Coria del Rio looks like just another southern Spanish village, but its residents carry their unique history in their genes. Nearly 650 of the 25,000 residents have the surname Japon (Japan) as an alleged sign that they descend from samurais who settled in the village in Seville province in the early 17th century.
"People here may not have a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, but they are proud of their Japanese ancestors," says culture official Cristina Isla Palma, who believes the case of Coria del Rio to be unique in Europe.
Many of the people called Japon became aware of the origin of their name only in 1992, when the Japanese city of Miyagi donated to Coria del Rio a statue of 17th century samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga Rokuyemon.
Japan's relations with Spain are believed to be its oldest with a European country. They date back to 1549 when Spanish Jesuit Saint Francisco Javier arrived in Japan hoping to convert its inhabitants to Christianity.
In 1613, Spanish monk Luis Sotelo persuaded northern Japanese feudal lord Date Masamune that his commercial fleet would find a lucrative market in the Spanish empire. A delegation of 180 people, headed by Hasekura, left for Spain to meet the king and organize trade relations.
When the group visited Coria del Rio a year later, they were received with honors. The story has it that six samurais decided to stay, because they liked fishing in the river.
"They probably liked the country life, and fell in love with local women," Isla Palma says.
The village has cultural exchanges with Japan, participates in events organized by the Japanese embassy in Madrid, and many residents have visited the Asian country.
POLITICAL PRISONERS VS DEPORTEES: Venezuela’s prosecutor’s office slammed the call by El Salvador’s leader, accusing him of crimes against humanity Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Sunday proposed carrying out a prisoner swap with Venezuela, suggesting he would exchange Venezuelan deportees from the US his government has kept imprisoned for what he called “political prisoners” in Venezuela. In a post on X, directed at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bukele listed off a number of family members of high-level opposition figures in Venezuela, journalists and activists detained during the South American government’s electoral crackdown last year. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” he wrote to Maduro. “However, I want to propose a humanitarian agreement that
ECONOMIC WORRIES: The ruling PAP faces voters amid concerns that the city-state faces the possibility of a recession and job losses amid Washington’s tariffs Singapore yesterday finalized contestants for its general election on Saturday next week, with the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) fielding 32 new candidates in the biggest refresh of the party that has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965. The move follows a pledge by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財), who took office last year and assumed the PAP leadership, to “bring in new blood, new ideas and new energy” to steer the country of 6 million people. His latest shake-up beats that of predecessors Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) and Goh Chok Tong (吳作棟), who replaced 24 and 11 politicians respectively
Young women standing idly around a park in Tokyo’s west suggest that a giant statue of Godzilla is not the only attraction for a record number of foreign tourists. Their faces lit by the cold glow of their phones, the women lining Okubo Park are evidence that sex tourism has developed as a dark flipside to the bustling Kabukicho nightlife district. Increasing numbers of foreign men are flocking to the area after seeing videos on social media. One of the women said that the area near Kabukicho, where Godzilla rumbles and belches smoke atop a cinema, has become a “real
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to