Japanese people in Germany

There is a community of Japanese people in Germany (or Nihonjin in Germany) consisting mainly of expatriates from Japan as well as German citizens of Japanese descent.

Demographics

In 1932 Berlin was the home of about 20% of all of the Japanese people in Europe and Germany had become a centre for Japanese people sent by the Japanese Ministry of Education to study in Europe. In 1936 the Japanese people were declared Honorary Aryans by the Nazis. At the time of the 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor about 300 Japanese people lived in Berlin. Around that time fewer than 200 Japanese women and children previously in Germany returned to Japan by ship. They boarded the '' Yasukunimaru'', a ship operated by NYK Line, in Hamburg.

In 1963 there were 800 Japanese people in Hamburg, including 50 children.Kolarczyk, Arne.
Japaner feiern Jubiläum
" ''Hamburger Abendblatt''. 12 June 2013. Retrieved on 2 January 2016. "1963 lebten 800 Japaner in Hamburg. Darunter waren 50 Kinder."

In 1985 there were about 16,500 Japanese persons living in West Germany. The largest group, making up about 6,000, resided in Düsseldorf, and there were other Japanese communities in Berlin and Hamburg.Heinrich, Mark. "Corporate Japanese colony sprouts in West German city." ''Associated Press'' at the ''Houston Chronicle''. Sunday November 224, 1985. Page 1, Section 4. Available from NewsBank, Record Number HSC112453511. Available online from the Houston Public Library with a library card. "This is the heart of Duesseldorf's Japanese district, a closely knit foreign community of 6,000 people in the midst of this busy city with a population of 580,000." and "In addition, about 400,000 Japanese tourists flocked to West Germany in 1984, compared with 195,350 in 1975, according to Akio Tanaka, press attache at the JapaneseEmbassy in Bonn." and "About 16,500 Japanese live in West Germany. Smaller communities reside in Frankfurt, center of international banking in West Germany, and in Hamburg, hub for import-export and shipping firms." At this time, over 90% of ethnic Japanese households in West Germany had an affluent corporate executive as the head of the household. This executive often stayed in Germany for three to five years, and company employees arriving in Germany often move into residences formerly occupied by those returning to Japan.

Tourism

In 1975, 195,350 Japanese people visited West Germany. In 1984 that figure was about 400,000.

Education

There are five ''nihonjin gakkō'' (Japanese international elementary and junior schools operated by Japanese associations) in Germany:
* Japanische Internationale Schule zu Berlin
* Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf
* Japanische Internationale Schule Frankfurt
* Japanische Schule in Hamburg
* Japanische Internationale Schule München

The Toin Gakuen Schule Deutschland, a Japanese boarding high school/ gymnasium in Bad Saulgau classified as a ''shiritsu zaigai kyōiku shisetsu'' (overseas branch of a Japanese private school) was scheduled to close in 2012.

''Hoshū jugyō kō'' (supplementary/weekend Japanese schools) include:
*''Japanische Ergänzungsschule in Berlin e.V.'' (ベルリン日本語補習授業校 ''Berurin Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'') - Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, BerlinHalensee-Grundschule
." City of Berlin. Retrieved on April 2, 2015. "Halensee-Grundschule Joachim-Friedrich-Str. 35-36 10711 Berlin–Wilmersdorf"
*''Zentrale Schule fur Japanisch Berlin e.V.'' (共益法人ベルリン中央学園補習授業校 ''Kyōeki Hōjin Berurin Chūō Gakuen Hoshū Jugyō Kō'') - Wilmersdorf, Berlin - Established April 1997.
*''Japanische Schule Bonn e.V.'' (ボン日本語補習授業校 ''Bon Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'')
*''Japanisches Institut in Bremen'' (ブレーメン日本語補習授業校 ''Burēmen Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'')
*''Japanische Schule Köln e.V.'' (ケルン日本語補習授業校 ''Kerun Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'') - Kalk, Cologne
*''Japanische Ergänzungsschule in Dresden'' (ドレスデン日本語補習校 ''Doresuden Nihongo Hoshūkō'')
*'' Japanische Ergänzungsschule in Düsseldorf''
*''Forderschule fur Japankunde in Düsseldorf e.V.''
*''Japanisches Institut Frankfurt am Main'' (フランクフルト補習学校 ''Furankufuruto Hoshū Jugyō Kō'')
**It conducts its classes in the Japanese day school of Frankfurt's building.
*''Japanisches Institut Hamburg'' (ハンブルグ補習授業校 ''Hanburugu Hoshū Jugyō Kō'') - Halstenbek
**It was established on June 15, 1963. It has conducted its classes at the Japanische Schule in Hamburg since 1994. As of 2013 it has 100 students, with about 70% of them from mixed Japanese and German relationships. The school has mathematics, geography, and Japanese history classes, all taught in the Japanese language. As of 2013 pupils under 15 years of age have tuitions of 84 euros per month per child while those 15 and older have tuitions of 100 euros per month per child.
*''Japanische Ergänzungsschule Heidelberg e.V.'' (ハイデルベルク日本語授業補習校 ''Haideruberugu Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'')
*''Japanisches Institut in München e.V.'' (JIM; ミュンヘン日本語補習授業校 ''Myunhen Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'') - Munich
**Usually the school holds its classes in the ''Mathilde-Eller Schule'' but if that location is unavailable it holds its classes in the Munich Japanese day school building.
*''Japanische Kulturvereinigung in Nurnberg e.V.'' (ニュンベルグ補習授業校 ''Nyunberugu Hoshū Jugyō Kō'') - Nuremberg
*''Japanische Schule Stuttgart e.V.'' (シュツットガルト日本語補習授業校 ''Shutsuttogaruto Nihongo Hoshū Jugyō Kō'')住所・地図・お問い合わせ
" ''Japanische Schule Stuttgart''. Retrieved on February 14, 2015.

File:Japanische Internationale Schule Frankfurt 1.jpg, Japanische Internationale Schule Frankfurt

Notable individuals

* Ida Friederike Görres, writer and the younger sister of Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi
* Ken Asaeda, footballer
* Blumio, rapper
* Kimiko Douglass-Ishizaka, pianist, Olympic weightlifter and powerlifter
* Nic Endo, musician
* Erika Ikuta, musical actress
* Sadakichi Hartmann, photography critic and poet
* Tetsuya Kakihara, voice actor and singer
* Rubina Kuraoka, voice actress
* Liza Kennedy, fashion model
* Jun Märkl, conductor
* Alice Sara Ott, pianist
* Yuki Stalph, footballer
* Arabella Steinbacher, violinist
* Damo Suzuki, musician
* Mari Vartmann, pair skater
* Subaru Kimura, voice actor
* Takeo Ishii, yodeler

See also

* Germany–Japan relations
* List of Japanese ministers, envoys and ambassadors to Germany
* Japanese diaspora

References

{{Japanese diaspora

Asian diaspora in Germany
Ethnic groups in Germany
German