Japanese Internment Camps

The Japanese living in Canada during World War II (WWII) faced one of the harshest and inhumane living conditions in Canadian history. One unidentified woman remembers, “it was terrible, unbelievable. They kept us in the stalls where they put the cattle and horses.” Before WWII, the Japanese were targeted for their culture. An example is the Anti-Asiatic League that was created to limit the number of Japanese men that could immigrate to Canada. Canadians did not want the potential competitors in farming and fishing. 22,000 Japanese Canadians were interned during WWII, even though 14,000 had been Canadian born citizens. This was because the Japanese had bombed Canada’s ally, the United States. With this in mind, the Canadians viewed the

With the start of the war, the government put some time restrictions on Japanese people for being in public, Japanese fishermen were ban from Canadian waters. The government also introduced the War Measure Act in order to remove all people of Japanese origin from coast of British Columbia into internment camps in the interior parts of B.C. (Porter & Uyeyama, 1984). Those who showed even a mild resistance to this policy were sent to Prisoners of War Camps in Petawawa and Anglerin in Ontario (Sugiman, 2004, p. 54). In the internment camps people were forced to live in shacks that were hastily prepared (Sugiman, 2004, p. 54), faced daily hardships (Sugiman, 2004, p. 63), and some Japanese women were subjected to sexual harassment by RCMP guards (Sugiman, 2004, p.64). In addition, while Japanese Canadians were at the internment camps, the federal government sold all their properties such as homes and fishing boats, for less than half of their price (Porter & Uyeyama, 1984). Thus, even though many of these people were neutralized Canadians and Canadian born, the federal government failed to recognize their loyalty to Canada as Canadians, simply because of the way they looked, and treated them as enemy aliens and betrayed them during the

In February of 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066; this gave the foundation for the mass relocation of more than 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry to internment camps. This mass relocation caused Japanese Americans -on the West Coast- to be removed from their homes for the majority of World War II. After a year of surviving in addition to waiting in the camps, the Japanese Nisei were allowed to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Making up the entirety of the regiment, the Japanese Nisei fought for their country during the events of World War II. During these events, the Japanese Nisei compromised their self-pride along with their lives for their country. Notwithstanding the fact of facing the battle on two fronts -the prejudice at home plus the fight on the enemy’s front- the Japanese Nisei of the 442nd RCT (Regimental Combat Team) came back from the war as Japanese American citizens, not “Japs.”

During the World War 2 Japanese-Canadian Internment camps, Canadian citizens from so called “enemy countries”, were torn away from the lives they had built for themselves. They were taken away from their homes and families to live and work in internment camps sanctioned by the Canadian government because of their ethnic background. Of the 22,000 Japanese Canadians living in BC at the time, nearly ¾ of them were born in Canada or naturalized citizens, yet they were still prosecuted like criminals. Muriel Kitigawa, a young Japanese descendant, wrote to her brother back in Japan telling him about the hatred of other Canadians against the Japanese. Signs were posted on the highways “JAPS KEEP OUT”, and the persecution was more and more intense

The Canadians had no right in putting Japanese Canadians into internment camps. The first reason is that most of the Japanese Canadians were born in Canada and had little to no connection to Japan. This meant that they were not able to spy for the Japanese whom were an enemy with Canada at the time. It also meant that the Japanese Canadians were unable to help Japan strategize an attack against Canada due to the fact that they were unaware of what Japan had been up to. Another reason is that, the Japanese Canadians were fighting against their own ethnicity to serve Canada. They risked their lives fighting a war against Japan because they believed that they were Canadian. Finally, the Japanese had no suspicious activity going on indicating that

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the internment of Japanese Americans on the West coast of the United States. On going tension between the United States and Japan rose in the 1930’s due to Japan’s increasing power and because of this tension the bombing at Pearl Harbor occurred. This event then led the United States to join World War II. However it was the Executive Order of 9066 that officially led to the internment of Japanese Americans. Japanese Americans, some legal and illegal residents, were moved into internment camps between 1942-1946. The internment of Japanese Americans affected not only these citizens but the

On February 19, 1942, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which ripped 122,000 innocent lives out of their homes and shoved them into internment camps. The residents of Japanese ancestry were deemed guilty and suspicious solely based on their ethnicity. Not to mention that they were also feared as a security risk by America. Leaders in California, Oregon, and Washington, demanded the United States to remove them from their homes along the west coast and to be relocated in isolated inland areas. All of this was entirely fueled by America’s war hysteria after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 7, 1941.

