The creation of the Graduate Program in Japanese Language, Literature and Culture (Master`s Degree) within the Department of Oriental Letters (DLO) in the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences (FFLCH) at the University of São Paulo (USP) was a consequence of the consolidation of the first Undergraduate Course in Japanese Language and Literature in Brazil, established in 1963. Approved in 1995, the Graduate Program had initiated its activities in 1996, in order to develop experts in Japanese Language, Literature and Culture, who will be able to teach in Universities, as well as to research as scholars within the Brazilian cultural reality.

At the time of its establishment, the permanent staff was constituted by Professors from the Undergraduate Course and first Doctorate Degree in the Japanese field in Brazil, including Geny Wakisaka (Japanese Literature), Lídia Masumi Fukasawa (Japanese Language and Linguistics), Sakae Murakami Giroux (Japanese Culture and Theater), Tae Suzuki (Japanese Language and Linguistics) and Teiiti Suzuki (Japanese Art), as well as invited faculties from other departments: as Prof. Dr. Masato Ninomiya (Japanese Culture/International Law and Japanese Politics) from the Faculty of Law, Associate Professor Ricardo Mário Gonçalves (Japanese Religion and Thinking) and Full Professor Shozo Motoyama (Japanese Culture/History of Japanese Science and Technology) from the Department of History.

Visiting Professors from recognized Japanese universities have also attended the Graduate Program since its establishment, by the Japan Foundation Visiting Professors Fellowship Program, and by the USP Graduate Pro-Rectorate Programs Fellowships. The main activities of them are to carry out academic exchange, to teach graduate courses, and to give lectures and conferences.