Kishida set to get boost from Biden's comment on 'shameful' incarceration of Japanese-Americans in WWII
A strongly worded condemnation by US President Joe Biden of the forced incarceration of tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans during World War II has been praised in Japan, with analysts predicting his comment would be a boost to him and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of crucial elections this year.
"Biden wants to build on the existing relationship with Tokyo and help the regional security alliance, while Kishida knows that the support of Washington is important for his chances of retaining power in the party and when he calls the general election." Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor of international relations at Tokyo's Waseda University, told This Week in Asia.
On Monday, the White House issued a statement on the 82nd anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing an executive order approving the blanket incarceration of more than 120,000 people including Japanese-Americans. Biden called the order "shameful" and pointed out that around half of the internees were children.
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"Families were separated. Communities were torn apart. People were stripped of their dignity. And the unconstitutional and unconscionable policy was even upheld by the Supreme Court," Biden said.
In comments seen as a swipe at former president Donald Trump, his likely rival in November's general election, Biden added, "I decided to run for President to restore the Soul of America. To confront racism, xenophobia and hate in all its forms. To strengthen and preserve our democracy."
"We remember the tragic legacy of Executive Order 9066 - and the trauma it inflicted - by reaffirming the Federal Government's formal apology to Japanese Americans," he added. "And by stating unequivocally: Nidoto Nai Yono - to 'Let It Not Happen Again'."
Waseda University's Shigemura said on Wednesday that Biden's comments were, "very significant and impressive to the Japanese government and people.
"These comments also helpful to both leaders politically ahead of Kishida's trip to Washington next month for face-to-face talks with Biden," he said.
The injustices of the internment policy were recognised as far back as 1988, when then-President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, issued a formal apology and provided US$20,000 each in reparations to surviving Japanese-Americans who had been detained.
Biden has built on that, signing a bill in 2022 that designated the location of a former internment camp in Colorado as a national historic site. The camp housed more than 10,000 people at its peak and now includes a cemetery, a monument and replicas of some of the buildings that housed detainees.
Biden has also signed into law the Norman Y. Mineta Japanese American Confinement Education Act, which allocates funds for the preservation of more camps across the US and sets aside US$10 million under a federal grant programme to promote the history of the incarceration. The Act is named after the late US Transport Secretary who spent part of his childhood in an internment camp.
Biden also used his statement to pay tribute to the 33,000 Japanese-Americans who "stepped up and courageously served in the US military during World War II".
Saying they had volunteered "in the face of injustice," he added, "Their sacrifice, their resilience and their belief that civil liberties and freedom must be vigorously defended inspire us today."
Biden's comments have received praise on social media in Japan, with one message on the Yahoo Japan News site saying, "The ethics and ideas of those days were different from those of today. However, his attitude of repenting and apologising for past actions that he did not commit is highly praiseworthy.
"Our country also caused great damage to the American people, China, the Korean peninsula and other Asian countries [during the war]," the message added. "Our country must reflect on this and apologise to those who continue to feel the pain. In particular, Japan must strive to maintain peace by communicating with all Asian countries to prevent tragedies from occurring in Asia."
Stephen Nagy, a professor of international relations at Tokyo's International Christian University, agreed that Biden's message was designed to earn political points by emphasising the importance of Washington's economic and security alliances.
"This is a way of showing that the Democrats are more interested in reconciliation than Republicans and that this administration is trying to find ways to ensure that the past does not intrude on or obstruct the present US-Japan relationship," he said.
"That plays well to the detente-minded and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party," he added.
The comments also underline the importance of the trans-Pacific alliance as it faces challenges from China, North Korea and Russia in the Indo-Pacific, Nagy pointed out.
"This did not start under Biden and for a long time the two sides have been working hard to put the past behind them and to emphasise that Japan is fully wedded to the post-World War II, Western-led order," he said.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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