Japanese Mexicans
Japanese in Monterrey | |
| Total population | |
| c. 76,000 10,143 expats (October 2022) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mexico City, Bajío Region, Chiapas, Sinaloa, Baja California, Sonora, State of Mexico, Coahuila, Veracruz, Oaxaca, Puebla | |
| Languages | |
| Predominantly Mexican Spanish Japanese | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Roman Catholicism (90%) Minority Buddhism and ShintoismNote | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Asian Latin Americans | |
^ Note: Religious classification is for Mexicans of Japanese descent and does not include recent immigrants. |
Japanese Mexicans are Mexican citizens of Japanese descent. Organized Japanese immigration to Mexico occurred in the 1890s 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.