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Complete list of WWII U.S. internees of Japanese descent unveiled

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So, to be fair, North Korea has another 40 years time before they need to disclose a full list of Japanese abductees if they want to match US standards, right?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It is nearly impossible to put together a 100% complete list, considering the era, and it being nearly 80 years in the past.

Governments kept good records back then. They were paper but records nonetheless. There are also survivors still alive who can cue the researchers in to any people they may have missed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Once again the "Interment Camps" instead of Concentration Camps. An again, what about those detained in South America countries and sent to US camps under orders of Washington? Any one with figures from Japanese-Peruvians who were sent as cattle in cargo vessels?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

After nearly eight decades I do not understand why only Japanese-Americans and residents were compensated by the U.S. government while German and Italian Americans were not.

The only Germans or Italians interned during WWII were not US citizens. The numbers interned were very limited. They were German or Italian passport holders, not US Citizens, and many were interned because they were known to law enforcement to be acting as agents for their fascist governments. German and Italians who were US Citizens or resident aliens were mostly left alone. There were also a lot more of them and the Federal Government feared a domestic uprising if they tried to round up and inter every German or Italian American in the country. The Japanese by comparison were legal residents or mostly US Citizens with no ties to the Japanese government so the injury was far greater.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

All the different cultures in the US have strong ties and cultures to their original roots.

That is not true. In my own case I consider the land my grandparents left a complete joke, filthy and poorly governed, hardly a fit place to live. My father was sent there in WWII to fight them. Aside from some foods we like we no cultural affinity to the place. I sometimes asked my dad if he could teach me their original language but he would sternly say "no, you are American, you speak English". No further argument was possible. Eventually I went for a visit. I thought it was a dump when I saw it first hand. I also came to realize I have zero in common with the people of the land of my grandparents, an alien society. Some years ago a neighbor of mine who is second generation US born of 100% Japanese ancestry visited Japan. Everywhere he went he was "Gaijin" and many small restaurants and stores would turn him away because he wasn't to their eyes Japanese. "Japanese only" he was told time and time again as he was turned away from places.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

*"The 442nd Infantry Regiment (Japanese: 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of **Japanese ancestry (Nisei**) who fought in World War II."*

That might have had something to do with the size of the regiment, length of service and the high number of casualties (a cannon fodder outfit).

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Wait what about the NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS, and worst yet what if these colonist blue eyes devils could compile a list of all the slaves that came through the middle passage and their answers who built America? I think they would have to chop down every tree to make more paper, Just think there wouldn't be a paper shortage and ink shortage!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Yubaru You have it twisted "the immigrants looking to the enter the US are not immigrants they are looking to enter ILLEGALLY" they are coming to the US by CHOICE and being placed in these camps. The Japanese that were put into "Containment camps" were AMERICANS and they were not in the country illegally again they were CITIZENS who were rounded up and put in these camps byFORCE!! Learn your history before you pass on misinformation. Its easy to write behind a monitor if you FEEL today you want to bring out the past and protest the ills of the past wrongs doing by the US against anyone of color do as others hard core citizens do. Get you a sign, and protest, you have that right, crying behind a monitor sharing incorrect information does nothing.

Sadly, in the current state of affairs, in the US today, it already IS happening in a manner of speaking. THe immigrants looking to enter the US from South and Central America are being held in "containment" camps and facilities.

History does repeat itself, particularly when there are people who look to pour gasoline on the flames of fear and insecurity.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

American thought of Japanese as less than human,they drew racist cartoon of Japanese,even the short name of Japanese was meant to demonize Japanese,we in America fess up to our history, Japanese should do the same.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

u_s__reamerToday  05:20 pm JST

Memories. isn't it nice to look back at negative things...

The incarceration of American citizens and the plunder of their possessions based on their ethnicity must serve as a lesson to learn from, even if the majority of humanity clearly baulk at reading books to learn from history, which is why Japanese don't wish to know about the appalling treatment of their WW2 POWs, an unpleasant sidebar of history that occupies no space in the minds of most Japanese.

