Japanese-American civilian prisoner exchanges and detention camps, 1941-45 / Bruce Elleman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Elleman, Bruce, 1951-

Series:

Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia ; 37.

Routledge studies in the modern history of Asia ; 37

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, American.

World War, 1939-1945.

Japanese Americans--Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945.

Japanese Americans.

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese.

World War, 1939-1945--Diplomatic history.

Diplomatic history.

Prisoners of war--United States--History--20th century.

Prisoners of war.

History.

United States.

Prisoners of war--Japan--History--20th century.

Japan.

Physical Description:

179 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2006.

Summary:

This book considers the negotiation and conduct of civilian prisoner exchanges between the United States and Japan during the Second World War. To locate Japanese citizens and American citizens of Japanese descent willing to be repatriated, during early 1942 the United States government gathered approximately 120,000 Japanese-Americans into relocation centers. Critics have often attacked these relocation centers for serving no purpose, except perhaps to humiliate and punish innocent persons of Japanese descent. This book reveals that there was a very pressing motive for establishing the relocation centers-to facilitate the Japanese-American official and non-official exchange program-and they accomplished this goal superbly. Utilizing recently released archival documents, this book examines the details of the diplomatic negotiations, the actual mechanics underlying the two successful exchanges, the reasons for the termination of the exchange program, and its final outcome. It highlights the important links between the civillian prisoner exchange negotiations and Washington's decision to employ the Japanese-American war relocation centers to identify suitable candidates for repatriation. It provides compelling evidence that the war relocation centers were created and administered in a manner that sought to satisfy Japan's concerns over reciprocity and its subsequent demand that the U.S. government provide for the safely and well-being of the Japanese, even those who had refused repatriation. Overall, this book provides a thorough and insightful examination of the hitherto little-known, but fascinating, story of Japanese-American civilian prisoner exchanges during the Second World War.

Contents:

The origin of the Japanese-American exchange program

Non-officials and the U.S.-Japanese exchange agreement

Exchanging journalists and non-officials from outside the U.S.

Final U.S.-Japanese negotiations for the first exchange ship

Creating the Japanese-American war relocation centers

Life in the war relocation centers

Tokyo protests mistreatment of officials and its impact on the second exchange

Rising tensions at the Tule Lake Segregation Center

Tokyo protests mistreatment of non-officials and the delay of the third exchange

Negotiating safe passage and the sinking of Awa Maru.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references pages [148]-172) and index.

ISBN:

0415331889

OCLC:

61448100

Publisher Number:

9780415331883