Carlos Kasuga

Carlos Kasuga Osaka (born 26 October 1937) is a Mexican businessman, philanthropist and public speaker. He is the founder of the Mexican division of the yogurt company Yakult,[1] and he served as its director.[2] He also founded the Liceo Mexicano Japonés and served as its chair.[3] He also served as the president of the Pan American Nikkei Association (PANA, Asociación Panamericana Nikkei, APN),[2] having done so since the 1981 establishment of the organization until 1995.[4]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Kasuga and the second or maternal family name is Osaka.
Carlos Kasuga
Carlos Kasuga during a conference at the Semana PyME 2011 sponsored by the Secretaría de Economía.
Born
Carlos Kasuga Osaka

(1937-10-26) 26 October 1937
Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, Mexico
Alma materEscuela Bancaria y Comercial
OccupationDirector of Yakult (Mexican division)

Early life

His parents were immigrants from Japan.[3] His father, Tsutomu Kasuga, emigrated from Nagano Prefecture in 1930 as a result of the Great Depression.[5] His mother, Mitsuko Osaka, arrived in 1936 after Tsutomu asked his relatives in Japan to find a potential wife willing to move to Mexico. The couple originally lived in Cerritos, San Luis Potosí, where Carlos Kasuga Osaka was born in 1937.[5]

In September 1938, the Kasuga family opened a general merchant store in Cárdenas, San Luis Potosi named Carlos Kasuga.[5]

Kasuga stated that in 1942, amid tensions caused by World War II, when he was around four years old, soldiers came to his house and told his family they had to leave for Mexico City in 72 hours. He stated that later two soldiers came to the house to escort the family to the train station and that everyone in Cerritos came to the station to say goodbye to the Kasugas.[6]

The Kasuga family became part of the Japanese community of Mexico City and they opened a candy shop with the Yamazaki family after the war.[5]

Carlos Kasuga earned a degree in accounting from the Escuela Bancaria y Comercial. In 1956, Kasuga studied at the Sophia University in Tokyo.[5]

Career

During his time at Sophia University, he learned about new plastics being used in Japan's toy industry. This knowledge led to the establishment of Industrias Kay by the Kasuga family, a business that would become the main manufacturer of inflatable toys in Mexico.[5]

Philanthropy

Kasuga, along with other Nikkei, has helped promote Japanese attitudes to cleanliness and education in Acacoyagua, Chiapas, the site of the first organized Japanese settlement in Latin America. As a result of his involvement, the municipality decreased its daily production of trash from 18 tons to 5.[7] Kasuga has donated the funds for smart boards and computers at local schools.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Carlos Kasuga, dueño de Yakult, comparte el secreto de su éxito Archived March 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine." Terra Networks. 13 March 2013. Updated 14 March 2013. Retrieved on March 26, 2014.
  2. García, Jerry. Looking Like the Enemy: Japanese Mexicans, the Mexican State, and US Hegemony, 1897-1945. University of Arizona Press. February 27, 2014. ISBN 0816530254, 9780816530250. p. 195. "[...]who provided that quote, was born in Mexico to Japanese parents who immigrated in the 1930s. Carlos is the founder and president of the Japanese Mexican School, director general of Yakult, which produces a probiotic health care product, and president of the Pan American Nikkei Association."
  3. Valls, Julio. "Carlos Kasuga, el líder detrás de Yakult." Forbes Mexico. July 6, 2013. Retrieved on December 25, 2013. "Es expresidente de diversas asociaciones e instancias, como la Asociación Mexicana Japonesa, del Comité de las Celebraciones del 90 Aniversario de la Migración Japonesa a México, de la Asociación Panamericana Nikkei, de la Federación Panamericana de la Leche, y presidió y fundó el Liceo Mexicano Japonés."
  4. Asociación Peruano Japonesa, Kokusai Kyōryoku Jigyōdan. The Centennial anniversary of the Japanese immigration to Peru, 1899-1999. Japanese International Cooperation Agency, 2000. p. 210. "Acknowledgements We wish to thank Carlos Kasuga, President of the Pan-American Nikkei Association since its foundation in 1981 until 1995."
  5. McNaughton, Kora. "Carlos Kasuga Osaka: A Story of Shared Struggle and Work". Discover Nikkei. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  6. García, Jerry. Looking Like the Enemy: Japanese Mexicans, the Mexican State, and US Hegemony, 1897-1945. University of Arizona Press, February 27, 2014. ISBN 0816530254, 9780816530250. p. 153.
  7. Palacios, Karina. "Acacoyagua, el más limpio de Chiapas por cultura nipona". Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 July 2017.
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