9781422277454

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Introduction

unemployed or underpaid because of foreign competition. Some Japanesepeople started to think they might have a chance at a better life if they left theirhomeland. Today, about 2.6 million people of Japanese descent live outside Ja- pan, according to theAssociationof Nikkei andJapaneseAbroad. About

100,000 can be found in the Philip- pines (withsomeof thesedescended fromJapaneseCatholicswhofled in the 17th century to avoid religious persecution). Other small segments have settled in the United Kingdom (mainly for the educational opportu- nities presented by the universities inOxfordandCambridge) andPeru.