Fred Korematsu died this week. He was 86. He declined voluntary internment, which required the government to use force, and appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court, which upheld, 6 - 3, the military necessity theory for the seizure of all Japanese-American property and assets in the Western Military District, and the confinement of American nationals at places like Tule Lake and Manazar and Topaz.
The SacBee editorial is here: link.
The LA TImes commentary is here: link.
The situation was no different in Canada, except that the Canadian-Japanese weren't released from the Prarie and Ontario camps and allowed to return to British Columbia until 1949.
Posted by EBW at April 2, 2005 12:04 PM | TrackBack