The February 2011 edition of the Japan Blog Matsuri brings to you eighteen fantastic submissions from around the blogosphere presenting to you articles related to the theme “Famous Japanese Events”. Participants were asked to tell us about a current or historical notable occurrence related to Japan. The possibilities were endless. It could have been a current event, a recreational event, an historical event, a religious event, a sporting event, a cultural event, an entertainment event, a political event, a social event. The event did not necessarily have to occur in Japan but it must have been related to Japan.

There’s something here for everyone, so take a swig of your sake, swallow down your sushi and enjoy the ride.

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City Names In Katakana is a project to list as many city names from around the world in katakana. Don’t see your city on the list? Leave a comment with a request and I will add it. This page will continually evolve over time.

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Philanthropist, volunteer worker and resident of Peru, Scott Jeppesen of the charitable organisation Sonrisas en Peru, explores the fascinating history of Japanese immigration to Peru and the strong influence that Japanese culture has played on various aspects of Peruvian society.

I currently reside in Lima, the capital of Peru. Every day I am faced with some characteristic of Peruvian culture that has been derived from Japanese origins. Urged by curiosity I soon discovered the intriguing story of the Japanese Peruvians, a large ethnic immigrant group in Peru.

The Japanese Peruvians

The Japanese Peruvians are Peruvian citizens of Japanese ethnic origin. They constitute around 0.3% of Peru’s population (estimated at nearly 90,000 in 2008) which is the second largest population of people with Japanese ancestry in Latin America after Brazil.

Peru was the first Latin American country to accept Japanese immigration. Back in 1899 the first wave of 790 Japanese immigrants arrived at the Peruvian seaport Callao aboard the “Sakura Maru” from the Japanese port of Yokohama and thus spawned the Nikkei ethnicity in Latin America.

The Sakura Maru

Most notably, Japanese Peruvians were brought to the world’s attention in 1990 by the election of Alberto Fujimori, son of Japanese immigrants and the 90th president of Peru. Fujimori was the first person of Asian descent to become president of a Western country.

Alberto Ken'ya Fujimori