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Photos: Japan’s largest diaspora in Brazil loses iconic newspaper

For 72 years the Sao Paulo Shimbun, which printed its last edition on January 1, 2019, served as the main reference point for the Japanese community living in Brazil - the largest in the world outside of Japan. A victim of declining sales, an aging readership and the internet; up until the 1990s expats from Japan got most of their national and international information from the Sao Paulo Shimbun.

Updated on: Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM IST

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A recent edition of the Sao Paulo Shimbun is stacked into piles before delivery in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For decades this newspaper, from its offices in Sao Paulo’s Asian neighbourhood of Liberdade, served as the main reference point for Japanese living in the South American country. While mainly in Japanese, it printed a few pages in Portuguese as well. January 01 marked the end of a 72-year run. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

A recent edition of the Sao Paulo Shimbun is stacked into piles before delivery in Sao Paulo, Brazil. For decades this newspaper, from its offices in Sao Paulo’s Asian neighbourhood of Liberdade, served as the main reference point for Japanese living in the South American country. While mainly in Japanese, it printed a few pages in Portuguese as well. January 01 marked the end of a 72-year run. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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Sao Paulo Shimbun was founded in 1946, shortly after the end of World War II. Owner Helena Mizumoto said that before the internet and cable television, immigrants would call the newspaper to find out where they could find Japanese-owned business. “The Google of the community was here,” Mizumoto said, adding that the newspaper was instrumental in letting expats know that Japan had lost the war. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

Sao Paulo Shimbun was founded in 1946, shortly after the end of World War II. Owner Helena Mizumoto said that before the internet and cable television, immigrants would call the newspaper to find out where they could find Japanese-owned business. “The Google of the community was here,” Mizumoto said, adding that the newspaper was instrumental in letting expats know that Japan had lost the war. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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Japanese expats got most of their national and international information from the Sao Paulo Shimbun up until the 1990s, but that “ended with internet and the NHK Japanese news channel,” said Eduardo Nakashima, secretary general of the Brazil-Japan Cultural Alliance. Businessman Yoshikatsu Yamashita said he only read the part of the newspaper printed in Portuguese “because the part in Japanese was a bit difficult.” (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

Japanese expats got most of their national and international information from the Sao Paulo Shimbun up until the 1990s, but that “ended with internet and the NHK Japanese news channel,” said Eduardo Nakashima, secretary general of the Brazil-Japan Cultural Alliance. Businessman Yoshikatsu Yamashita said he only read the part of the newspaper printed in Portuguese “because the part in Japanese was a bit difficult.” (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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In Liberdade, Nobukazu Kanomata, an 83-year-old massage therapist who was born in Japan and came to Brazil after the war, said the newspaper closed “because there are fewer people in the community able to read Japanese and the quality of its articles got worse.” Kanomata spoke in the main square of Liberdade where he goes every morning at 6 am to practice radio taiso exercises with other elderly Japanese. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

In Liberdade, Nobukazu Kanomata, an 83-year-old massage therapist who was born in Japan and came to Brazil after the war, said the newspaper closed “because there are fewer people in the community able to read Japanese and the quality of its articles got worse.” Kanomata spoke in the main square of Liberdade where he goes every morning at 6 am to practice radio taiso exercises with other elderly Japanese. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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A woman walks by a mural of soccer legend Pele hugging a Geisha in Sao Paulo. Brazil’s first Japanese migrants arrived aboard the steamship Kasato Maru on June 18, 1908, spurring a wave that grew to about 2 million people. They introduced foods that changed Brazilian cuisine and farming techniques that helped turn Latin America’s biggest country into an agricultural superpower. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

A woman walks by a mural of soccer legend Pele hugging a Geisha in Sao Paulo. Brazil’s first Japanese migrants arrived aboard the steamship Kasato Maru on June 18, 1908, spurring a wave that grew to about 2 million people. They introduced foods that changed Brazilian cuisine and farming techniques that helped turn Latin America’s biggest country into an agricultural superpower. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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Nabuko Kojo, administrative director of the Sao Paulo Shimbun answers the phone as she empties her desk. The arrival of the first immigrants followed negotiations between Japan and Sao Paulo, where most Japanese-Brazilians still live. Japan needed an escape valve for poor farmers, left out of the country’s rapid modernization. Meanwhile, Sao Paulo needed more workers to tend to its coffee plantations. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

Nabuko Kojo, administrative director of the Sao Paulo Shimbun answers the phone as she empties her desk. The arrival of the first immigrants followed negotiations between Japan and Sao Paulo, where most Japanese-Brazilians still live. Japan needed an escape valve for poor farmers, left out of the country’s rapid modernization. Meanwhile, Sao Paulo needed more workers to tend to its coffee plantations. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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People walk under a mural of a Samurai in Sao Paulo. Like many immigrant groups, the early settlers planned to return home in two to five years and start new lives with their earnings. But they quickly realized they would never save enough for a return ticket. Many eventually migrated to urban centres or to other rural areas. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

People walk under a mural of a Samurai in Sao Paulo. Like many immigrant groups, the early settlers planned to return home in two to five years and start new lives with their earnings. But they quickly realized they would never save enough for a return ticket. Many eventually migrated to urban centres or to other rural areas. (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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While slicing fish at a restaurant, sushi chef Hiro Konno said: “I don’t think we should disconnect so much (from Japanese culture). Those of us who have Japanese roots should do more to preserve them. For me, the closing of the newspaper is very sad.” (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

Updated on Jan 08, 2019 10:34 AM

While slicing fish at a restaurant, sushi chef Hiro Konno said: “I don’t think we should disconnect so much (from Japanese culture). Those of us who have Japanese roots should do more to preserve them. For me, the closing of the newspaper is very sad.” (Victor R. Caivano / AP)

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