Criollo Colonialism: Japanese immigrants settlement in the Dominican Republic and the Colonization against Blackness

• In Event: Asian Migrations and Settler Colonialism in Latin America

Abstract

The act of suing the Japanese government for breach of contract was significant for the Japanese community. They were perceived by the Japanese embassy in the Dominican Republic and Japanese officials in Japan as no longer being benevolent children of the emperor. Hidaka, who was also one of the lead representatives of the claimant group stated that was because of his experience and life in the Dominican Republic that led them to sue the Japanese government. In Japan, he explained further, they would have “seen the government wrongful actions, but would not have said anything.” He and other Japanese Dominicans claimed a “transformation” because of living in the DR, it was more than the selfish act of the government, it was “this space where they believed they’ve been woken up” and inspired to take charge. They described the border region, as injecting them with agency, with “una mentalidad tigerahe” (locally understood as savvy, street hustler's strategies).” This paper will examine the Japanese immigrant experience in the Dominican Republic as settler colonialism and, in doing so, make visible a national power structure where the Japanese immigrants, invested in financial compensation for promised land are part and parcel of the Dominican national project to colonize blackness and poverty.

Author

• Yadira Perez Hazel, Melbourne University