Japanese Mexicans
Japanese Mexicans are Mexicans of Japanese ancestry. As of 2019, there are an estimated 76,000 people who are Japanese or of Japanese descent in Mexico.
mexicanos japoneses 日系メキシコ人 (Nikkei Mekishikojin) | |
|---|---|
Teenagers of Japanese origin in Monterrey | |
| Total population | |
| estimated 76,000 Mexicans of Japanese descent. 10,143 Japanese nationals residing in Mexico | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico City, Bajío Region (particularly Guanajuato), Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chiapas, Monterrey, Quintana Roo | |
| Languages | |
| Mexican Spanish and Japanese | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Roman Catholicism (90%) 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 immigration to Mexico began in the late 19th century, to found coffee growing plantations in the state of Chiapas. Although this initiative failed, it was followed by greater immigration from 1900 to the beginning of World War II, although 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 Mexicans 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.