Two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, President D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced removal of Japanese Americans in the Western United States from their homes and their incarceration in “relocation centers.” Over 120,000 persons, close to 70,000 of them American citizens, were incarcerated without charge or due process, but simply because of their ethnic background. Japanese Americans remained incarcerated throughout the war, with the last camp closing in March 1946, several months after the end of the war.

The years of mass incarcerations not only denied Japanese Americans free movement, but also caused them to lose money, property, and educational and career opportunities. They also contributed to anti-Japanese sentiment during and after the war, creating many challenges for Japanese Americans as they reentered society and tried to rebuild their lives. Among those challenges were the lingering shame of incarceration and damaged trust in their country.

Japanese Latin Americans also were incarcerated during World War II. Explore this Primary Source Set for more information about their experiences and fight for redress.

In 1970 the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), an advocacy group focused on Asian American civil rights, formally endorsed a resolution to seek redress from the U.S. government for the wartime incarceration. In the next few years, they created their National Redress Committee and developed guidelines and strategies. In 1979, they met with Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga and Representatives Norman Mineta and Robert Matsui to discuss redress. Those at the meeting decided to propose a congressional study commission. They recognized the need to educate members of Congress and the public on the history and nature of the wartime incarceration before they could make the case for redress. Senators Inouye and Matsunaga had fought with the famed 442nd Regiment during the war and Mineta and Matsui had been interned as children. All were well respected by their colleagues. Inouye and Matsunaga led the way for the creation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), a bipartisan federal commission to study the causes and effects of wartime incarceration. 

In 1981, the CWRIC held hearings in nine cities in which over 750 witnesses testified to the motivations for incarceration, its hardship, and long-term effects. The testimonies of survivors were, for many, the first time they spoke of their experiences publicly or as a community. Testimonies also came from experts in various fields, community leaders, and former government officials. A minority of speakers argued against redress. The commission also researched historical and primary documents regarding the government’s wartime actions related to incarceration.

In December 1982, the commission published its report, Personal Justice Denied. The 467-page report found that the wartime detentions were not needed for military security, but rather were driven by “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.” The next year the commission issued recommendations including an apology from the government, a $20,000 payment to each survivor, and funds for public educational materials so that the history and causes of Japanese American incarceration would be remembered and understood. The findings and recommendations formed the basis of H.R. 442, sponsored by Representative Thomas Foley and S. 1009, sponsored by Senator Matsunaga, legislation that would become the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. 

Some members of the JACL disagreed with the idea of the study commission, feeling it was not necessary and would only delay redress to the many elderly survivors of the camps who were passing away each year. In 1979, these members broke off to form the National Council for Japanese American Redress (NCJAR). They sought redress through a class-action lawsuit, suing the government for $27.5 billion in damages caused by the forced relocation and imprisonment during the war. While ultimately unsuccessful, the case made its way to the Supreme Court and garnered significant media attention. 

As S. 1009 and H.R. 442 were under consideration, they received endorsements from numerous national, state, and local governing bodies as well as religious bodies, veterans’ groups, cultural organizations, and professional groups who actively lobbied members of congress. Individual constituents also wrote letters and called their senators and representatives urging their support. Such wide-spread support from groups as diverse as the State of Washington, the city of Cambridge, MA, the American Jewish Committee, the American Psychological Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Presbyterian Church of the USA, etc. demonstrated that redress was not solely a concern of Japanese Americans, but rather a civil rights issue with a national moral imperative to right a wrong.

On August 10, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed H.R. 442, creating the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. In 1990, during a formal ceremony, the first redress payments were awarded to the oldest living survivors along with an apology signed by President George Bush. Eventually, over 80,000 persons received redress, including descendants.

Activists involved in the fight for Japanese American redress and their descendants are applying their voices and experience to the efforts to achieve reparations for Black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved and who were systematically disadvantaged through restrictions on housing, voting, and employment. In December 2023, the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition and 70 other Asian American organizations signed a letter asking the Biden administration to form a study commission. Some state and local communities are currently taking steps to study and address reparations for descendants of slaves, with California being the first state to examine the question and publish a report in June 2023. The California report called for an official apology, calculated an estimate of financial losses, recommended an initial reparations payment (with more to come), and made policy recommendations to address ongoing harmful policies. The California report reviews the U.S. practice of reparations, detailing the incarceration of Japanese Americans and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. 

442nd Regimental Combat Team: A highly decorated unit of the U.S. Army during World War II made up of Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans, many whose families were incarcerated. The 442nd Regiment was instrumental in the success of key military campaigns during the war. Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark M. Matsunaga both served in the regiment.

Congressional Hearing: A meeting of a body of Congress, such as the Senate, House or one of their committees or subcommittees to gather information, hear testimonies, or conduct investigations relevant to proposed government policies or legislation. Typically, hearings are open to the public and can be reported on by the media. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Interment of Civilians held twenty days of hearings in nine cities to investigate the justifications for the camps and to address the question of redress. Many Japanese Americans who had been incarcerated testified during the hearings.  

Congressional Study Commission: Formal groups established by a body of Congress to investigate a question, provide advice and recommendations on specific issues or policies, or execute a duty. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, signed into law in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter, was charged with reviewing the facts surrounding the passage of Executive Order 9066 which allowed for the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. It also studied the effects of the incarceration, leading to its report titled Personal Justice Denied.

Incarceration: A forced confinement in a prison or jail. Originally, the U.S. government and its representatives used the euphemistic term “internment” when referring to the imprisonment of Japanese Americans in camps during World War II. “Internment” suggests a legally justifiable act during wartime to confine enemy soldiers or other enemy subjects, but Japanese Americans were not charged, tried, or found guilty of enemy behavior when placed in camps.

Nikkei: Individuals of the Japanese diaspora meaning those of Japanese descent living outside of Japan. It includes individuals of all generations with Japanese ethnicity who do not live in Japan. 

Redress: Setting a wrong right or a correction of a wrong. The effort to acknowledge the wrong done to Japanese Americans, restore their civil rights, and compensate them for financial losses is often referred to as "The Redress Movement." Today other groups whose rights have been violated, particularly Black citizens, are actively seeking redress. 

Relocation Center: From 1942 to 1945, the War Relocation Authority forcibly relocated Japanese Americans from the West Coast into camps with poor living conditions, little privacy, armed guards and that were surrounded by barbed wire. Tens camps in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming held over 120,000 Japanese Americans. 

Reparations: Making amends for a wrong specifically through compensation, monetary or other, to those wronged.