Yes, most Japanese have no interest in how Allied POWS were treated during WWII. And South Koreans are not interested either even though IJA POW camps were run by Koreans., And Americans have no interest in knowing how our Marines removed Japanese skulls and gold from their teeth in the island camopaigns.

These are all atrocities during swar by militaries towards their enemy militaries.

The incarceration of Japanese-Americans was against civilian non-combatants. Big difference.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Memories. isn't it nice to look back at negative things...

Or calling it by its proper name: HISTORY, a subject highly politicized and controlled by governments and disliked by the majority of people because of its dark content. People live their lives forward with hopes for the future, but many will never realize that life can only be understood by looking backwards (history). The mistreatment of minorities by governments is too important to ignore, no matter how far back in the past. The incarceration of American citizens and the plunder of their possessions based on their ethnicity must serve as a lesson to learn from, even if the majority of humanity clearly baulk at reading books to learn from history, which is why Japanese don't wish to know about the appalling treatment of their WW2 POWs, an unpleasant sidebar of history that occupies no space in the minds of most Japanese.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

"It will never happen again,"?? It's still happening at the southern border and native Americans who were pushed into reservations.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Whatever else may be said, a Concentration Camp is a Concentration Camp and, if the war had turned against America and food, fuel, and medicine had all but disappeared as it did in the brutal Winter of 1944-1945 in Germany, the fate of the Japanese-Americans in the Concentration Camps could have been very similar to the fate of the Jewish-Germans in the Concentration Camps. A fact that is often left out of this story is that, while their relatives were imprisoned by a racist U.S. western establishment (only ostensibly the U.S. central government), their sons were doing something quite different. From Wikipedia:

"The 442nd Infantry Regiment (Japanese: 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-generation American soldiers of Japanese ancestry (**Nisei)** who fought in World War II."

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Sadly, in the current state of affairs, in the US today, it already IS happening in a manner of speaking. THe immigrants looking to enter the US from South and Central America are being held in "containment" camps and facilities.

Well the Japanese in the US were all legal immigrants/citizens, these immigrants from South and Central America are all illegal immigrants, there is no comparison, none.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

After nearly eight decades I do not understand why only Japanese-Americans and residents were compensated by the U.S. government while German and Italian Americans were not. The later two were interned or restricted and their history is consistently swept under the U.S. government's rug.

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Technically, yes, Koreans were not "locked up" and did "fight the allies", but as usual (sigh) you're brooming a LOT under the carpet to push your milk and honey version of (imperial) Japan.

Dude, really?

Well said blue!!!

-11 ( +5 / -16 )

Complete list of WWII U.S. internees of Japanese descent unveiled

Japan could learn from this. It is honorable to solemnly admit and reflect on the mistakes of the past in order to learn from them and forge a brighter future.

With Japan though, I'm not holding my breath.

-7 ( +8 / -15 )

Drat ! The following should read "There was, significantly, no internment for Japanese Americans and residents. in Hawaii."

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

"Part of the interest lies in why Japanese and Japanese Americans were interned and German and Italian Americans were not."

In fact German and Italian Americans were interned. A Google / Wikipedia check will confirm this. Japanese-Americans were compensated. German and Italian Americans were not. A bill for compensation for G. and I. Americans was put forward in Congress  in 2003 but failed.

Another thing. Internment for Japanese Americans was limited to California, Oregon and Washington. There was, significantly, no internment for Japanese Americans and residents.

Japanese were arrested in Latin American. But so were Germans, including Jews.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

80 years later? What a joke.

Those who lost everything got compensated with peanuts.

Many of the fertile lands of California were borne from the blood and sweat of Japanese immigrants who took once "infertile" "garbage" land into what it has become today. They lost everything once they were imprisoned and forced into camps losing everything. May all those that have suffered rest in paradise.

9 ( +13 / -4 )

One of the many rotten pots in the history of the land of the slave, home of the scared..

