Japanese Hero Stands Up for U.S. Citizens During World War II

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 forever changed the lives of Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast. Within days, they were ordered to register with government offices. Rumors spread that these American citizens might function as Japanese spies.

The government decided that the proper action was to round up all those of Japanese descent who lived along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. The citizens were told to sell their goods and divest themselves of their property.

Many were first and second-generation American citizens. The treatment by the government was unheard of and illegal, but the Japanese did not seem to have a choice. The families packed what they could carry and left their homes, not knowing what to expect.

This story is about one man—Fred Korematsu—an American citizen of Japanese descent who recognized that what was happening went against everything America stood for. He decided to do something about it.

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The Korematsu Family

Kakusaburo Korematsu (Fred Korematsu’s father) entered the United States in 1905. The woman he would marry moved from Japan in 1914, and they married soon after. At that time, it was still legal for the Japanese to purchase land, so the family bought 25 acres near Oakland, California. Kakusaburo Korematsu had worked in the flower business, so he began a nursery growing and selling plants and flowers. 

The couple soon had children. The boy known as Fred was the third of four sons. All of the boys attended school but were expected to help at the nursery each week. Toyosaburo “Fred” Korematsu (1919-2005) acquired the name Fred from a teacher who decided his Japanese name was too difficult to pronounce.

The Bombing of Pearl Harbor

In 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Fred Korematsu wanted to help the United States. He was an American citizen and old enough to enlist. He went to both the National Guard and the Coast Guard to sign up, but he was turned away. The military was not taking men of Japanese descent.

Korematsu realized there had to be other ways to help. The shipbuilding industry in Oakland was booming. More warships were needed. Korematsu trained and was soon employed as a welder at a shipyard.

Government Takes Action

The government began raiding Japanese homes and arresting community leaders. They had no evidence against these people. There was just a fear that they might be spies for the Japanese government. When the police entered the homes of the Japanese —including the Korematsu’s–they impounded items like flashlights and cameras—anything they felt could be used to send messages to the enemy.

Soon an order (Executive Order 9066) was given that the Japanese people on the West Coast were to be moved elsewhere by the government. They were told to bring with them only what they could carry. They needed to give away other possessions and decide what to do with their property.

The Japanese in the Oakland area were alarmed and fearful. They knew what was happening was wrong, but they decided that being a loyal American meant that they needed to obey the order.  They began preparing to leave.

Fred Korematsu Saw Things Differently

Fred Korematsu disagreed with what was happening. He was in love with a woman of Italian descent and didn’t want to leave her—they hoped to marry. Korematsu rented an apartment under an assumed name (Clyde Sarah), saying he was Spanish and Hawaiian.  

In the meantime, his family, friends, and neighbors were being bussed out of the neighborhood. Because the government did not yet have a place for the families to live, they were being taken to area racetracks and would have to live in horse stalls.

In the Oakland area, the people were taken to a racetrack in San Bruno called Tanforan. Just over 8,000 Japanese people were held under military guard at Tanforan. Sixty-four percent of them were American citizens.

Arrested

After a month or so on his own, Fred Korematsu was stopped on the street for questioning. His different name did not convince the police, and the officers took him to the local jail. There was no time to notify Ida (his girlfriend) or his family that he was in prison. Shortly, however, a newspaper reporter wrote about his situation.

A few days later, he received a visit from Ernest Besig, an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU understood civil rights were taken away from the Japanese on the West Coast. But the organization needed a legal case to bring to court. Fred Korematsu’s situation sounded perfect.

Besig explained to Korematsu that he would not be charged legal fees. All he needed to do was share what happened to him as an American citizen. The ACLU would mount a case challenging the imprisonment of Japanese Americans as unconstitutional.

In Court

At his first court appearance, Korematsu was told that before the imprisonment of others could be addressed, Korematsu must be tried for refusing the government order to go to prison camp. Once that as settled, the ACLU could move on to the illegality of imprisoning American citizens.

Bail for Korematsu was set at $2500, which was covered by the ACLU. But as Fred and Ernest Besig walked out of the courthouse, military police awaited Korematsu. He was arrested again and put in a car to be taken to Tanforan to be held with his family until other arrangements could be made.

Family Uncertain

The Korematsu family was uncertain about welcoming Fred back.  They and their friends felt patriotism involved following the government’s orders. Fred had not done that, and they were ashamed.

But family was family. They made room for Fred in the two horse stalls they shared.

In the meantime, the ACLU and Ernest Besig continued the fight to get the Japanese out of prison camps.

