Southern Japanese were being oppressed by the rest of Japan and Brazil needed people to work on coffee plantations since the Italian immigrattion slowed down. Most Japanese wanted to go there, make a bit of money and then come back but the landowners didn't end up paying them in money. Instead they paid them company "scrip" which could only be used to buy things from your employer. They were basically enslaved and the Brazilians were racist against them too. They only went to Brazil because the USA had anti-asian immigration laws.