The Japanese Canadian Question: WWII

Japanese Aggression… Japanese expansion in East Asia began in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria and continued in 1937 with a brutal attack on China. On February 24th, 1933, Japan is no longer part of the League of Nations.

Japan starts to take over more land by occupying Indonesia, parts of China, the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, and Singapore.

The Tripartite Pact On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, thus entering the military alliance known as the "Axis."

Embargo Against Japan the United States, Britain and the Netherlands stopped trade with Japan. Therefore, Japan could not buy oil to keep the army going.

Canadian Sentiment… By the beginning of World War II in 1939, the population of British Columbia included around 21,000 Canadians of Japanese origin. Many Canadians believed that Japanese Canadians would not fit into Canadian society like Europeans could. Prime Minister Mackenzie King himself expressed a belief in “the extreme difficulty of assimilating Japanese persons in Canada”

Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbour! December 7, 1941, President Roosevelt declares it “The Day of Infamy”.

The Battle of Hong Kong Hong Kong surrendered on Christmas Day 1941. Of the 1,975 Canadians, 290 were killed and 493 wounded. 260 died in the prison camps in Hong Kong and Japan.

Do we need proof? Japanese submarines are known to have been operating off the coast of British Columbia The Canadian military said there is no threat by Japanese Canadians but people did not believe this.  

What should be done? Canadians started to hate Japanese Canadians and began to fear them in British Columbia. 1,200 fishing boats were taken by the Canadian navy because they thought the Japanese were spies

The Canadian War Measures Act 1914 – “gave the government power to ensure the security, defence, peace, order, and welfare of Canada.” Used to imprison CANADIANS of German, Ukrainian, and Slavic descent in WWI. 1939- War Measures Act was put in place again for Japanese Canadians

Take a stand…. what is more important: National Security Individual Rights …keep in mind that people make decisions based on what they know at the time!

Japanese Internment in Canada ■ The movement of 23,000 Japanese Canadians during the war was the largest mass exodus in Canadian history.

Internment Timeline 1941 (December 8): 1,200 Japanese Canadian fishing boats are impounded. Japanese language newspapers and schools close. 1942 (January 16): Removal begins of Japanese immigrant males from coastal areas. 1942 (February 24): All male Japanese Canadian citizens between the ages of 18 and 45 ordered to be removed from 100-mile-wide zone along the coast of British Columbia. 1942 (February 26): Mass evacuation of Japanese Canadians begins. Some given only 24 hours notice. Cars, cameras and radios confiscated for “protective measures”. Curfew imposed. 1942 (March 4): Japanese Canadians ordered to turn over property and belongings to Custodian of Enemy Alien Property as a “protective measure only”. Eventually these assets were sold and proceeds used to pay for the interment 1942 (March 25): British Columbia Security Commission initiates scheme of forcing men to road camps and women and children to “ghost town” detention camps.  

Conditions in the Camps Housed in huts with two bedrooms and a kitchen shared by two families No electricity or running water until 1943

Camp Conditions continued Hundreds of women and children were squeezed into livestock buildings Slept on beds covered in straw for comfort Conditions were so poor that food packages were sent from Japan through the Canadian Red Cross to those suffering in the camps

End of the War In 1945, the government wanted the Japanese to go to Japan or move to eastern Canada. Even though the war was over, it was illegal for Japanese Canadians to return to Vancouver until 1949. 4000 Japanese left the country.

Watch Watch: David Suzuki- Internment Camp (2 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMk_RRO5ZUw Watch: CBC News: Apology to Japanese Canadians (4 min) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxVZtQULIMQ&feature=related

Acknowledging Wartime Wrongs Forty-three years after the end of the war, Prime minister Brian Mulroney apologized for what the government did to the Japanese Canadians The government gave $21,000 for each individual directly wronged (reparation payment) In 1988 Canada apologized for this miscarriage of justice, admitting that the actions of the government were influenced by racial discrimination. The government signed a redress agreement providing a small amount of money compensation.