Internment Of Japanese Canadians During World War II Was Necessary

Over the years, historians have studied and argued over whether the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II was necessary. Due to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, and invasion in Hong Kong, Japanese Canadians were seen in the same light as the Japanese people who carried out those missions. As a result, over 22,000 Japanese Canadians were put into internment camps far away from their homes, from February 24, 1942 to 1949. While some of these citizens were japanese nationals, over three quarters were Canadian born, but without a doubt, they were all being associated with japan of the time, a country that would have been more foreign to them than Canada. Because of bias judgement and propaganda, they were being called “Enemy aliens”,

The camps were to eliminate any possibility of Japanese spies and threat to Canada. The War Measures Act gave full power and authority to the government to do anything to support the war, giving them the legal right to establish internment camps. It would have only taken one Japanese Canadian who decided to stay loyal to Japan to cause damage to Canada and it’s war efforts, thus the government didn’t want to take this risk. However, there were other reasons for putting Japanese Canadians in internment camps away from Canadians. Anti-Japanese groups such as the Standing Committee on Orientals believed rumours of Japan possibly invading North America. Rumours and propaganda was spread among Canadian citizens, evoking fear and an anti-japanese feeling across Canada. For example, a cartoon published in the Victoria Times Daily in 1942 shows a Canadian being murdered by a Japanese, evoking canadians’ fear towards the Japanese Canadians living in Canada. As a result, internment camps were established to not only eliminate risks against Canada, but to protect Japanese Canadians from possible harassment by anti-japanese groups. A Staff Committee in Ottawa also expressed that local authorities were “concerned less at the possibility of subversive activity by Japanese than at the danger of serious anti-Japanese outbreaks”. Despite the internment camps having poor living conditions, there were still adequate shelter, and Japanese Canadians were allowed to go out or be relocated to another camp with consent. Although there were anti-japanese feelings in Canada, Japanese Canadians were not being eliminated in these camps. Joy Kogawa, who was interned at one of these camps as a child, expressed in an interview that she remembers having happy memories