Assaí
Municipality in South, Brazil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Assaí is a municipality in the state of Paraná in the South Region of Brazil.[2][3][4][5] Founded by Japanese immigrants in 1932, the city is noted for having the highest percentage of Asian Brazilians in the country.[6]
History
Assaí was founded in 1932 by Japanese migrants, becoming a municipality on January 28, 1944. Assaí is among a number of small cities in Brazil founded by Japanese immigrants, including Bastos and Pereira Barreto in São Paulo.[7]
The city was initially named Assailand, before ultimately being renamed in 1944.[6]
Asian heritage
The city has the highest reported percentage of Asian Brazilians in the country, comprising 11.5% of the population.[8] In 2018, the city inaugurated a Japanese-style castle in a ceremony attended by around 4,000 spectators. The castle was modeled by Himeji Castle in Japan's Hyōgo Prefecture, which itself is a "sister province" of the state of Paraná.
Politics and government
In the second round of the 2022 Brazilian general election, Assaí voted for Jair Bolsonaro with 70.43% of the vote, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva taking 29.57% of the vote.[9]
The city's current mayor is Michel Angelo Bomtempo, a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).[10][11]
