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Toguri, Iva ("Tokyo Rose") (1)
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4644511
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Toguri, Iva ("Tokyo Rose") (1)
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Myron B. Kuropas Files (Ford Administration)
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Japanese Americans
Pardon
World War, 1939-1945
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The original documents are located in Box 11, folder "Toguri, Iva ("Tokyo Rose") -
Pardon (1)" of the Myron Kuropas Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald R. Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Some items in this folder were not digitized because it contains copyrighted
materials. Please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library for access to
these materials.
Date: July 18, 1976
To The President of the United States:
The undersigned urge you to "nvorably consider the Petition for Presidential Pardon
of Iva Toguri d'Aquino when the said netition is filed.
A patiotic American, trapped In Japan by the attack on Pearl Harbor, she engaged in
radio broadcasting for the Japanese Government only after enduring starvation. She did
so in cooperation with similarly coerced Allied prisoners of war, and like them broad-
cast nothing of any help to the Japanese war effort. "Tokyo Rose" was a myth, and a
harmless one at that, but certain people pursuing their own ambition thought otherwise.
Iva Toguri d'Aquino resisted in the only wav open to her during her captivity in Japan.
She was tried and convicted for 3 treason she did not commit.
She served her sentence, and paid her fine. She also lost her American Citizenship,
which she has cherished above all else. Her love of country remains unchanged, in spite
of her ordeal. A full and unconditional Presidential pardon, to restore what she values
30 much, is long overdue.
Signature
Address
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2102 W. 157th St. Gardena 90249
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513 W. 15th St. Gardena 90248
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RESOLUTION
PETITIONING GERALD R. FORD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO GRANT A PARDON TO
IVA IKUKO TOGURI d'AQUINO.
WHEREAS, we, the members of the Council of the City and County of Honolulu, as the
elected representatives of a diverse ethnic community, have dedicated ourselves to
the democratic principles of liberty, justice and the pursuit of happiness, without
regard to race, religion or creed that are the cornerstones of our great American
republic; and
WHEREAS, this Council believes the denial of justice and freedom for one is the
abnegation of these God-given rights for all Americans; and
WHEREAS, this Council feels that Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino was a victim of wartime
hysteria and post-war hysteria in her conviction, fine and imprisonment on a charge
of treason as the mythical "Tokyo Rose,' a conviction which since has been found to
be undeserving and unjust; and
WHEREAS, Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino served six (6) years in prison and continues to
suffer immeasurably from humiliation and the loss of her citizenship as the result
of her highly questionable and unjust conviction; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City and County of Honolulu that Gerald R. Ford,
President of these United States, be, and he is, hereby petitioned to proceed
forthwith to grant a pardon to Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino and to bestow all executive
and other remedies available under the law as justice demands; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Clerk be, and she is, hereby directed to transmit
copies of this resolution to The Honorable Gerald R. Ford, President of the United
States; The Honorable Edward H. Levi, Attorney General, U. S. Department of Justice;
Mr. Lawrence M. Traylor, Esq., Office of the Pardon Attorney, U. S. Department of
Justice; Members of the Hawaii Congressional Delegation; and The National Committee
for Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino.
INTRODUCED BY:
Mailyn Bornkoist
W. Sandy No,ech
DATE OF INTRODUCTION:
Honolulu, Hawaii
COUNCILMEN
Council asks Ford
to pardon d'Aquino
HONOLULU ADVERTISER Friday, July 30, 1976 E-5
The City Council has adopted a resolution ask-
ing President Ford to grant a pardon to the
woman accused of being Tokyo Rose, Iva Ikuko
Toguri d'Aquino.
The resolution said d'Aquino was "a victim of
wartime hysteria and post-war hysteria in her
conviction, fine and imprisonment on a charge of
treason as the mythical Tokyo Rose."
D'Aquino was convicted in 1949 of treason for
propaganda broadcasts she made for the Japa-
nese during World War II. She served more than
six' years in prison for what the Council now de-
scribes as a "highly questionable and unjust con-
viction."
The Council's action is part of a nationwide
movement for a presidential pardon for d'Aquino.
George D. Thow
4502 Coldwater Cyn. Ave, #D
North Hollywood, CA 91604
August 1, 1976
National Iva Toguri Committee
1765 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
Gentlèmen:
Enclosed are petitions on behalf of Iva Toguri. Most of these signatures
were gathered at the Lotus Festival, an Asian community event held at Echo Park
in Los Angeles on July 17 and 18.
Please note that the topmost petition bears the signature of Los Angeles
Mayor Tom Bradley. I was not present when this signature was obtained, but I
did confirm with the Mayor's Office that it is indeed his.
Sincerely,
George D. Thow
George D. Thow
R' FORD LIBRARY
DEPART
WASHINGTON OFFICE
JACL
JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE
INROUGH UNITYD
1730 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
(202) 223-1240
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS. JACL
DAVID E. USHIO, NATIONAL DIRECTOR
AUG 17 1976
1765 POST STREET
WAYNE K. HORIUCHI
SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA 94115
WASHINGTON REPRESENTATIVE
(415) 921-5225
August 12, 1976
Dr. Myron Kuropas
Special Assistant to the President
Room 190
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20501
Dear Myron,
Just as an update on the Iva Toguri case, I wanted to
inform you of several new endorsements which Mrs. Toguri
received in behalf of her quest for a presidential pardon.
