Brazil apologizes to Japan for World War II-era persecution

Brazil has apologized to Tokyo, for the first time since the Latin American nation persecuted Japanese immigrants during World War II, according to a local media report on Friday.

President Lula da Silva's government apologized for two cases.

Brazil had forced Japanese immigrants out of their houses from the southern coastal city of Santos during the war, and in the second case, the South American nation had mistreated people imprisoned on Anchieta Island, the Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Friday.

The apology was tendered after the issues were probed by the Amnesty Commission of the Human Rights and Citizenship Ministry, a government advisory body.

“The Brazilian government seeks forgiveness for the persecution of your ancestors,” said Enea de Stutz, the commission head, on Thursday local time.

Earlier in 2022, the call for such an apology was rejected by the then right-wing government led by President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil was one of the destinations for Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century, and in 1943, nearly 6,500 Japanese were forced to leave their homes and relocated to camps or inland areas.

The South American nation's move to relocate Japanese immigrants had come after it joined the Allies during the war and cut diplomatic ties with Tokyo.

Most of those persecuted are said to be from Japan's southern island province of Okinawa.