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How did a nation turn against its own people?

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Chapter I: Displacement
December 7, 1941

Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

Japan attacks the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 people. The F.B.I. moves quickly, arresting Japanese immigrants—many of them respected community leaders—on suspicion of being threats to national security. Within 48 hours, 1,291 people are taken into custody.

How did the F.B.I. know who to arrest?
Fear of Japanese spies and informants existed in the U.S. long before World War II. As early as 1917, the F.B.I. kept tabs on plantation labor organizers in Hawai’i, looking for so-called “Japanese subversives.” In the years leading up to Pearl Harbor, federal investigators even turned to the Japanese American Citizens League, which provided names of people suspected of disloyalty. Community leaders—such as Japanese language school teachers, Shinto priests, and kenjinkai heads—became prime targets. Using pre-compiled lists, federal agents and local law enforcement moved swiftly, arresting those blacklisted as potential saboteurs within hours of the attack.
Eyewitness: Nikki Nojima Louis
Nikki Nojima Louis was celebrating her fourth birthday when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. That evening, the F.B.I. entered her home and arrested her father. “They didn’t have to explain anything to you. No due process. The grounds were: you were Japanese,” she says. “We never lived together as a family again.” To learn more about Nikki’s family’s experience, click here.

Source: ddr-densho-37-768, Courtesy of the Densho Digital Repository, National Archives and Records Administration Collection
December 8, 1941

U.S. takes swift action

The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asks Congress to declare war on Japan. Soon after, the Justice Department closes the borders with Canada and Mexico to anyone of Japanese ancestry, regardless of citizenship. A few weeks later, it grants authorization for search warrants targeting homes where “enemy aliens” live. In the months that follow, thousands of Japanese American households are raided, with federal agents seizing anything that could be perceived as a weapon.

Eyewitness: Hisao Homma
Hearing rumors about potential home raids, Hisao Homma’s father drained his koi pond and burned photographs and documents that could trace his family back to Japan. When the F.B.I. arrived at his home in Sawtelle, CA, they confiscated his family’s radios and heirloom Japanese swords. To learn more about Hisao’s experience, click here.
February 25, 1942

The first Japanese Americans are displaced

The U.S. Navy orders all Japanese Americans living on Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles—about 500 families—to leave within 48 hours. Many residents, who rely on fishing for their livelihood, are forced to sell their boats and equipment at a loss before being uprooted from their homes.

Eyewitness: Kiyoshi Shigekawa
Kiyoshi Shigekawa and his wife Misako met on Terminal Island and married just six months before the Pearl Harbor attack. “Because Terminal Island was next to a naval air station, they had 48 hours to leave,” recounts their daughter Marlene. Forced to abandon their home and Misako’s family’s drug store, they left for Anaheim, where Kiyoshi grew up. To learn more about Kiyoshi’s experiences, click here.

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration
March 1, 1942

“Assembly Centers” open

The Wartime Civil Control Administration sets up 16 “assembly centers”—makeshift concentration camps meant to temporarily hold Japanese Americans until more permanent camps are built. Many of these centers are located at fairgrounds and racetracks to minimize construction needs. At the racetracks, some families are forced to live in repurposed horse stables.

How were assembly centers different from camps?
As temporary holding facilities for Japanese Americans during the early stages of their incarceration, “assembly centers” were often overcrowded and had limited facilities. Some families recall sleeping in foul-smelling horse stables, using makeshift “pillows”—sacks stuffed with hay.
Eyewitness: Taishi Ikuta
At Santa Anita Assembly Center, Taishi Ikuta and her sister were assigned to live in a horse stable. They used sheets and blankets to separate their living quarters and create makeshift partitions when using the public latrines. “They lived in Seabiscuit’s stall. That was the high point of their experience,” says her son Paul. To learn more about Taishi’s experience, click here.

Source: ddr-densho-151-150, Courtesy of the Densho Digital Repository, Dorothea Lange Collection
March 2, 1942

West Coast becomes a military exclusion zone

General John L. DeWitt, head of the Western Defense Command, designates sections of the West Coast as military zones, barring people of Japanese ancestry from certain areas. A curfew goes into effect in these areas from 8pm to 6am, severely restricting movement.

While many Japanese Americans feel they have no choice but to comply, a lawyer named Minoru Yasui challenges the curfew’s legality. To force a court case, he deliberately violates the order and turns himself in at a Portland police station, hoping to test the law in court.

