I would like to continue on the subject of our "less than perfect system" and the misplaced power of the press/media. In the previous blogs I discussed the subject of the power of the press/media, how it can sway public opinion, the tremendous influence that it has in our society. This was demonstrated more than adequately before and during World War Two. One example of an innocent victim of the vicious press was the so-called "Tokyo Rose," Iva Toguri, who was imprisoned and her life ruined, because of the unfair and inaccurate (and outright lies) press coverage. In the "less than perfect system" category, the Hawaiian sumo-tori Jesse aka Takamiyama was an example, someone who was stripped of U.S. citizenship because of our inflexible and outdated nationality laws.
Today, just about every American is aware of gross injustice that was carried out against the Japanese-Americans during World War Two when about 120,000 from the West Coast were essentially incarcerated in "internment" and "detention" camps in hinterlands! But what many do not know is what went on behind the scenes before this infamous act, the Executive Order 9066 was carried out.
Anti-Japanese and anti-Asian sentiment was growing increasingly in America years prior to Pearl Harbor. In 1924 an Immigration Act was passed that was called the Asian Exclusion Act! It was to stop Asian immigration to America. Asians who were not U.S. citizens, in other words, not born in America, were excluded from all sorts of things, not just voting rights! Property ownership was not allowed, holding any kind office was forbidden, and like African-Americans, access to restaurants and other public places were denied. As early as 1930, the Office of Naval Intelligence began watching and compiling a list of potential "dangerous Asians." Not to be left out, the FBI got into the act in 1939, creating a Custodial Detention Index, a list of Asians (mostly Japanese) that FBI would arrest and put in detention centers if needed!
In early 1941, prior to Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt commissioned Charles Munson to conduct a study of dangers involving Japanese population in America. After an exhaustive study, Munson reported to Roosevelt that the Japanese population in America was "remarkably and extraordinarily loyal to America." His report was filed away. A month after Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt once again commissioned another person, Kenneth Ringle, to conduct a same type of study as Munson. Ringle reported almost exactly the same thing. Japanese-Americans were exceptionally loyal to America and there was nothing to fear. Yet, mysteriously, the Ringle report disappeared also, only to resurface many years later! In the meantime, the press was acting like a lynch mob. Most major press coverage insisted that a "fifth column" existed, and ambitious reporters made up stories about nefarious Japanese spies! The press, along with some politicians and Army Generals were responsible for the treatment of Japanese-Americans that followed.
Army Lieutenant General John DeWitt was put in charge of removing the Japanese population from the West Coast. The previous Munson and Ringle reports were completely ignored and the government only paid heed to the press's hysterical outcry to do something about the Japanese in America. De Witt testified before Congress and said "a Jap is a Jap and I don't like or trust any of them!" This coming from a man put in charge of taking care of Japanese situation in the West Coast! The newspapers and radio announcers throughout the country continued to spew anti-Japanese verbiage and essentially pour gasoline on fire. So, Roosevelt enacted the Executive Order 9066 in February of 1942, removing all people of Japanese descent from the West Coast!
Now, it may interest you to know that this extended to Koreans and Taiwanese, who were considered Japanese because both Korea and Taiwan were a colony of Japanese Empire! Fortunately, there were very few Korean or Taiwanese in the West Coast at the time, and those who were there passed themselves off as Chinese! Also, a person was considered Japanese if he or she was 1/16th Japanese! This means if your great-great grandfather or grandmother was Japanese, you were included in the internment order.
The earlier Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) List and the FBI's Custodial Detention Index was compiled with the help of informants. You can guess how that went! Someone who had a grudge against someone else could point a finger at a person who was not Japanese and claim that they were 1/8th or 1/16th Japanese and cause great problems! My grandchildren are 1/4 Asian, yet they do not look at all like Asians! And did you know that the Hollywood movie star Richard Gere's grandmother is Japanese? Both the ONI and FBI had no way of disproving these accusations, so many people suffered from vindictive accusations. It was a dangerous time to be Asian, or part Asian!
The media fueled the anti-Japanese sentiment, acting like a lynch mob, and politicians simply followed the media's demands. After all, politicians and the media are hand in glove in a sense, since both depend on each other to survive.
After repeated lobbying by Japanese-American groups, President Jimmy Carter agreed to look into the injustice done to the Japanese-Americans, but nothing was done. It took Ronald Reagan to finally do something in 1988, and he made a formal apology to Japanese-Americans and authorized reparations in the amount of $20,000 to each survivor of the internment camps. Interestingly, only a fraction of the people who were interned accepted the monetary offer. There are still over 80,000 survivors of the internment camps! Amazingly, the Charles Munson and Kenneth Ringle reports finally surfaced, in 2007! Its a mystery where they've been all these years, if only they could talk!
Now, aren't you glad we live in better times, or do we?
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