Toru Takegama's spirits were high when he left Japan in July 1956 for the Dominican Republic under a government-backed emigration project.
Takegama dreamed of becoming a successful farmer in the Caribbean country. But his hopes were shattered when he saw that the land his family was given was a dried-up wasteland with no water supply.
"How are we supposed to harvest anything here?" Takegama, 65, recalled asking when he saw his land allotment for the first time. He emigrated to the Dominican Republic with his parents and four siblings.