Japanese Mexicans

Japanese Mexicans

mexicanos japoneses 日系メキシコ人 (Nikkei Mekishikojin)
Teenagers of Japanese origin in Monterrey
Total population
est. 76,000 Mexicans of Japanese descent [1] 10,143 Japanese nationals residing in Mexico (October 2022)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Mexico City, Bajío Region, Chiapas, Sinaloa, Baja California, Sonora, State of Mexico, Coahuila, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla
Languages
Mexican Spanish and Japanese
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism (90%)[2] Minority Buddhism and ShintoismNote
Related ethnic groups
Other Japanese diasporas
^ Note: Religious classification is for Mexicans of Japanese descent and does not include recent immigrants.

Japanese Mexicans are Mexicans of Japanese ancestry. Most Japanese immigrants from Okinawa, Miyagi, Hiroshima, Aichi, and Fukuoka prefectures have been present in what would become Mexico since the colonial era, however, it was sporadic immigration of individuals. It was not until the 1890s that organized Japanese immigration to Mexico occurred, with the foundation of a coffee-growing colony in the state of Chiapas. Although this initiative failed, it was followed by greater immigration from 1900 to the beginning of World War II. However, it never reached the levels of Japanese immigration to the Americas such as Brazil or the United States.

Immigration halted during World War II and many Japanese nationals and even some naturalized Mexican citizens of Japanese origin were forced to relocate from communities in Baja California, Sinaloa, and Chiapas to Mexico City and other areas in the interior until the war was over. After the war, immigration began again, mostly due to Japanese companies investing in Mexico and sending over skilled employees.