Curitiba, June 18, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - With 1.5 million members, the country's second largest Nipo-Brazilian community (the largest is in São Paulo), Paraná, a state located in the south of the country, is commemorating the 95th anniversary of Japanese immigration in Brazil.

The Japanese Ambassador to Brazil, Tadashi Ikeda, and his wife, Mikiko, paid their first visit to Paraná, to take part in the festivities organized by the Brazil-Japan Cultural Alliance. According to the Ambassador, Brazil was adopted by the Japanese as a second homeland, which served as a foundation for oriental culture and customs, which, for their part, have contributed to the construction of the country.

The strong presence of offspring of Japanese in Brazil produced a movement in the reverse direction, with many Brazilians going to work in Japan, chiefly as a result of the economic crisis of the '90's. The Brazilian "dekasseguis" nowadays comprise the third largest group of foreigners working in Japan (265,962 individuals), losing out only to Koreans (632,405) and Chinese (381,225).

They earn an average monthly wage of US$ 1,200.00 - an amount that can double with overtime - and they transfer around US$ 2 billion to Brazil each year. To handle this activity, the Bank of Brazil opened 25 branches in Japan. (DAS)