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Currently there are a sizable Japanese population in Astoria and Brooklyn as well as Fort Lee, NJ. Plus there are scattered throughout Long Island as well. Ones with families and kids in junior or high school age.
If you really want to know, check the census 2010 when data is made public.
PBergen - Great posts - I was born and raised in the Flushing/Whitestone area, and your posts about Flushing's multicultural population over the years are perhaps the MOST accurate I have read anywhere. You probably have seen posts yourself that say these nabs were predominately Italian and Greek back in the 50s through the 70s . . . omitting EVERYONE ELSE! One ONLY has to look at old Flushing High School registration roosters (and other high schools in the area) to know what ethnic groups were represented. BUT they don't and continue to misrepresent Flushing history. THANK YOU for your accuracy.
The following is from Wiki regarding the Japanese immigration to US/New York which I think tells a lot about their current population here.
"People from Japan began migrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 Meiji Restoration. Particularly after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The Immigration Act of 1924 banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.
The BAN ON IMMIGRATION produced unusually well-defined generational groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an immigrant generation, the Issei, and their U.S.-born children, the Nisei Japanese American. The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924 were—by definition—born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and English language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences. Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the Sansei. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries."
I grew up with my parents on Kissena Blvd. near 45th Ave., Flushing, from 1955 to 1970 (from age 1 to age 16). Across the hall from us in our 6-story apartment building, we had Japanese neighbors (in the early- to late-1960s). It was a family where the father worked for the Japanese Consulate (likely in Manhattan) and one of the young sons was named Toshi and was in some of my classes at P.S. 24 (there were 2 boys and 1 girl, if I recall correctly). Their family was friendly with my family and would sometimes give us gifts. They moved back to Japan but used to write letters or cards to our family and some other neighbors from our building (around the holidays). It was a very mixed tenancy in our complex of buildings: Jewish, Italian, German, Catholic, Protestant, some Hispanic (e.g., Cuban), and some East Asian (Japanese is all I recall), among others. I don't imagine they were the ONLY Japanese in the area, though I don't know even that for sure.
So that was in the early to mid-late 1960s. This was a few decades BEFORE Flushing came a major East Asian and South Asian ethnic enclave.
When my family first immigrated to Flushing in the early 80s, there was a Japanese bookstore located on Main Street roughly next to where the Main Street Starbucks is now, this should indicate that, prior to the 80s, there must have been a sizable Japanese population living there, albeit small.
Another thing to mention is that, at the corner between Union Street and Northern Boulevard, there used to be a Japanese supermarket in the early 80s that I used to go to as a teenager for savory Japanese snacks and magazines. The existence of a supermarket should also indicate that there was a sizable Japanese population in Flushing.
Last edited by surangamas; 10-30-2015 at 04:29 PM..
There are no Japanese enclaves in new york city but however the east village in manhattan is a japanese neighborhood with japanese bars, supermarkets and resturants catering to the community.
East Village is a Japanese neighborhood? I've seen some Japanese restaurants there but it doesn't really seem like a Japanese neighborhood to me.
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