XNUMX years living in Mexico,

“Showing the true face of Mexico to the world!'

with the motto

I'm Kou Iwasaki, a licensed tour guide and driver in Mexico.

 

XNUMX years after the war.

It's the year of the milestone of the three-and-a-half century.

When I was in the first year of junior high school,

In Urugi Village, Nagano Prefecture,

In a junior high school with a total of XNUMX students,

Invite old people from the village to school,

It reminds me of my wartime dining experience.

what did you eat

I can't remember the details, but

Considering that a quarter of a century has passed since then,

I feel that time passes very quickly.

 

Also in Mexico

Speaking of Japan,

technology and

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are

Almost everyone knows.

 

As history of war

There are times when you talk about the war situation of the former Japanese army in Asia,

I don't think much is said about the Japanese who lived abroad at the time.

Mexico is no exception.

Japanese people lived there at the time.

 

Not criticizing Mexico

As a matter of fact

I would like to write a little about the treatment of Japanese people in Mexico at that time.

 

Japanese emigration to Mexico began in XNUMX.

At that time, under the government of Porfirio Diaz,

Immigration was encouraged.

The main settlement of Japanese immigrants was the Pacific side of Chiapas.

It seems that such immigrant workers were called yobi yose.

 

Thirteen years later, in XNUMX,

A Japanese delegation is invited to the XNUMXth anniversary ceremony of independence.

So the Japanese ambassador presented two pieces of porcelain as souvenirs.

The delegation seems to have stayed in a mansion at XNUMX Via Reforma.

A modern building now stands here.

 

As such, the relationship between the two countries

Although "superficial"

Good condition continues for about XNUMX years.

 

XNUMX.

With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,

The “good” relationship between Japan and Mexico is upside down.

 

The then president of Mexico

Manuel Avila Camacho.

Bordered by Pearl Harbor,

sever diplomatic relations with Japan.

After suspending commercial transactions,

Regulations will begin for the Japanese, who are said to have been XNUMX at the time.

Furthermore, for the Japanese who were in various parts of Mexico,

They were sent to camps in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Cuernavaca, and Puebla.

If he was suspected of espionage or sabotage, he was sent to prison.

 

That's the question.

Mexico is

Despite not receiving a direct attack from Japan,

Why did you decide to impose restrictions on Japanese people?

 

It seems that there was pressure from the United States.

America, not just Mexico

for Latin American countries,

I will issue a notice to monitor the Japanese.

 

This is about the regulations for Japanese people in Mexico.

 

deprivation of identity documents,

Only XNUMX pesos per month can be withdrawn.

XNUMX pesos is

It's just enough money to eat.

freezing financial accounts;

Invalidation of naturalization certificate.

Prohibition of gatherings and

Abandonment of home within XNUMX days,

And as mentioned above, sent to a concentration camp.

 

According to the American media strategy,

"The Japanese army is plotting an invasion of Mexico."

There is information that

Anti-Japan air begins to flow to the Mexican people.

Do it like this

About three weeks after the outbreak of war,

The lives of Japanese living in Mexico took a turn for the worse.

 

Of the XNUMX Japanese,

About XNUMX were born in Mexico,

Or they were people who had already naturalized to Mexican nationality,

Those people were sent to a concentration camp.

 

It was winter then.

It must have been cold in the lowlands,

such as Mexico City

High altitudes are cold.

not having enough clothing and food,

Forced to travel long distances,

One child and two elderly people died.

 

In XNUMX,

In response to the German attack on a Mexican-flagged tanker,

Mexico declares war on the Axis powers

A fighter called Escuaduron XNUMX will be dispatched to the Philippines.

However, the war ended as it was,

It seems that there was no attack on Japan.

 

“The conditions were better than the Peruvian camps.”

Because of

The Mexican government has said that

He has not apologized for the inhumane treatment of Japanese people,

It seems that there was no compensation.

 

Some scholars call this "shameful history",

For today's Mexicans, it is a distant past,

A story about a small country on the other side of the Pacific.

There is no such thing as a matter of fact.

 

If this "shameful history" is true,

Just like the war crimes committed by Japan in Asian countries,

It may be a war history that you want to keep hidden.

 

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