Impact of Japanese migration in Brazil-Japan commercial relations

Abstract

The main objective of this essay is to explain the impact that Japanese migration has had on the development and evolution of commercial, investment and cooperation relations between Brazil and Japan. To that end, this work uses as a basis the social capital theory, which argues that social networks enable cooperation among individuals who pursuing a common goal, for which values such as trust and reciprocity norms are fundamental. In this regard, the main question to be resolved in this study is the following: What role did Japanese migration play in the establishing and development of commercial relations between Brazil and Japan?

To answer this question, this essay makes a historical review analyzing the moment in which Japanese migrations began to Brazil, encouraged to a large extent by the Japanese government as part of its development strategy. Likewise, this paper analyzes the process by which the establishment and formation of networks of Japanese immigrants in Brazil took place, who settled in that country integrating into its society until their subsequent emigration to Japan, decades later. This process eventually contributed to the consolidation of trade, cooperation and investment relations between Brazil and Japan. In the same way, this last fact was essential for the consolidation of the social capital and relations between both countries, in a process that has been fundamental for the development of both economies, constituting a diplomatic and economic policy of vital importance.