Mexico

The first Japanese emigrants, 34 in all, were sent to Mexico in 1897 as colony managers, led by Takeaki Enomoto. His name left a mark in history as this later came to be called the "Enomoto emigration." Okinawa Prefecture followed in 1904 by sending its first group of 223 emigrants. The number of Okinawan emigrants to Mexico was 92 in 1906, with a peak of 250 in 1907 followed by the number tailing off the following year.

There were several reasons for this - one major factor being the problem of unlawful immigration. Japanese emigrants to Mexico were sent to the sugar cane farms in the southern lowlands or the coalfields of the north at first. However, there were some among the emigrants who illegally entered the mainland U.S., and in order to contain the situation the Japan-U.S. Gentlemen's Agreement was made and entered into in 1907. The agreement strictly prohibited Japanese laborers from traveling to Mexico.
Japanese emigrants primarily worked in coal and copper mines, built railroads, cultivated coffee and hemp, and labored in sugar cane fields.