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https://www.discovernikkei.org/en/interviews/clips/1053/

Necessary apologies (Spanish)

(Spanish) Now that the word reparation is trendy, the word repair must come from centuries ago, and in this group of people is where the Japanese community is, right? It is too unfair, too outrageous what happened. If you believe Pearl Harbor was the day that will live in infamy, the history of Japanese in Peru is the story of the infamous. As I wrote one day in “Discover Nikkei”, the most painful thing is not that their properties were confiscated or that were taken to concentration camps. The most painful thing was that they woke up one day and they didn’t have a homeland: they didn’t have a past: they found nothing. And this is cruel. There is no right to do this to anyone. No one has the right to take the spiritual land in your life. Therefore, they ought to receive an apology that hasn’t been given yet. North American has done this with the Japanese community in the United States. Why hasn’t Peru done it? But to ask that is to ask too much of Peru. The day this happens is because first… Also, there is a big line to wait on. We are on the ticket to ask for reparation or apologies. We are on the part, almost the last of the line, because the natives have to ask first. Then come the people from the jungle, the black people, the Chinese people, and finally, women.


discrimination imprisonment incarceration interpersonal relations Peru racism reparations World War II

Date: February 26, 2008

Location: Lima, Peru

Interviewer: Harumi Nako

Contributed by: Asociación Peruano Japonesa (APJ)

Interviewee Bio

Doris Moromisato Miasato (1962) was born in Chambala, an agricultural zone of Lima, Peru. She graduated with a degree in Law and Political Science at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

She has published the collection of poems Morada donde la luna perdió su palidez [Home were the moon lost its paleness] (1988), Chambala era un camino [Chambala was the path] (1999), Diario de la mujer es ponja [Diary of a Jap woman] (2004), Paisaje Terrestre [Terrestrial Path] (2007), as well as the story book Okinawa, un siglo en el Perú [Okinawa. A century in Peru] (2006). Her poems, stories, essays, and features have also been included in several anthologies and have been translated into several languages.

She is an ecologist, feminist and Buddhist. In 2006, the Okinawa Municipality nominated her as an Ambassador of Good Will. Nowadays, she is columnist for the Discover Nikkei Website, and since 2005 she has managed the organization of book fairs as Cultural Director of Cámara Peruana del Libro. (February 26, 2008)

Jimmy Ko Fukuhara
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Jimmy Ko Fukuhara

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(b. 1921) Nisei veteran who served in the occupation of Japan

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George Yoshida
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George Yoshida

We’re Still Japanese

(b. 1922) Musician

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William Marutani
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William Marutani

Recalling Pinedale and Tule Lake concentration camps

Judge, only Japanese American to serve on CWRIC.

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Kathryn Doi Todd
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Kathryn Doi Todd

On the Impact of the Camp Experience

(b. 1942) The first Asian American woman judge

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William Marutani
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William Marutani

Impressions of student relocation in South Dakota

Judge, only Japanese American to serve on CWRIC.

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William Marutani
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William Marutani

A memorable CWRIC testimony of an unjust situation

Judge, only Japanese American to serve on CWRIC.

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Clifford Uyeda
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Clifford Uyeda

Treatment by Chinese students

(1917 - 2004) Political activist

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Clifford Uyeda
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Clifford Uyeda

Attempts to sign up for military service

(1917 - 2004) Political activist

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Kazuomi Takagi
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Kazuomi Takagi

No discrimination in Argentina (Spanish)

(1925-2014) La Plata Hochi, Journalist

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Luis Yamada
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Luis Yamada

Joined Japanese Imperial Army during the WWII (Spanish)

(b. 1929) Nisei Argentinean

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Margarida Tomi Watanabe
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Margarida Tomi Watanabe

Relief fund to support Japanese communities (Japanese)

(1900–1996) The mother of Nikkei Brazilian immigration

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Margarida Tomi Watanabe
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Margarida Tomi Watanabe

Role of Assistancia Social dom Jose Gaspar (Japanese)

(1900–1996) The mother of Nikkei Brazilian immigration

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Yumi Matsubara
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Yumi Matsubara

Concentration camp from a Japanese mother’s point of view (Japanese)

Shin-Issei from Gifu. Recently received U.S. citizenship

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Frank Emi
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Frank Emi

Fair Play Committee

(1916-2010) draft resister, helped form the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee

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Frank Emi
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Frank Emi

Wanting to take a stand

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