Alternative players in Latam: Japan

Japan is a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which excludes China but also includes Chile, Mexico and Peru.

For Tokyo, 'Latam's strategic importance has increased in step with Beijing's global rise', according to the Inter-American Dialogue think tank. There are concerns that China's management of port terminals in Latin America and the Caribbean will limit the movement of Japanese ships. And that its influence could interfere, in the event of conflict, with access by sea to energy sources and other vital resources for Japan, which is dependent on imports for almost all primary sector products.

Everything points to continuity in foreign policy, security and defence, as well as in the economy: Kishidanomics will differ little from Abenomics. The geopolitical scenario leaves little room for manoeuvre.

In a speech in Mexico in 2013, the then foreign minister and since autumn prime minister, the conciliatory and moderate Fumio Kishida (a native of Hiroshima), expressed his respect for the signatories of the Treaty of Tlatelolco (1967), "pioneers of denuclearisation".

Peru needed labour for its sugar industry. The Museum of Japanese Immigration to Peru is a space for cultural dissemination with information on this migratory process that began in 1899. It is estimated that this community is currently made up of some 100,000 people.

Alberto Fujimori was celebrated when he visited the remote village where his family originated in the 1990s after his surprise entry into politics. Today, both he and his daughter Keiko attract little interest.

Japanese immigration to Brazil began in 1908, with recruitment to work on coffee plantations. A decade later, it became the main pole of attraction. Of the 245,000 Japanese who had migrated to Latin America by the 1940s, three quarters went to Brazil, according to JICA records. Today the largest Japanese community abroad is there, with 1.5 million people of Japanese origin.

The second wave followed the world war. Since the 1970s, the phenomenon has been reversed. Nisei (children of the Nikkei) and Sansei (grandchildren) began to settle in Japan. Brazilians are the third largest minority there.

According to the Forbes Global 2000 list, 8 companies from the world's 3rd largest economy are among the top 100. The automotive sector stands out. Toyota and Nissan moved part of their production to Latin America. As well as their competitors Honda, Mazda and Suzuki. Toyota sells most of its cars in the region in Brazil. Its president and CEO for Latin America and the Caribbean regrets the low adoption of electric cars - he predicts that it will be barely 5% of the Latin American market by 2030 - and accuses a lack of strategies, "due to the lack of guidelines from the different Latin American governments". It stresses the need for Brazil to take the initiative, as it is one of the few countries with a complete automotive industry.

Consumer electronics and entertainment. Latam is one of the most dynamic markets for Sony, showing a particular interest in high-quality audiovisual content. Legendary video game maker Nintendo launched the official Latin American version of its eShop last year.

The number of "unicorns" is multiplying in Latam. There are already 36 start-ups valued at more than $1,000M thanks to a favourable constellation: digital progress (accelerated by the pandemic), entrepreneurship and a massive influx of technology investment funds. The latter factor involves Softbank, a technology, telecommunications and e-commerce giant. The Japanese conglomerate, which has emerged as the world's largest investor, landed there in 2019 with a $5 billion investment portfolio, becoming one of the major drivers.

In 2021 it contributed another $3,000M. It has stakes in 13 unicorns, including Nubank (the Brazilian digital bank backed by Warren Buffett). The entity, founded in 2013 and operating in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, achieved a market capitalisation of almost $52 billion on its recent listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Brazil accounts for 60% of unicorns and 70% of fund inflows, followed by Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay.

As for nearshoring, the relocation of companies and supply lines located in Asia closer to their target markets, it is currently funded by only two organisations: the IDB and the Government of Japan.

Manga and anime are two of the most recognised art forms in modern Japan. Both are increasingly popular in Latam. The former is a form of comic book, the latter an animated series or cartoon.

After a year of testing, Anime Ongai is back as the first exclusive animation platform for Latin America. It focuses on Latin American Spanish dubbing. It releases an animation with Spanish dubbing on the same day of its release in Japan (US platforms tend to release dubbed versions weeks after their release). It also puts the spotlight on Latin American talent with an emphasis on dubbing actors and actresses.

It has premiered series not previously distributed in Latam, as well as some others that had never been dubbed into Latin American Spanish, which has allowed it to expand its horizons and better understand its tastes.

Between 1613 and 1620 the Keichō Embassy mission led by the samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga reached Spain and the Holy See, stopping in the viceroyalty of New Spain. The expedition was unsuccessful due to Japan's progressive withdrawal.

The Meiji era (1868-1912) marked the end of the long policy of isolation. Japan signed treaties of friendship and trade with various Latin American countries. The earliest was with Mexico in 1888.

Throughout the profound Meiji transformation (from a feudal and agrarian regime to an industrial economy), the first great wave of migration began. Migrants later known as Nikkei. The US, along with Canada as the preferred choice, banned further arrivals in the face of the flood. Latin America was the new destination.

1893 opened a series of migrations that brought settlers to Mexico (10,000 in the first decade of the 20th century alone), Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. Contract immigration through mining and railway construction companies was prominent.

In the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), warships on loan from Argentina played an important role in Japanese victories.

After World War II, Japan received financial assistance. In addition to US and Canadian programmes, it received material and food aid from Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Peru until 1951. During its economic boom in the 1960s and 1970s, Japan defined its Official Development Assistance (ODA) by expanding and diversifying it. In 1974 it founded its International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as an ODA executing agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2003 it has been an independent administration of the government.

In October, JICA signed a loan agreement with Honduras, Japan's first emergency support loan for the response to the COVID-19 crisis in the region.

With Guatemala, it is jointly advancing in the construction of a new disaster prevention management system.

In Cuba, on the occasion of the opening of the JICA Office, cooperation is being extended to projects in new areas such as energy and transport.

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