group of Brazilians of Japanese ancestry living in Japan. Although Japanese in appearance, they are culturally Brazilian - many speak only Portuguese and know only the Brazilian culture with which they were raised.
Today the Japanese Brazilian community is known for its famous artists, doctors, politicians, scientists, and athletes. Although making up only 0.5% of the total Brazilian population, Japanese descendants represent over 15% of Brazilians who pass the university entrance exams, and have contributed to the enrichment and development of Brazilian culture and society. For more information on the Japanese legacy in Brazil, please check out the linked article (in Portuguese only, sorry, but with a lot of pictures!).
