Japanese community of Düsseldorf

Center for Japanese business activity in Germany

Eko House of Japanese Culture NEC Europe headquarters in Düsseldorf

There is a Japanese community in Düsseldorf, Germany.[1] The city and its surrounding regions has hosted Japanese companies since the 1950s,[1] and as of 2021[update] there are 636 Japanese-related companies in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.[2] Around 7,000 (2021) Japanese nationals live in its capital city Düsseldorf.[3]

## History[edit]

In 1950 there was one Japanese person registered as living in Düsseldorf.[4] Beginning in the mid-1950s, the Japanese companies returning to Germany in the post-World War II period were mostly settling in Düsseldorf,[5] while in the pre-World War II period the Japanese population was concentrated in Hamburg.[6] Arikawa stated that the Japanese settlement began when ten businesspersons from Tokyo, trying to buy metal ore and machinery for Japan, established their businesses in Düsseldorf. Due to this settlement, information about the Ruhr region circulated within Japanese companies.[7] 300 Japanese were registered as living in the city by 1960. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1966. There were 100 Japanese companies in the Düsseldorf area in 1968.[4]

Due to Düsseldorf's central location within Europe and proximity to other areas in Europe, its location in the Ruhr industrial area, and the proximity to the river port Duisburg, Japanese companies had a preference for Düsseldorf as they established European operations in the 1970s.[6] By 1973 2,000 Japanese were registered as living in Düsseldorf and 200 Japanese companies were located in the area. By 1980 the number of Japanese companies had increased to 300.[4] As of 1985 there were 6,000 Japanese residents.[7] In 1990 there were 30 Japanese production facilities in the city. By 1992, 7,443 Japanese were registered as living in the city.[4]

In 1985 the general manager of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Düsseldorf, Akira Arikawa, stated that of all of the cities in the world outside Japan, Düsseldorf had the highest concentration of Japanese residents.[7]

Due to the reunification of Germany making Berlin the capital of the country, the decline in the Japanese economy, and the European Single Market causing Japanese companies to move to places with lower costs, since 1992 there had been a decline in the Japanese community. Many of the Japanese companies had shifted to the Netherlands. In the late 1990s the Düsseldorf area housed 520 Japanese companies. In 1999 about 4,500 Japanese people lived in and around Düsseldorf. By the late 1990s there were almost no Japanese production facilities in Düsseldorf, or in all of Germany. Due to the infrastructure and support from the Japanese community, including the Japanese school and the Buddhist centre, many companies that had moved out of Düsseldorf in the early 1990s, especially those that had moved to Berlin, began moving back to Düsseldorf by the late 1990s.[4]

In 2001 Harold Kerbo and Patrick Ziltener, authors of the article "Japanese Business in Germany," wrote that "Dusseldorf remains the center for Japanese business activity in Germany."[4]

## Geography[edit]

Japan Center Düsseldorf, including Hotel Nikko Düsseldorf to the right Since 2021 Immermannstraße (インマーマン通り, Inmāman Dōri) has bilingual (German/Japanese) street signs.

As of 1985 Immermann Street had a concentration of Japanese businesses. In 1985 Mark Heinrich of the Associated Press (AP) stated that the Hotel Nikko Düsseldorf on Immermann Street was the center of the Japanese community. Japan Airlines established the hotel in 1978.[7] The Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf is located in Niederkassel,[8] and it previously had a campus in Oberkassel.[7]

The area around Immermann Street where Japanese offices and stores are concentrated is sometimes called "Little Tokyo",[9] "Japantown",[10] or "Klein-Tokio am Rhein".[11]

## Media[edit]

In 1977 a weekly Japanese newspaper was established. Düsseldorf resident Tsunejiro Takagi was the publisher of Life in Europe, which was Europe's first Japanese language newspaper and as of 1985 had a circulation of 6,000. Its coverage included European Economic Community (EEC) developments, consumer news, a column on Japanese company representatives, area Japanese sports, and travel news.[7]

## Economy[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2015)

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Shochiku (松竹, Shōchiku), a Japanese supermarket

As of 1985, 300 Japanese multinational companies operated in the Düsseldorf area and had invested over $600 million U.S. dollars in that area. As of that year, the multinationals included Mitsubishi and Nippon Steel.[7]

As of the 2010s, about 421 Japanese companies had operations in the Düsseldorf area.[12]

A selection of some Japanese companies in Düsseldorf: Sumitomo Deutschland GmbH (Industrial), Asahi Kasei Europe GmbH (Chemicals), Hitachi Europe GmbH (Electronic), Sompo International (Insurance), Daikin (Chemicals), Komatsu Germany GmbH (Industry), Tokio Marine Europe S.A., Düsseldorf (Insurance).[13]

