HomeJapanese AmericanNew Documentary unveils History of evicted Japanese Americans during WWII

New Documentary unveils History of evicted Japanese Americans during WWII

Most AsAmNews readers know that during World War II, the United States government imprisoned as many as 120,000 Japanese Americans just because of their race.

Few people, however, know that after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1,500 Americans of Japanese descent were evicted from their homes and businesses in Hawaii, reports Hawaii News Now.

The newly-released documentary film Removed by Force: the Eviction of Hawaii’s Japanese Americans During WWII shines a light on those families.

The 60-minute film, presented by the Honolulu Chapter of JACL, tells the harrowing journeys of three Japanese families from Oahu forced to navigate through government-issued evictions during World War II.

The families were ousted because they lived near military installations, according to Bill Kaneko, past president of the Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Hawaii-born Ryan Kawamoto, the film’s director, said he hopes his work helps spread awareness about Japanese and Hawaiian history.

“I do feel like this is sort of my calling,” Kawamoto told the Hawaii Public Radio. “I think it’s very important to share these stories with the world.”

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.

We are currently funded by our readers and such charitable foundations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, Report for America/GroundTruth Project & Koo and Patricia Yuen of the Yuen Foundation.’

Find additional content on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram , Tiktok, X, and YouTube. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story, or making a tax-deductible donation.

You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed. Contact us at info @ asamnews dot com for more info. 

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest

Anti-Asian Hate

Must Read

Immigration

Health

Latest