The Japanese and Americans have a rocky history because of the harm they have both caused each other. With the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor and Americans bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, tensions have ran high between the two. Even Japanese Americans were feared after Pearl Harbor and Americans acted in a panicked manner. The fear of Japanese Americans at the spark of WWII caused American citizens to take extreme measures. Incarceration camps were set in place to contain Japanese Americans and take them out of their homes. These camps were mean to keep an eye on them and protect America from potential Japanese spies. The camps were necessary for the protection and security of the American people because America was not sure what was going on.

In addition, there were too many Japanese Americans in the camps at a era. There were 400 Japanese Americans living in a barrack at a era. A barrack is the vicinity that the campers lived while in the camps. Also, they were 10,000 people in the camps, like Manzar which is the most crowded camp that was running at the era. In total there were 125,000 Japanese Americans that were living in the camps in the southwest. The reason for so many people in the camp is because they took Japanese American were taken from all over the U.S. The Japanese Americans were taken away in 1942 and did not end until 1945. So the Japanese Americans didn't get to go home for 3 years. Furthermore the reason that so many people are in the camps is because none of them

The core of the Japanese experience in Canada lies in the shameful and almost undemocratic suspension of human rights that the Canadian government committed during World War II. As a result, thousands of Japanese were uprooted to be imprisoned in internment camps miles away from their homes. While only a small percentage of the Japanese living in Canada were actually nationals of Japan, those who were Canadian born were, without any concrete evidence, continuously being associated with a country that was nothing but foreign to them. Branded as “enemy aliens”, the Japanese Canadians soon came to the realization that their beloved nation harboured so much hate and anti-Asian sentiments that Canada was becoming just as foreign to them as

After the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese that propelled the U.S. into World War II, paranoia causes President Roosevelt to sign an executive order forcing all people of Japanese ancestry; including those born in the U.S. to be moved to concentration camps. Even in the towns where the camps were located, stores would post signs saying “No Japs Allowed”.

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese empire attacked Pearl Harbor. 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,200 injured. President Franklin D. Roosevelt immediately took action. In February 19, 1942 he signed the executive order 9066. This executive order gave military army’s immense power. They were to take everyone with Japanese ancestry to internment camps were they would be held captive. All of these military areas would exclude all the people of Japanese ancestry, just because they were considered “dangerous”. The Japanese people did not know if they would be imprisoned or deported. They would be imprisoned or deported even if they only had 1/16th of Japanese blood.

Secondly, Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor was impact on Japanese American in the U.S. It was two months later, after bombing Pearl Harbor on December, 7 1941 Japanese-American were immediately became victim of what the Japanese did. As a result, of the President Franklin Roosevelt's "signed Exclusive order 9066" that allowed military force to removed Japanese American form the anywhere into internment camps( Uchida 407). The reason why the U.S. government relocated Japanese-American into internment camps because the U.S. concerns over the loyalty of Japanese American associated with Japanese to defeat the U.S. However, no anyone found evident to prove about the U.S. concerns. In addition, Japanese American that moved to camps, they lost everything

Less than minimum wage was their only option, as the Japanese Americans lived in constant fear and never knowing if they would live to see the next day. Each camp over time, began to follow its own routine or schedule, such as, children going to school everyday and adults having jobs, even if the Japanese Americans were only paid $5 (“Japanese- American Internment”). The daily life from afar was not changed much but, up close the day-to-day structure changed tremendously. The traditional structure of the Japanese family was diminished by the informal structure of the camps, families were split apart and the respect for elders slowly disappeared (“Japanese - Behind”). Almost an everyday life of those in the camps completely changed, whether

Photograph #1 shows a large group of Japanese Americans lining up behind a table, for what appears to be their registration into a Japanese internment camp. Within the group, you can see looks of confusion and distress on most of the adult faces, as well as looks of confusion and crying from the children. Many of the Japanese Americans are carrying few belongings other than the man to the left with one bag in his hand, and the woman in front of him who has an item in her hands; it is implied that after registering their names with the United States government representatives at the table, they will be sent to the internment camps with what they have. With the confusion on their faces as well, it could be assumed that some people did not even know that they could take belongings with them to the camps. It could also be assumed that many in the line are not sure why they have to register in these camps, as they have been living normal American lives up until this point in 1942.