Transnational Diaspora Entrepreneurship

This Open Access book is the first book to share in-depth narratives outlining the lived experiences of Japanese and Latin American Diaspora Entrepreneurs in Brazil, Mexico and Japan. It focuses in on the career paths of forty-seven entrepreneurs exploring how they negotiate their identity, culture, and heritage as they set-up businesses in a country outside their country of origin. In our previous book we explored Japanese Self-Initiated Expatriate Entrepreneurs (SIEE) in Southeast Asia, yet we see a significant difference between self-initiated expatriate entrepreneurs and second and third generation diaspora Japanese Latin American entrepreneurs. This book represents the entrepreneurs, their journeys, their successes, and their struggles. It provides a framework for better understanding diaspora ethnic entrepreneurship in cases where multiple identities and cultures are intertwined. This research exposes the political, sociological, economic, and cultural complexities of diaspora entrepreneurship as a means to support oneself in a ‘foreign’, yet somewhat familiar, country of destination. This book thus creates a new understanding of what it is to be a diaspora entrepreneur of Japanese heritage in a variety of contexts.
This groundbreaking book delves into the compelling narratives of Japanese and Latin American diaspora entrepreneurs in Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. It highlights the career paths of 47 entrepreneurs, revealing how they navigate their identities, cultures, and heritage while establishing businesses far from their countries of origin. Unlike our previous book on Japanese Self-Initiated Expatriate Entrepreneurs (SIEE), this edition also uncovers the unique experiences of second and third-generation Japanese Latin American entrepreneurs. Through their stories of triumph and struggle, this book provides a deeper understanding of diaspora ethnic entrepreneurship, where multiple identities and cultures intersect. It also sheds light on the political, sociological, economic, and cultural complexities faced by these entrepreneurs as they build their lives in 'foreign' yet familiar lands. Discover a new perspective on what it means to be a diaspora entrepreneur of Japanese heritage in diverse contexts.

Dr. Kazuko Yokoyama
Kazuko YOKOYAMA was born in Otaru City, Hokkaido, Japan. Graduated from the Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics, Hokkaido University, Japan. MBA from Indiana State University, USA, and PhD in Economics from Kyoto University, Japan. Worked as an International Civil Servant at the International Labor Organization (ILO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for 9 years. After returning to Japan, she worked for 30 years at Toyo Gakuen University in Tokyo as a faculty member in charge of human resource management and global human resource development. During this time, she participated in the UN PKO Operation in Cambodia as a UN volunteer. At the time of Dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration, she implemented an international exchange program with King’s College in Nepal. For more than 20 years, she served as a part-time career counsellor for those aspiring international civil servants in Tokyo, and a part-time lecturer at Nagoya University Graduate School of International Development (GSID). Professor Yokoyama also founded International Career Development Inc. in 2022 to support individuals seeking an international career.
Dr. Sarah Louisa Birchley
With over 20 years’ experience living and working in Japan, Sarah Louisa, combines her passion for working with people with her knowledge of global business, the diaspora, and entrepreneurship. She graduated with a doctorate from the University of Bath and has conducted research in Europe, North and South America and Asia. She is a professor in the Faculty of Business Administration, Toyo Gakuen University. Sarah Louisa's research focuses on diaspora entrepreneurship, specifically how these entrepreneurs establish themselves overseas while exploring the mindset, identity, and cultural elements crucial to their global success. She has published books on Japanese expatriate entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia and has received funding from the Japanese government to explore Japanese and Nikkei entrepreneurs in Latin America and Japan. As a consultant, Sarah works with small and medium sized businesses in Japan on localization and translation projects and provides intercultural communication training for entrepreneurs entering the Japanese market. She also works on research projects related to the Welsh diaspora. Sarah Louisa is a board member of GlobalWelsh and passionate about harnessing the power of the Welsh diaspora and diaspora entrepreneurs to invest in the future of Wales.