Japanese community of Düsseldorf

There is a Japanese community in Düsseldorf, Germany. The city and its surrounding regions has hosted Japanese companies since the 1950s, and there are 636 Japanese-related companies in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
* web pages linking to yearly files
海外進出日系企業拠点数調査
* Regions of survey: Around 7,000 (2021) Japanese nationals live in its capital city Düsseldorf.

History

In 1950 there was one Japanese person registered as living in Düsseldorf.Kerbo and Ziltener, p
230
Beginning in the mid-1950s the Japanese companies returning to Germany in the post-World War II period were mostly settling in Düsseldorf,Kerbo and Ziltener, p
229230
while in the pre-World War II period the Japanese population was concentrated in Hamburg.Kerbo and Ziltener, p
229
Arikawa stated that the Japanese settlement began when ten businesspersons from Tokyo, trying to buy metal ore and machinery for Japan, established their businesses in Düsseldorf. Due to this settlement, information about the Ruhr region circulated within Japanese companies. 300 Japanese were registered as living in the city by 1960. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1966. There were 100 Japanese companies in the Düsseldorf area in 1968.

Due to Düsseldorf's central location within Europe and proximity to other areas in Europe, its location in the Ruhr industrial area, and the proximity to the river port Duisburg, Japanese companies had a preference for Düsseldorf as they established European operations in the 1970s. By 1973 2,000 Japanese were registered as living in Düsseldorf and 200 Japanese companies were located in the area. By 1980 the number of Japanese companies had increased to 300. As of 1985 there were 6,000 Japanese residents. In 1990 there were 30 Japanese production facilities in the city. By 1992, 7,443 Japanese were registered as living in the city.

In 1985 the general manager of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Düsseldorf, Akira Arikawa, stated that of all of the cities in the world outside Japan, Düsseldorf had the highest concentration of Japanese residents.
* Available online from the Houston Public Library with a library card.

Due to the reunification of Germany making Berlin the capital of the country, the decline in the Japanese economy, and the European Single Market causing Japanese companies to move to places with lower costs, since 1992 there had been a decline in the Japanese community. Many of the Japanese companies had shifted to the Netherlands. In the late 1990s the Düsseldorf area housed 520 Japanese companies. In 1999 about 4,500 Japanese people lived in and around Düsseldorf. By the late 1990s there were almost no Japanese production facilities in Düsseldorf, or in all of Germany. Due to the infrastructure and support from the Japanese community, including the Japanese school and the Buddhist centre, many companies that had moved out of Düsseldorf in the early 1990s, especially those that had moved to Berlin, began moving back to Düsseldorf by the late 1990s.

In 2001 Harold Kerbo and Patrick Ziltener, authors of the article "Japanese Business in Germany," wrote that "Dusseldorf remains the center for Japanese business activity in Germany."

Geography

As of 1985 Immermann Street had a concentration of Japanese businesses. In 1985 Mark Heinrich of the Associated Press (AP) stated that the Hotel Nikko Düsseldorf on Immermann Street was the center of the Japanese community. Japan Airlines established the hotel in 1978. The ''Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf'' is located in Niederkassel, and it previously had a campus in Oberkassel.

The area around Immermann Street where Japanese offices and stores are concentrated is sometimes called "Little Tokyo", "Japantown", or "Klein-Tokio am Rhein".Düsseldorf für Japan-Fans: Klein-Tokio am Rhein
" ''Der Spiegel''. Wednesday 27 February 2013.

Media

In 1977 a weekly Japanese newspaper was established. Düsseldorf resident Tsunejiro Takagi was the publisher of ''Life in Europe'', which was Europe's first Japanese language newspaper and as of 1985 had a circulation of 6,000. Its coverage included European Economic Community (EEC) developments, consumer news, a column on Japanese company representatives, area Japanese sports, and travel news.

Economy

As of 1985, 300 Japanese multinational companies operated in the Düsseldorf area and had invested over $600 million U.S. dollars in that area. As of that year, the multinationals included Mitsubishi and Nippon Steel.

As of the 2010s, about 421 Japanese companies had operations in the Düsseldorf area.Yokoso! All Nippon Airways (ANA) to Offer Daily Connection between Düsseldorf and Tokyo Starting March 30
." Press release from ANA at the website of convention bureau DÜSSELDORF. Retrieved on October 26, 2016.

A selection of some Japanese companies in Düsseldorf: Sumitomo Deutschland GmbH (Industrial), Asahi Kasei Europe GmbH (Chemicals), Hitachi Europe GmbH (Electronic), Sompo International (Insurance), Daikin (Chemicals), Komatsu Germany GmbH (Industry), Tokio Marine Europe S.A., Düsseldorf (Insurance).

Düsseldorf is the most important location for Japanese financial institutions. Three of the biggest Japanese credit institutions have their German headquarter in the financial center Düsseldorf: MUFG Bank (Europe) N.V. Germany Branch, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Düsseldorf Branch, SMBC EU AG, Düsseldorf Branch and Mizuho Bank Ltd., Düsseldorf Branch. Furthermore Chartered Investment Germany (CIG) is a German subsidiary of the Japanese securities trading bank PWM Japan Securities.