Memories. isn't it nice to look back at negative things instead of looking to the future and the friendship Japan and America now enjoy? 

What a romantic way to define 21st century colonialism..

2 ( +8 / -6 )

How many Japanese-Americans are there?

1.5 million.

How many Japanese-Americans live in Hawaii?

The Japanese would quickly become one of the island kingdom's largest ethnic groups. Today, about 14% of Hawaii's population has Japanese ancestry. They now number about 16.7% of the islands' population, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.

Southern California has the largest Japanese American population in North America and the city of Gardena holds the densest Japanese American population in the 48 contiguous states.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Ossan American American Japanese mostly live in cities now,they are cultured liberals,they do not have an indentity with Japan

All the different cultures in the US have strong ties and cultures to their original roots.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Ossan American American Japanese mostly live in cities now,they are cultured liberals,they do not have an indentity with Japan

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

Internment is an interesting slice of history and worthy of study. Part of the interest lies in why Japanese and Japanese Americans were interned and German and Italian Americans were not. The difference in treatment could not have been clearer. Just for context, wartime America still had Jim Crow in the south, so the motivation behind treating Asians one way and Europeans another should not need much explaining.

It also seems that Japanese on the West Coast suffered much worse than those in New York, who were not forcibly resettled. The artist/designer Osamu Noguchi, yes, he of the "AkarI" paper light shades, was living in New York and actually volunteered to go into the camps because he naively thought he would be able to art classes and improve the conditions there. You can see him talk a little about his experience in the UK "The World At War" documentary series from the 1970s.

8 ( +12 / -4 )

Michael MachidaToday  08:18 am JST

Memories. isn't it nice to look back at negative things instead of looking to the future and the friendship Japan and America now enjoy? And isn't this just the thing Japan complains about when South Korea complains about the past as well? 

No comparison. The US rounded up and locked up J-Americans while it was fighting a war with Japan.

Japan never locked up Koreans (who were J-citizens) and Koreans were fighting the allies.

The US has apologized and compensated the J-A victims and Japan does not press the matter further.

Japan has apologized and compensated South Korea countless times but they have made playing "victim of Japan" a national policy, perpetuating bad relations. Fortunately the new Yoon administration sees the follishness of this policy and is trying to change it.

5 ( +19 / -14 )

120,000 people of Japanese descent who were held in internment facilities across the United States during World War II have been unveiled in Los Angeles.

120,000 civilians lost their homes, businesses, and personal belongings.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Michael @ 8.18am

Well said Michael.

To Yubara @ 7.50am- you missed the word "illegal" between "THe and immigrants..."

-6 ( +7 / -13 )

Memories. isn't it nice to look back at negative things instead of looking to the future and the friendship Japan and America now enjoy? And isn't this just the thing Japan complains about when South Korea complains about the past as well? No. Not me. I look to the future of our friendship between America and Japan. Positive Wins! Not negative.

-6 ( +12 / -18 )

If my memory is correct. Wasn’t George Takei and Pat Morita interned…

12 ( +12 / -0 )

"It will never happen again," Sahara said, adding it is important to learn about such incidents from the past to make sure "we don't repeat history."

Sadly, in the current state of affairs, in the US today, it already IS happening in a manner of speaking. THe immigrants looking to enter the US from South and Central America are being held in "containment" camps and facilities.

History does repeat itself, particularly when there are people who look to pour gasoline on the flames of fear and insecurity.

-5 ( +8 / -13 )

Complete and comprehensive mean two different things. The title is misleading at best.

It is nearly impossible to put together a 100% complete list, considering the era, and it being nearly 80 years in the past.

The title of this article SHOULD be "Comprehensive" as it leaves room for error, where "complete" infers perfection.

Words matter!

4 ( +10 / -6 )

Not only were they put in concentration camps, but they also had all their assets stolen. Many were fishermen so they lost their boats.

15 ( +20 / -5 )

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