Düsseldorf is the most important location for Japanese financial institutions. Three of the biggest Japanese credit institutions have their German headquarter in the financial center Düsseldorf: MUFG Bank (Europe) N.V. Germany Branch, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Düsseldorf Branch, SMBC EU AG, Düsseldorf Branch and Mizuho Bank Ltd., Düsseldorf Branch. Furthermore, Chartered Investment Germany (CIG) is a German subsidiary of the Japanese securities trading bank PWM Japan Securities.[13]

## Demographics[edit]

As of 1985 over 90% of ethnic Japanese households in West Germany had an affluent corporate executive as the head of the household. This executive often stays in Germany for three to five years.[7]

As of 1985 company employees arriving in Germany often move into residences formerly occupied by those returning to Japan.[7]

As of 2005 the Japanese population was about one third of that of London.[14]

Japanese nationals:

* 7,961 (2008)[15]
* 8,451 (2018)[3]
* 7,144 (2021)[3]

## Culture[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2022)

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Eric Zielke, a professor at University of Düsseldorf, stated around 1985 that Japanese often only interact with Germans when doing and being involved with business. He concluded that "the Japanese have no particular interest in becoming integrated into German society" because many are in Germany for only a three to five-year period, and that "The Japanese form a colony, remaining unobtrusive and keeping to themselves."[7]

## Education[edit]

Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf

The Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf, a Japanese international school, is in Düsseldorf. It opened in 1971 and gained a permanent building in 1973.[16] In 1985 the school had 880 students.[7] The Japanische Ergänzungsschule in Düsseldorf (デュッセルドルフ日本語補習校 Dyuserudorufu Nihongo Hoshūkō), a Japanese weekend school, is a part of the institution.[17]

## Transport[edit]

In the spring of 1985, Japan Airlines started a flight from Tokyo to Düsseldorf on a twice weekly basis.[7]

In 2014 All Nippon Airways established a flight from Tokyo to Düsseldorf.[18] Previously ANA had a dedicated shuttle bus from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt Airport so passengers may board ANA flights at the airport, but the bus service was discontinued after ANA began its Düsseldorf flights.[12] The bus stopped at the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel.[19]

## Institutions[edit]

The Consulate-General of Japan, Düsseldorf [ja] (在デュッセルドルフ日本国総領事館; Japanisches Generalkonsulat Düsseldorf) is located in the city.

## Recreation[edit]

The Japan Day in Düsseldorf is held annually.

## Notable residents[edit]

* Tetsuya Kakihara
* Blumio (Fumio Kuniyoshi)
* Erika Ikuta

## See also[edit]

* North Rhine-Westphalia portal
* Japan portal

* Japanese people in Germany

## References[edit]

* Kerbo, Harold and Patrick Ziltener. "Japanese Business in Germany." In: Bird, Allan (editor). Encyclopedia of Japanese Business and Management. Routledge, December 6, 2001. ISBN 0203996321, 9780203996324.
* Okamura, Kayko. "Chapter 4: Multicultural Identity in a Global Society: Locality and Nationality of Contemporary Children of the Japanese Diaspora in Germany" In: Adachi, Nobuko (editor). Japanese and Nikkei at Home and Abroad: Negotiating Identities in a Global World. Cambria Press, 2010. 1621968979, 9781621968979.

