On June 12th, in the Peruvian captial of Lima, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for wards being added to the Clínica Centenario Peruano Japonesa, or "Hospital of the 100th Anniversary of Japanese Migration to Peru." It has been 110 years since Japanese people first migrated to Peru, and the wards are being built as part of a project celebrating this 110th anniversary.

The building of the Clínica Centenario Peruano Japonesa was begun in 1999 to celebrate the 100th aniversary of the migration. It opened its doors in 2006. Each month the hospital receives more and more patients, and at present roughly 450 outpatients pass through its doors every 24-hours. The hospital has two basements and 9 floors above ground. The new project will give it 4 additional floors. When completed, it is planned that the four floors will be used for inpatients. Further, the construction will enable the hospital to increase the number of beds from 38 to 112, giving it the capacity to handle long-term inpatient cases.

The hospital is the newest in Lima, and is popular among Peruvians because it charges very low rates. Non-nikkei Peruvians account for 90 percent of its patients.

About 100 members of the Peru Nikkei Association, the Japanese ambassador to Peru and the Peruvian health minister attended the groundbreaking ceremony, along with President Takeju Ogata of The Nippon Foundation. The foundation is providing 300 million yen -- roughly 60 percent -- of the building costs.