A Tokyo-based actors' group working to spread Japanese folk culture abroad is now helping the Japanese-Brazilian community preserve the culture of their ancestors.

Last year, the group Mari Mari set up a "Japanese Theater Delivery" program mainly for Japanese-Brazilian audiences in both Brazil and Japan to hold performances based on Japanese folk tales.

Noting that more than 100 years have passed since the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil in 1908, Hotaka Hagiwara, the group's leader, said efforts need to be made so that the Japanese culture of the local community of Japanese-Brazilians are not lost.