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ a b デュッセルドルフ市概要 [About Dusseldorf City]. The Consulate-General of Japan, Düsseldorf (in Japanese). 2009-02-01. Archived from the original on 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2022-10-23.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. ^ 海外進出日系企業拠点数調査 2021年調査結果（令和3年10月1日現在）（Excel） [Statistics on Japanese-related companies overseas 2021 (as of 1 October 2021)] (in Japanese). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). 2022-08-04. tab "欧州" cell C30. Archived from the original on 2022-10-23. Retrieved 2022-10-23. "在デュッセルドルフ総領事館 636"`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
* web pages linking to yearly files: 海外進出日系企業拠点数調査
* Regions of survey: "Die Japanischen Auslandsvertretungen in Deutschland". Botschaft von Japan in Deutschland (Embassy of Japan in Germany) (in German). "Japanisches Generalkonsulat Düsseldorf Konsularbereich: Nordrhein-Westfalen"
3. ^ a b c 海外在留邦人数調査統計 集計結果 令和4年（2022年）版（令和3年10月1日現在）（Excel） [Annual report of statistics on Japanese nationals overseas 2022 (as of 1 October 2021)] (in Japanese). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). 2022-08-04. tab "都市別邦人数上位５０位". Archived from the original on 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2022-10-22.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
* tab "統計の目的等": (excerpts) 3. Scope of this survey: Japanese nationals who are or will be residing overseas for a long term (over 3 months). Emigrants or descendants (Nikkeijin) who do not have Japanese citizenship are not counted.
* tab "都市別邦人数上位５０位"
* 2018 CE; cell L39:M39 "27 デュッセルドルフ 8,451"="Dusseldorf 8,451"
* 2021 CE; cell C43:D43 "31 デュッセルドルフ 7,144"="Dusseldorf 7,144"
* This file does not contain statistics for North Rhine-Westphalia
* web pages linking to yearly files: latest data, past data (2012–), archive (1997–2018)
4. ^ a b c d e f Kerbo and Ziltener, p. 230.
5. ^ Kerbo and Ziltener, p. 229-230.
6. ^ a b Kerbo and Ziltener, p. 229.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Heinrich, Mark (November 24, 1985). "Corporate Japanese colony sprouts in West German city". Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. p. 1 section 4 - via NewsBank, Record Number HSC112453511. "Duesseldorf has the highest percentage of Japanese residents of any city outside Japan, says Akira Arikawa, general manager of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. The lure: business opportunities in the highly industrialized Ruhr region."
* Available online from the Houston Public Library with a library card.
8. ^ "デュッセルドルフ日本人学校トップ." Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf. Retrieved on 1 January 2014. "Niederkasseler Kirchweg 38, 40547 Düsseldorf GERMANY"
9. ^ "Warum es die Japaner nach Düsseldorf zog". Remscheider General-Anzeiger (in German). 2020-03-12. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
10. ^ Gertzen, Ann-Christin (2014-11-26). "Japan-Gemeinde in Düsseldorf: Nase putzen ist unhöflich". Süddeutsche Zeitung. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
11. ^ "Düsseldorf für Japan-Fans: Klein-Tokio am Rhein." Der Spiegel. Wednesday 27 February 2013.
12. ^ a b "Yokoso! All Nippon Airways (ANA) to Offer Daily Connection between Düsseldorf and Tokyo Starting March 30 Archived 2018-08-25 at the Wayback Machine." Press release from ANA at the website of convention bureau DÜSSELDORF. Retrieved on October 26, 2016.
13. ^ a b "Mitgliedsunternehmen". Japanische IHK zu Düsseldorf e.V. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
14. ^ White, Paul. "The Japanese in London: From transience to settlement?" In: Goodman, Roger, Ceri Peach, Ayumi Takenaka, and Paul White (editors). Global Japan: The Experience of Japan's New Immigrant and Overseas Communities. Routledge, June 27, 2005. ISBN 1134431457, 9781134431458. p. 89.
15. ^ 平成22年の海外在留邦人数調査統計 [Annual report of statistics on Japanese nationals overseas 2011 (as of 1 October 2010)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). 2011-09-01. p. 16\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
* p1: (excerpts) 1.2 Scope of this survey: Japanese nationals who are or will be residing overseas for a long term (over 3 months). Emigrants or descendants (Nikkeijin) who do not have Japanese citizenship are not counted.
* p16: 2.7.2 Population (total (long term stay + permanent)) trends per city:
* 1 October 2008: 24 Dusseldorf 7,961
* 1 October 2009: 22 Dusseldorf 8,187
* 1 October 2010: 23 Dusseldorf 8,067
* p20: 2.7.2 Population (long term stay) trends per city:
* 1 October 2008: 18 Dusseldorf 6,914
* 1 October 2009: 18 Dusseldorf 6,926
* 1 October 2010: 18 Dusseldorf 6,735
* pp48–49: デュッセルドルフ総領事館([within regions covered by] The Consulate-General of Japan, Düsseldorf):
* p48: Population (total): 12,040
* p49: Japanese-related companies (100% or jointly owned): 500
* p66: Regions of survey: 在デュッセルドルフ総領事館(The Consulate-General of Japan, Düsseldorf): The State of North Rhine-Westphalia
* web pages linking to the file: archive
16. ^ "Outline of the school." (Archive) Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf. Retrieved on 1 January 2014.
17. ^ Home page (Archive). Japanische Internationale Schule in Düsseldorf. Retrieved on 31 March 2014.
18. ^ "ANA kommt täglich nach Düsseldorf". Flug Revue. 2013-12-18. Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
19. ^ "ANA Shuttle-Bus" (Archive). All Nippon Airways. Retrieved on October 29, 2016.

## Further reading[edit]

* Glebe, Günther. "Segregation and the ethnoscape: the Japanese business community in Düsseldorf." In: Goodman, Peach, Takenaka, White (Hrsg.): Global Japan. The experience of Japan’s new immigrant and overseas communities. Routledge, Abingdon Oxford 2003, ISBN 0-415-29741-9, S. 98–115.
* "Düsseldorf's Japanese outreach." (Archive) Bundesliga 2\. 05.12.2013.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Japanese community in Düsseldorf.

* (in German) Consulate-General of Japan in Düsseldorf
* (in Japanese) Consulate-General of Japan in Düsseldorf

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