Demographics

As of 1985 over 90% of ethnic Japanese households in West Germany had an affluent corporate executive as the head of the household. This executive often stays in Germany for three to five years.

As of 1985 company employees arriving in Germany often move into residences formerly occupied by those returning to Japan.

As of 2005 the Japanese population was about one third of that of London.White, Paul. "The Japanese in London: From transience to settlement?" In: Goodman, Roger, Ceri Peach, Ayumi Takenaka, and Paul White (editors). ''Global Japan: The Experience of Japan's New Immigrant and Overseas Communities''. Routledge, June 27, 2005. , 9781134431458. p
89

Japanese nationals:
* 7,961 (2008)
* p1: (excerpts) 1.2 Scope of this survey: Japanese nationals who are or will be residing overseas for a long term (over 3 months). Emigrants or descendants (Nikkeijin) who do not have Japanese citizenship are not counted.
* p16: 2.7.2 Population (total (long term stay + permanent)) trends per city:
** 1 October 2008: 24 Dusseldorf 7,961
** 1 October 2009: 22 Dusseldorf 8,187
** 1 October 2010: 23 Dusseldorf 8,067
* p20: 2.7.2 Population (long term stay) trends per city:
** 1 October 2008: 18 Dusseldorf 6,914
** 1 October 2009: 18 Dusseldorf 6,926
** 1 October 2010: 18 Dusseldorf 6,735
* pp48–49: デュッセルドルフ総領事館( The Consulate-General of Japan, Düsseldorf):
** p48: Population (total): 12,040
** p49: Japanese-related companies (100% or jointly owned): 500
* p66: Regions of survey: 在デュッセルドルフ総領事館(The Consulate-General of Japan, Düsseldorf): The State of North Rhine-Westphalia
* web pages linking to the file
archive
/ref>
* 8,451 (2018)
* 7,144 (2021)
* tab "統計の目的等": (excerpts) 3. Scope of this survey: Japanese nationals who are or will be residing overseas for a long term (over 3 months). Emigrants or descendants (Nikkeijin) who do not have Japanese citizenship are not counted.
* tab "都市別邦人数上位５０位"
** 2018 CE; cell L39:M39 "27 デュッセルドルフ 8,451"="Dusseldorf 8,451"
** 2021 CE; cell C43:D43 "31 デュッセルドルフ 7,144"="Dusseldorf 7,144"
* This file does not contain statistics for North Rhine-Westphalia
* web pages linking to yearly files

/ref>

Culture

Eric Zielke, a professor at University of Düsseldorf, stated around 1985 that Japanese often only interact with Germans when doing and being involved with business. He concluded that "the Japanese have no particular interest in becoming integrated into German society" because many are in Germany for only a three to five-year period, and that "The Japanese form a colony, remaining unobtrusive and keeping to themselves."

Education

The Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf, a Japanese international school, is in Düsseldorf. It opened in 1971 and gained a permanent building in 1973.Outline of the school
"

Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf. Retrieved on 1 January 2014. In 1985 the school had 880 students. The Japanische Ergänzungsschule in Düsseldorf (デュッセルドルフ日本語補習校 ''Dyuserudorufu Nihongo Hoshūkō''), a Japanese weekend school, is a part of the institution.

Transport

In the spring of 1985, Japan Airlines started a flight from Tokyo to Düsseldorf on a twice weekly basis.

In 2014 All Nippon Airways established a flight from Tokyo to Düsseldorf. Previously ANA had a dedicated shuttle bus from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt Airport so passengers may board ANA flights at the airport, but the bus service was discontinued after ANA began its Düsseldorf flights. The bus stopped at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel.ANA Shuttle-Bus

Archive
. All Nippon Airways. Retrieved on October 29, 2016.

Institutions

The (在デュッセルドルフ日本国総領事館; Japanisches Generalkonsulat Düsseldorf) is located in the city.

Recreation

The Japan Day in Düsseldorf is held annually.

Notable residents

* Tetsuya Kakihara
*Blumio (Fumio Kuniyoshi)
* Erika Ikuta

See also

* Japanese people in Germany

References

* Kerbo, Harold and Patrick Ziltener. "Japanese Business in Germany." In: Bird, Allan (editor). ''Encyclopedia of Japanese Business and Management''. Routledge, December 6, 2001. , 9780203996324.
* Okamura, Kayko. "Chapter 4: Multicultural Identity in a Global Society: Locality and Nationality of Contemporary Children of the Japanese Diaspora in Germany" In: Adachi, Nobuko (editor). ''Japanese and Nikkei at Home and Abroad: Negotiating Identities in a Global World''. Cambria Press, 2010. 1621968979, 9781621968979.

Notes

Further reading

* Glebe, Günther. "Segregation and the ethnoscape: the Japanese business community in Düsseldorf." In: Goodman, Peach, Takenaka, White (Hrsg.): ''Global Japan. The experience of Japan’s new immigrant and overseas communities''. Routledge, Abingdon Oxford 2003, , S. 98–115.
*
Düsseldorf's Japanese outreach
"
Archive
''Bundesliga'' 2. 05.12.2013.

External links

*
Consulate-General of Japan in Düsseldorf
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japanese community of Dusseldorf
Culture in Düsseldorf