Eyewitness: Fumiko Takayanagi
Fumiko Takayanagi’s father Tokutaro owned a flower nursery in Berkeley, CA. When his home was designated a restricted zone, Tokutaro was no longer able to commute from his home to his nursery. He stayed with friends who lived outside of the restricted zone to continue going to work. “He could not cross University Avenue without being arrested,” Fumiko says. “My younger brother packed a lunch for my father and took it to him at noon each day.” To learn more about Fumiko’s experience, click here.
Chapter II: Incarceration
May 1, 1942

From horse stable to concentration camp

The months-long process of transferring incarcerees from “assembly centers” to more permanent War Relocation Authority concentration camps begins. A total of ten camps—Amache, Gila River, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake—are scattered across remote areas of the country. At this point, barely three months have passed since Executive Order 9066. The camps, hastily constructed, are still incomplete—some lacking basic infrastructure like plumbing and electricity.

How were the incarcerees transported to these camps?
Escorted by armed soldiers, incarcerees are herded onto buses and trains, their destinations unknown. With window shades pulled down, they endure days-long journeys, only to arrive at barren landscapes with extreme temperatures. Many are stunned by the desolate surroundings.
Eyewitness: Fujiko Gardner
On the 30-hour train ride from Puyallup Assembly Center to Minidoka, Fujiko Gardner remembers the shades being drawn. “I thought it was to keep the hot sun from coming in,” she says. “But somebody […] said ‘No, that was to keep people from seeing all the Japanese on the train.’” Two songs were playing on loop throughout the train ride: Bing Crosby’s ‘Don’t Fence Me In’, which was popular at the time, and Benny Goodman’s ‘Idaho’. “We didn’t know where we were going, but we knew we were going to Idaho,” Fujiko says. To learn more about Fujiko’s experience, click here.

Source: ddr-densho-37-93, Courtesy of the Densho Digital Repository, National Archives and Records Administration Collection
Spring of 1942

Government encourages “resettlement“

Faced with the mounting costs of incarcerating 120,000 people, the War Relocation Authority introduces resettlement programs aimed at relocating “loyal” Japanese Americans out of the camps and into areas outside the military exclusion zone. To be granted permission to leave, applicants must pass an F.B.I. background check, secure an outside sponsor, and navigate a lengthy and bureaucratic application process. Those approved are allowed to work as farm laborers, attend college, or seek employment in designated areas—though opportunities remain limited and heavily restricted.

Why were incarcerees allowed to leave if they were deemed threats to national security?
The incarceration of Japanese Americans was driven by the racist assumption that all people of Japanese ancestry posed a national security threat. However, as the war escalated and labor shortages—especially in agriculture—became more severe, this perception began to shift. Industry leaders, desperate for workers, turned to Japanese American incarcerees—many of whom had farming backgrounds—to help fill the gap. In response, the government created a seasonal leave program, allowing incarcerees to temporarily leave camp for agricultural work. This program set a precedent, eventually opening the door for some to seek other forms of employment outside the camps.
Did many incarcerees leave?
By the end of 1942, only 884 incarcerees had applied for resettlement, due in part to the cumbersome application process. Many were also worried about facing discrimination, struggling to find work and housing, and being separated from family members who weren’t eligible for resettlement.
January 1, 1943

U.S. begins recruiting Japanese American soldiers

The War Department announces the formation of a segregated unit for Japanese American soldiers and calls for volunteers from the camps. Still reeling from their incarceration, fewer than 1,000 incarcerees step forward at first. Despite this initial reluctance, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team is formed, and enlistment gradually increases. Over the course of the war, the unit earns an extraordinary number of military honors, including 4,000 Purple Hearts, 8 Presidential Unit Citations, 559 Silver Stars, and 52 Distinguished Service Crosses. For its size and length of service, the 442nd becomes the most decorated unit in U.S. military history.

Why did the government decide to recruit the same people they were imprisoning in camps?
By 1943, the United States was deeply involved in World War II, and the military needed more troops. Japanese Americans—particularly Nisei—were seen as valuable assets, especially for their language skills, which could be used in intelligence and translation roles in the Pacific Theater.

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration
September 1, 1943

Segregation begins

“Loyal” incarcerees from Tule Lake are transferred to other camps and “disloyal” incarcerees from other camps begin to arrive at Tule Lake.  The camp’s population swells from 15,276 to 18,789—nearly 4,000 over capacity. While additional barracks are built, overcrowding worsens, and tensions rise between new arrivals and those already imprisoned there.