Loses First Court Case

On September 8, 1942, the judge ruled that Fred Korematsu was guilty of disobeying the government’s direct order to report to a prison camp. Besig and the ACLU explained to Fred that they would appeal the decision, but it would take time.  

Topaz, Utah

“Relocation centers” was the term used by the government for the specially-built “towns” for the Japanese-American citizens. Over the course of the war, 120,000 Japanese were held in these centers.

The housing was surrounded by barbed wire. Guard towers overlooked the territory. What’s more, the government selected areas where land was cheap—mostly in hot, arid parts of the country. Few would have wanted the land. If someone did escape, there was really nowhere to go.

The Korematsus and other families from Oakland were sent to Topaz, Utah, located about 150 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Everyone in the camp was expected to work. Most had jobs at the camp, but a few were allowed to take jobs that were off the property. After Fred Korematsu had been there about three months, he was permitted to leave the camp to pick sugar beets on a nearby farm. It was backbreaking work, but Korematsu was glad to leave the camp for a time each day.

In addition to working, the Japanese put their minds to making the area habitable. They created community centers, places of worship, and they organized baseball and other sports teams to keep people’s spirits up.

Work Rules Loosen

As the war continued, the government loosened the work rules somewhat. While most of the Japanese had no options, a few were able to make a case for why they should leave the relocation centers. Those who had college plans, or a job (not on the West Coast) waiting for them, were usually permitted to leave.

With his skills as a welder, Fred Korematsu made a good case for the fact that he could help the war effort if he could relocate to a city where they needed welders. Eventually, he was permitted to move to Salt Lake City to find work.

Court Case Continues

The ACLU kept trying to revive the court case concerning the wrongful imprisonment of Japanese citizens. Then finally, in March of 1944, the Supreme Court announced that the Korematsu case would be on the autumn docket (the list of cases for the upcoming session.)

Korematsu was not needed for the hearing before the Supreme Court. Everything would be handled by the attorneys, so he relocated to Detroit. He was hired at a Navy yard doing welding on doors for ships.

Besig and the other attorneys would keep him informed.

Bad News

In December of 1944, the Court handed down its opinion. In a 6-3 split decision, the judges ruled that the government’s decision to round up Japanese Americans on the West Coast was a “military necessity.” The decision was made during wartime, so there was no opportunity to investigate who—if anyone—actually posed a threat to the United States.

According to the ruling, these people had to be “removed.”

As the ACLU staff read through the file, the attorneys saw that the report that held great sway was from West Coast commander Lt. General John L. DeWitt. He stated there was concern that local Japanese residents might send messages or reports to Japan, revealing what the United States was doing to prepare for war.

Split Decision

The Supreme Court often has split decisions. At those times, the majority prevails, but the dissenting judges always explain the reason for their dissent. In this decision, three of the judges agreed with the ACLU. They felt that the decision was racist and the rights of Japanese Americans were violated.

Fred Korematsu was devastated. Though he had made the best of his life despite the court issues, he saw the broader precedent-setting impact of what this could do to society: The government could take away the rights of other Americans without needing to find evidence of wrongdoing. (This issue came up again after the attacks of 9-11 as well as in 2016-17, when the government tried to ban travelers from countries where the people were predominantly Muslim.)

After the War

In Detroit, Fred Korematsu had a good job and met a woman named Kathryn. They both hoped to move to California, but because Kathryn was white, laws in California would not permit them to marry. They married in Detroit where it was legal before moving to Oakland.  

Because Fred Korematsu was convicted of a crime, there were certain jobs for which he was ineligible. However, he was hired as a draftsman for a builder in Oakland, and when he could, he took on side jobs to add more to the family income. He attended church regularly, joined the Lions Club, and helped build the Little League organization in which his children played.

Life Continues

Though life in Oakland was good, Korematsu remained puzzled as to why the Supreme Court voted against him. It was clear that the rights of Japanese Americans were violated.

The fact that the Japanese were able to return to their homes after the war was not good enough. Their lives were disrupted, and neighborhoods were destroyed. Few got their land or possessions back.

Where was the justice? He often thought about whether there was a way to re-open his court case.

Important Phone Call

Reporters sometimes called Korematsu, wanting to write his story, but he generally turned them down. One day in January of 1982—almost 40 years since the Supreme Court ruling—Fred received a phone call from an attorney who asked to meet with him.

To Korematsu, something about this call seemed different. He agreed to the meeting.

When attorney Peter Irons (1940- ) arrived at the Korematsu house, he presented Fred with some long-forgotten government papers relating to the Korematsu case that he and researcher Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga uncovered in the National Archives.

