The New York Times profiles 66-year old Shigeru Nakayama of Airao Velho, Brazil, descendent of Japanese settlers who migrated to Brazil after World War II to build a new future. The original settlers lived in larger cities, but Nakayama preferred the isolation of deeper jungle, and is now the only survivor of not only the Japanese in the town of Airao Velho but also of any survivors there. He tries to maintain the remnants of what the article calls a “ghost town” against the jungle’s encroachment, but is alone in his effort. Nakayama is called locally the “hermit of the jungle.”
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/09/world/americas/airao-velho-brazil-shigeru-nakayama.html