Eyewitness: Toshi Kuge
While incarcerated at Tule Lake, Toshi Kuge exchanged letters with his then-girlfriend Mae, who was incarcerated at Minidoka. As the segregation date approached, he worried that their families would be further dispersed across the country. “Have you heard from your folks? […] I hear that this segregation program might split up many families,” he writes. To learn more about Toshi’s experience, click here.

Source: ddr-densho-37-63, Courtesy of the Densho Digital Repository, National Archives and Records Administration Collection
January 20, 1944

Men are drafted from the camps

Struggling with low volunteerism from the camps, the War Department reinstates the military draft for Japanese American men—reversing their categorical exclusion after the Pearl Harbor attack. Officials frame this as a “restoration of equality” for Nisei, claiming they are once again being classified like other citizens. In reality, however, Japanese Americans are conscripted into a segregated combat unit and remain barred from serving in the Navy. While most incarcerees comply, a few hundred refuse, protesting the injustice of being drafted while still incarcerated. Many are arrested and face federal charges.

What happened to those who resisted the draft?
Draft resisters were charged with refusing to report for induction under the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Convicted in federal courts across Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Arkansas, and Arizona, they faced sentences of up to three years in prison. The only exception came in California, where Judge Louis E. Goodman dismissed charges against 27 Tule Lake draft resisters. He ruled that it was unconstitutional to incarcerate citizens on suspicion of disloyalty and then prosecute them for refusing the draft. Since the decision was never appealed, these resisters avoided serving time in federal prison—unlike their counterparts in other states.
July 1, 1944

President authorizes denaturalization

While some incarcerees had requested repatriation or expatriation to Japan as early as 1942, these numbers surged after the draft was reinstated—eventually reaching nearly 20,000, or 16% of the total incarcerated population. In response, President Roosevelt signs the Denaturalization Act of 1944, allowing U.S. citizens to formally renounce their citizenship. Some do so as an act of protest against their unconstitutional imprisonment, while others, fearing for their safety and separation from their families after the war, feel they have no other choice. Between 1944 and 1946, a total of 5,589 Japanese Americans give up their U.S. citizenship.

Eyewitness: Tadayasu Abo
While incarcerated at Tule Lake, Tadayasu Abo renounced his citizenship due to fear that his family—his wife, son and a newborn daughter—would be sent to another hostile environment after the war. “Personal safety for my family was a constant worry,” he wrote in a 1956 affidavit. “We believed from everything that was done to us that the U.S. government had given up on us as citizens.” To learn more about Tadayasu’s experience, click here.
March 20, 1946

The last camp closes

On November 13, 1945—just two days before a ship carrying renunciants is set to depart for Japan—civil rights attorney Wayne M. Collins secures a court order halting their deportation until they can plead their case before a judge. Over the next four months, the Department of Justice conducts administrative hearings at Tule Lake Segregation Center, determining the fate of those who sought to undo their renunciations. Seven months after the war’s end, the last War Relocation Authority concentration camp finally closes.

Where did the incarcerees go after leaving the camps?

Some Japanese Americans attempted to return to their former homes on the West Coast. However, many found their properties had been lost, sold, or vandalized during their absence.

As part of their resettlement programs, the War Relocation Authority established field offices in the Midwest and East Coast to encourage Japanese Americans to relocate to these areas and reduce the concentration of Japanese Americans on the West Coast. Seeking potential job opportunities, a significant number of Japanese Americans moved to cities like Chicago, New York, Denver, and Salt Lake City after the war.

Housing was a major struggle. Some lived in hostels, boarding houses, or public housing projects, while others rented garages or even pitched tents on their employer’s property just to have a place to stay as they worked to get back on their feet.

Eyewitness: Elizabeth Okayama

After the war, Elizabeth Okayama’s father traveled from Heart Mountain to Los Angeles to check on their family home and business. “When he went back to look at the place where we lived, he saw, in business windows, signs saying ‘No Japs Allowed’,” Elizabeth says. “My father was determined not to take his family back to that racist environment.” Elizabeth’s family ultimately decided to start their lives over in Chicago. To learn more about Elizabeth’s experience, click here.

