Tule Lake renunciants and the postwar fight for fair treatment

Vol. 21, No. 26, December 29, 1945. 8 pages. View this issue

The fate of Japanese Americans who renounced citizenship at Tule Lake ran through this eight-page issue. The front page reported that about 3,000 of them were expected to get new hearings in January, and an editorial welcomed the move. Bill Hosokawa’s column followed Nisei who went to Japan and found hardship and disillusionment. Also on the front page, more than 2,000 Japanese Canadian evacuees petitioned to cancel their repatriation requests, and a rabbi in Toronto compared their treatment to Nazi ideals.

Elsewhere, Abe Fortas wrote on how racial fear distorted military judgment in Hawaii before Pearl Harbor, and Larry Tajiri looked at Hawaiian statehood. John Kitasako described the War Department’s Distinguished Service Cross presentation to Mary Masuda. Soldiers of the 442nd and the 100th Infantry Battalion appear in several short items, and Helen Amerman surveyed Seattle’s schools as Nisei students returned.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Japanese Canadian Evacuees Seek to Cancel Requests for Repatriation to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. More than 2,000 Japanese Canadian evacuees petitioned Canadian officials to cancel their repatriation requests, saying they signed under economic pressure and fear of being forced from camps. The petitions cite lost property, restrictions on property ownership and business, and lack of economic security as reasons for wishing to remain in Canada.
• Plan to Move Granada Camp to Denver Termed Impossible, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Colorado Governor Vivian’s proposal to dismantle the Granada relocation center and move its barracks to Denver for veterans’ housing was rejected by WRA officials as unworkable. Columnist Lee Casey also criticized the suggestion, noting the camp’s spartan conditions.
• Labor Group Adopts Program to Insure Rights of Minorities, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California CIO convention called for protecting the rights of Japanese American veterans and fighting discrimination against minority veterans. It also adopted a minorities committee report urging a campaign against job discrimination.

National

• Tule Lake Expatriates Will Receive New Hearings Soon, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is expected to give roughly 3,000 Japanese Americans who renounced citizenship or requested repatriation at Tule Lake new hearings in January. The hearings will consider claims that renunciations were made under duress, though this evidence will not automatically overturn them.

Military & Veterans

• Navy Citation Received by Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Vice Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher commended Tech. Sgt. Lawrence Mihara for his interpreting and translation services during the occupation of northern Japan in September 1945. The commendation praised his competence and conduct in keeping with the highest traditions of the armed services.
• Army Announces Inactivation of “Red Bull” Division, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department announced the inactivation of the 34th Red Bull Division, in which the 100th Infantry Battalion first saw combat in Italy. The division’s history of fighting in North Africa and Italy is recounted.
• Movietone Newsreel Shows Stilwell’s Visit to Masudas, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Fox Movietone newsreel showed General Stilwell presenting Sgt. Kazuo Masuda’s posthumous Distinguished Service Cross to his family at their Talbert, California ranch. The clip was narrated by Lowell Thomas.
• Veteran of 442nd Comes Back to Home in Michigan City, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sgt. Mitsuke Fujimoto, a Silver Star recipient with the 442nd, returned to Grand Rapids to live with his parents. He is the first of four Fujimoto sons to come home, with others still in the Army or interned in Japan.

Commentary

• Consequences of Prejudice: Pearl Harbor Has Shown Racial Fear, Hostility Can Endanger National Existence, by Abe Fortas, page 3. Undersecretary of the Interior Abe Fortas argues that racial fear of Japanese Americans in Hawaii distorted military judgment before Pearl Harbor, diverting attention from the real threat. He concludes that prejudice endangers national security and that democratic ideals can earn the loyalty of all citizens.
• The Forty-Ninth State, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri argues that the war record of Japanese American soldiers from Hawaii has removed a major obstacle to Hawaiian statehood. He analyzes the political shifts in Hawaii, including labor’s challenge to Big Five control, and the stakes for Nisei voters.
• Tule Lake Hearings, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the government’s new hearings for Tule Lake renunciants, arguing that deporting embittered people would undermine democratization efforts in Japan. It urges thorough research into the causes of Tule Lake’s segregation and unrest.
• A Happy New Year, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial looks ahead to 1946 as the end of the wartime Nisei problem and urges Japanese Americans to look beyond their own concerns toward wider minority rights, including FEPC. It calls on Nisei to connect their struggle with other Americans.
• Washington News-Letter: War Dept. Fights Anti-Nisei Discrimination on West Coast, by John Kitasako, page 5. Kitasako describes how the War Department staged the Distinguished Service Cross presentation to Mary Masuda as a deliberate rebuke to West Coast hostility. He credits WRA public relations work for amplifying the story nationally.
• From the Frying Pan: Tragic Story of Tule Lake Expatriates, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reports that Nisei who renounced citizenship and went to Japan found hardship, disillusionment, and hostility there. He argues they were misled by propaganda and urges them to learn from the experience about democracy.

Community

• Education for Cultural Unity Yearbook Appears, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The California Elementary School Principals’ yearbook on intercultural education includes articles on returning Nisei and school desegregation. The editorial praises the schools’ record on democracy while noting persistent discrimination outside them.
• General Outlook on Education in Seattle Is Encouraging, by Helen Amerman, page 5. A survey of Seattle Public Schools finds teachers and students generally welcoming returning Nisei students, with few problems reported. The article notes remaining issues such as late-semester enrollment, credit transfers, and integration into school activities.

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