Interviews

1. Lack of notion of citizenship in Japan

2. Involvement in JACL

3. Impression of Japan upon arrival

Yukio Takeshita

(b.1935) American born Japanese. Retired businessman.

Lack of notion of citizenship in Japan

Japanese people don’t understand about citizenship. Even if I say I’m a Japanese American, they’ll say, “Your parents are Japanese. You’re a Japanese.” Because the law is different, I think. So you look Japanese. Even if you say, “Yeah, I’m American,” most Japanese, typical Japanese, I think they don’t have the concept of what a Nisei is or a foreign American citizen. Because in Japan, there’s many Korean people—Nisei, Sansei—but they never, I think it’s not because of the law, but they don’t want to be Japanese Korean. Second generation, third generation, they say “Japanese-residing Korean.” So, in some sense, I think there is no concept of citizenship like American—born in the States, you are an American.

citizenship Finding Home (film) identity Japan

Date: September 11, 2003

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Interviewer: Art Nomura

Contributed by: Art Nomura, Finding Home.

Interviewee Bio

A 67-year-old Nisei/Sansei son of an Issei father and Kibei mother, both from Yamaguchi Prefecture, Yukio Takeshita was born in 1935 in Tacoma, Washington where his parents ran a laundry business. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yukio and his parents were incarcerated first at the Pinedale Assembly Center near Fresno, then sent to Tule Lake Relocation Center. Because his parents were No-Nos, they remained there after it was transformed into Tule Lake Segregation Center.

At the end of the war, the Takeshita family left Tule Lake and went to Japan where Yukio attended Japanese public school. He eventually graduated from university in 1958 with a degree in economics. He then worked for a company in Hiroshima. Ultimately, Yukio changed companies five times, which represented a highly unusual situation in Japan. He primarily worked in the import-export field and largely used the English language in his business dealings. He retired in 1998.

Yukio and his Japanese wife have two children, both Japanese citizens. He is a member of the JACL in Japan, where members are of different backgrounds, not just Japanese Americans. He received redress from the United States which made him feel that the U.S. still thinks of him as an “American,” however he identifies himself as an “American-born Japanese.” (September 11, 2003)