Eyewitness: Irene Shikibu Shigaki

Prior to their incarceration, Irene Shikibu Shigaki’s family had left their home in the care of a friend to rent out to tenants while they were gone. However, when they returned to Seattle, the tenants refused to leave. “My family lived literally a block down the street from their own house in the Japanese language school, which had been set up as a hostel for families returning to Seattle,” says her niece Erin.“That was a strange, almost torturous thing. They could see their house if they looked up the street.” To learn more about Irene’s experience, click here.

Eyewitness: Mary Higuchi

Prior to their incarceration, Mary Higuchi’s family had stored their belongings in a barn. When they returned after the war, they found the barn empty. “There was nothing there. Nothing except for broken boxes, empty boxes. Maybe a few broken dishes,” she says. With nowhere to return to, Mary’s family moved to a house with no indoor plumbing. It took Mary’s family nearly a decade to save enough money to put a down payment on farmland that they could call their own. To learn more about Mary’s experience, click here.

Chapter III: Redress
July 2, 1948

An attempt at reparations

President Harry S. Truman signs the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act, allowing former incarcerees to seek compensation for property lost due to their incarceration. However, the process is deeply flawed—claimants must provide detailed documentation, something few possess after the chaos of their forced removal. The Act also excludes compensation for lost income, personal injury, and other damages. In the end, the government pays out just $38 million—only a fraction of the $132 million in filed claims, and nowhere near the estimated $400 million in actual losses. Many families end up paying more in legal fees than they receive in compensation.

1967-1988

A Movement Is Born

A few years after the final claims were settled under the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act in 1965, former incarcerees Raymond Okamura and Edison Uno launch a grassroots campaign demanding reparations for all those who had been unjustly incarcerated. As momentum for redress grows, the U.S. government establishes the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to investigate the detention program and the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066. The nine-member commission holds hearings in major cities across the country, gathering testimony from more than 750 witnesses—many of whom share their personal experiences of incarceration for the first time.

Were all Japanese Americans on board with the redress movement?
Not all Japanese Americans supported the redress movement. Some—particularly older Issei and certain Nisei—felt that seeking reparations contradicted traditional Japanese values like gaman and shikataganai. They believed it was better to move on rather than revisit past injustices. Others feared that demanding redress could provoke further discrimination or downplay the severity of their experiences. Journalist and former incarceree Bill Hosokawa, for instance, argued that pushing for monetary compensation “cheapened the sacrifice of the ordeal we went through.”

Source: ddr-densho-37-370, Courtesy of the Densho Digital Repository, National Archives and Records Administration Collection
February 24, 1983

A call for reparations and a formal apology

The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians releases its landmark report, Personal Justice Denied, followed by its Recommendations on June 16. The 467-page report concludes that Executive Order 9066 was not justified by military necessity, but rather driven by “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.” The commission’s recommendations call for a formal presidential apology and $20,000 in compensation for each surviving incarceree.

1983-1988

Damning Evidence

Researchers Peter Irons and Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga uncover wartime documents revealing that government attorneys deliberately withheld, altered, and even destroyed evidence that contradicted the claim that Japanese Americans posed a national security threat. This discovery casts new doubt on the landmark Supreme Court rulings in the cases of Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Minoru Yasui, exposing how the government manipulated evidence to justify mass incarceration.

What were the documents?

Intelligence reports from the Office of Naval Intelligence (O.N.I.) directly contradicted the government’s justification for mass incarceration, stating that thorough investigations had found no evidence of espionage or sabotage among Japanese Americans. In a January 1942 memo, Lt. Kenneth Ringle of the O.N.I. concluded that “the entire Japanese problem has been magnified out of its true proportion, largely because of the physical characteristics of the people.”

Internal documents from the U.S. Department of Justice further revealed that some government officials—including then-Attorney General Francis Biddle and Assistant Attorney General Edward Ennis—knew that the military’s claims of “military necessity” were baseless.

Researchers also uncovered evidence that key government reports had been altered to remove information that undermined the justification for incarceration. A memorandum revealed that Charles Fahy, the solicitor general who argued the wartime cases before the Supreme Court, was aware of the O.N.I. reports and other exculpatory evidence but deliberately withheld them. This suppression of crucial information violated the government’s legal duty to provide the Court with all relevant facts.

Source: ddr-densho-67-9, Courtesy of the Densho Digital Repository, Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians Collection
This historical overview is informed by research from the Densho Encyclopedia (accessed 2022-2025), National Park Service (accessed 2022-2025), and interviews conducted during site visits to the camps between 2022 and 2025.
© 2025 Haruka Sakaguchi. All rights reserved.
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