Irons gave Korematsu time to read through and digest the material.

Fred Korematsu saw what Irons and his researcher discovered. The legal case presented to the Supreme Court in the 1940s was not based on fact. In presenting the case against Korematsu and the Japanese, the military and the attorneys indicated they held evidence that the Japanese in the U.S. were messaging or sending word to the Japanese military about U.S. efforts for the war.  

They did not.

Newly Discovered Documents

In the newly discovered documents, West Coast commander General DeWitt noted that the government actually did not yet have much evidence. DeWitt stated that the Department of Justice would not permit thorough searches of the homes and businesses along the West Coast. The general felt there was still every reason to believe that ship-to-shore messaging was going on.

It was clear to Peter Irons and his team that there was no concrete evidence. The government was simply excusing what they wanted to do, which was remove the Japanese. The case was based purely on speculation and seemed outright racist.

For that, Japanese lives were upended, and family finances were destroyed. For four long years, Japanese Americans were sent to “relocation centers” in some of driest, least desirable parts of our country. The people were treated as prisoners. The locations were surrounded by barbed wire, and they were guarded at all times.

What’s more, the majority of the people swept up in this operation were American citizens.

Working the Case

Peter Irons and Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga spent two years uncovering more research and building a team of young lawyers who believed in Korematsu’s cause.  They moved forward with optimism, but everyone involved knew that a loss would be devastating to Fred Korematsu and the Japanese population.

Case Heard in Federal Court in San Francisco

In January of 1983, the case was taken up by a judge in San Francisco’s Federal Court.

Korematsu took part in the trial and addressed the major issue at hand: “We can never forget this incident as long as we live. The horse stalls that we stayed in were made for horses, not human beings. 

“As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in prison or a concentration camp without a trial or a hearing. That is, if they look like the enemy of this country. Therefore, I would like to see the government do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Judge Marilyn Hall Patel sided with Fred Korematsu and his team. Government lawyers in the 1940s did not actually have evidence that there was “military necessity” to round up and hold Japanese Americans.  Judge Patel wrote: “Korematsu’s case “stands as a caution that in times of international hostility and antagonisms our institutions, legislative, executive, and judicial, must…protect all citizens from the petty fears and prejudices that are so easily aroused.” 

The judge also overturned Korematsu’s conviction for not reporting to prison camp.

Korematsu Continues The Work

Fred Korematsu won his case, but he knew that his job was not finished. What happened to the Japanese could happen to other Americans at a different time.  He dedicated himself to traveling the country to tell the story of his injustice.  His entire family worked alongside him.

Other Japanese Americans joined Korematsu and told their stories. Five years later, the U.S. government passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and offered a public apology for imprisoning innocent citizens and admitted to the government’s wrongdoing. The law also provided reparations: Each Japanese American still living who had been imprisoned was to receive $20,000 each. (This was not much when weighed against the losses of the Japanese.)

Presidential Medal

On January 15, 1998, President Bill Clinton honored Fred Korematsu with the highest award that can be presented to a civilian—the Presidential Medal of Freedom.   

Still a Problem

Because the ruling in federal court was favorable to Korematsu, there was no need to appeal to the Supreme Court. However, the Korematsu and the ACLU were well aware that at some point the lower court ruling might not be enough.

The highest court in the land still stands behind the 1945 Supreme Court decision that the government was justified in arresting and imprisoning Japanese even without cause.

Dissenting Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote in his opinion at the time that if not overturned, the 1945 decision “lies around like a loaded weapon.” It remain a ruling that could be used to enforce or excuse discrimination at any time.

Fred T. Korematsu Institute

Fred and Kathryn Korematsu’s children, Ken and Karen, knew the importance of their father’s work. In 2009, the family formed the Fred T. Korematsu Institute. Its purpose is to educate and promote civic partnership that advances racial equity, social justice, and human rights for all.

Karen Korematsu currently runs the organization. She spends her days working to make sure that what happened to her father does not happen to other Americans.   In an Op Ed in the New York Times in February of 2017, she wrote:

“I have taken on my father’s work to remind Americans what happens when our Constitution is ignored in the name of national security….Let us come together to reject discrimination based on religion, race or national origin, and to oppose the mass deportation of people who look or pray differently from the majority of Americans.”

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Despite government’s attitude toward the Japanese, many of the men wanted to fight for the United States. Read about Joe Sakato who was a member of the esteemed 442nd Infantry, a highly-honored all-Japanese unit. Sakoto received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

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