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Japan and Brazil linked by soccer, baseball, and immigration

Nicole Enomoto, a Japan-born Brazilian teen, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Of Oizumi's 40,000 residents, the local city hall says 20% were born outside Japan and just over half of those are Japanese Brazilians, among the largest concentrations in Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Juliane Soares, a Japan-born Brazilian teen, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Of Oizumi's 40,000 residents, the local city hall says 20% were born outside Japan and just over half of those are Japanese Brazilians, among the largest concentrations in Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Tatyane Kataoka, a Japan-born Brazilian teen, studies in an English lesson at a language school in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Of Oizumi's 40,000 residents, the local city hall says 20% were born outside Japan and just over half of those are Japanese Brazilians, among the largest concentrations in Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A jersey (No. 65), a cap, a bat and a glove used by Norberto Semanaka for the Chunichi Dragons baseball team, are decorated at a Brazilian restaurant he runs in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Norberto played professional baseball for the Chunichi Dragons, a game he learned in the Japanese community near Sao Paulo. Almost no one in Brazil plays baseball, unlike other hotbeds for the sport in Latin America. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A Brazilian BBQ steakhouse, left, and a supermarket offering food, drinks and items ordinarily found in Brazil, are situated in a town called Oizumi, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Of Oizumi's 40,000 residents, the local city hall says 20% were born outside Japan and just over half of those are Japanese Brazilians, among the largest concentrations in Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A man leaves Nishi-Koizumi train station painted green and yellow for the colors of the Brazilian flag, in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Of Oizumi's 40,000 residents, the local city hall says 20% were born outside Japan and just over half of those are Japanese Brazilians, among the largest concentrations in Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Silvia Semanaka, left, who was born in Brazil and now lives in Japan, talks to her teenage students during an English lesson at a language school she runs in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Tatyane Kataoka, from back left, Juliane Soares and Nicole Enomoto attended the English lesson. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

A woman walks towards a supermarket offering food, drinks and items ordinarily found in Brazil, in a town called Oizumi, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Of Oizumi's 40,000 residents, the local city hall says 20% were born outside Japan and just over half of those are Japanese Brazilians, among the largest concentrations in Japan. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Norberto Semanaka and his sister Silvia, who both were born in Brazil and now live in Japan, pose for a photo at a Brazilian restaurant he runs in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Norberto's been in Japan longer than his sister, setting down roots and running the popular Brazilian restaurant Kaminalua in the small town. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Norberto Semanaka, who was born in Brazil and now lives in Japan, poses for a photo at a Brazilian restaurant he runs in Oizumi town, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Tokyo, Tuesday, May 31, 2022. A small gallery at the entrance to the restaurant shows off his old Chunichi Dragons' baseball jersey (No. 65), cap, glove, and newspaper clippings. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Japan and Brazil linked by soccer, baseball, and immigration