A relatively large number of the nisei (second-generation) unlike third or fourth generations, who were born during or after the war, understand Japanese, since many were born around the 1920s and it was popular among them to go to Japanese schools because of the need they perceived to continue Japanese culture and because education expenses in Japan were lower than that of their countries of residence; and some of them learned Japanese directly from their native Japanese parents.
なお、1920年代前後に出生している二世の多くは、日本での教育費用が居留国のそれと比べて、安価であった事、または、日本文化を継承する目的で日本の学校に通う事がある種の流行になった時期があり、また、ネイティブの一世の親から直接日本語を習っていた場合がある為、戦時中や戦後直後に生まれた三世や四世と比べて日本語を理解出来る人口が比較的多い。