The Honorable Tom Bradley, Mayor of Los Angeles, signed
a petition in support of Mrs. Toguri and the Honolulu City
Council adopted a resolution asking President Ford to grant
a pardon to her.
I'll keep you posted on further developments.
Thank you for your interest and support.
I am,
Washington Representative
WKH/llc
Enclosures
FOR BETTER AMERICANS IN A GREATER AMERICA
MEMORANDUM
OF CALL
TO:
FORD
YOU WERE CALLED BY-
YOU WERE VISITED BY-
OF (Organization)
Jay Taylor
"30
NSC X3044
PHONE NO.
PLEASE CALL
CODE/EXT.
WILL CALL AGAIN
IS WAITING TO SEE YOU
RETURNED YOUR CALL
WISHES AN APPOINTMENT
MESSAGE
Iva Tegun - we've
I
got green light
from Scowcreft's office
Our Ambassadar in Tokyo-
m Hodgson recommended
parden to gon. Scologroft.
RECEIVED BY
DATE
TIME
11-22
4:35
STANDARD FORM 63
GPO : 1969-c48-16-80341-1 332-389
63-108
REVISED AUGUST 1967
GSA FPMR (41 CFR) 101-11.6
FORD
LIBRARY
December 9, 1976
FOR:
Ken Lazarus
FROM:
Myron Kuropas
THRU:
William J. Baroody
SUBJECT:
Pardon of Iva Toguri
Now that you have had an opportunity to review the evidence con-
cerning Iva Toguri and the strong support she enjoys from a
variety of communities, Congressmen and media, we would like
to recommend that you push for a full Presidential pardon. This
proposed action enjoys the support of our Ambassador to Japan
as well as the National Security Council.
Our understanding of the case is that:
1) When the case was originally considered, the Department of
Justice decided not to prosecute because of insufficient evidence.
2) It was only after Ms. Toguri decided to return to the United
States that a decision was reached -- after press exhortations --
to prosecute.
3) Her conviction was based largely on the testimony of coerced
witnesses and ones who had renounced their U.S. citizenship, a step
Iva Toguri refused to take despite severe pressures to do so.
4) The jury had great difficulty in reaching a decision and reached
one only after the judge suggested that they perform their "patriotic
duty."
5) Her immediate superiors, an American POW and an Australian
POW, were both subsequently cleared of all treason charges and
even promoted!
COMMITTEE FOR IVA TOGURI
OF THE
JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE
JACL Headquarters Bldg.
1765 Sutter Street
San Francisco, California 94115
Attorney Wayne M. Collins,
Clifford 1. Uyeda, M.D.
Consultant
Chairman
Partial Listing -
REPORT, December 2, 1976
Individual Endorsements:
Gov. George A. Ariyoshi, Hawaii
Mayor Tom Bradley, Los Angeles
Rep. Yvonne B. Burke, California
Lt Gov. Melvyn Dymally, California
From: Clifford I. Uyeda.
Secretary of State March Fong Eu, Calif.
Rep. Donald M. Fraser, Minnesota
To:
Committee members.
Prof. S.I. Hayakawa, S.F. State Univ.
Rep. Spark M. Matsunaga, Hawaii
JACL National Board & Staff.
Rep. Abner J. Mikva, Illinois
Assemblyman S. Floyd Mori, California
JACL Chapter Presidents.
Mayor George R. Moscone, San Francisco
Rep. B.F. Sisk, California
Atty Gen. Evelle J. Younger, California
Reaction to Media Coverage of the Petition Filing:
Organizational Endorsements:
(11/17/76)
American Civil Liberties Union,
No. Calif. Chapter
Americans for Democratic Action,
One cannot blame Iva for being uncomfortable about
No. Calif. Chapter
California State Legislature
media interviews. By quoting her out of context,
National Council of the
some media representatives fortified their pre-
Churches of Christ
conceived prejudices and made her statements completely
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Commission on
out of line with what was really said at the press
the Status of Women
conference.
Willard Anderson Post #2471,
VFW, Dalles, Oregon
The most outrageous reporting was the one which "quoted"
Media Editorial Endorsements:
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Iva as saying, "I am not asking for exoneration, only a
Denver Post
pardon. 11 She never made that statement.
Honolulu Advertiser
Los Angeles Times
Minneapolis Tribune
Attorney Wayne M. Collins and I were right next to her
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Examiner
throughout the November 17th press conferences. One
San Francisco KFRC-Radio
press gentleman asked how many times she had applied
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Washington Star (D.C.)
for a pardon. Attorney Collins answered that question.
Supporting Articles:
He said there were two previous petitions filed, the
Chicago Daily News
Chicago Tribune
first one was for exoneration not pardon because at
Christian Science Monitor
that time (June 1954) Iva was still in prison. The
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
National Observer
second petition was for a pardon, as is this third one.
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
Somehow all that got twisted into statements Iva never
uttered, and went out on the wire service to be quoted
all over the world!
The seeking of "pardon" is the formality that must be gone through. She
was unjustly charged and convicted. She was charged, on perjured testimony,
with statements she did not make.
The American TV media, with few exceptions (CBS, KQED-San Francisco), still
presents only the legend of Tokyo Rose, not the tragic story of a real person
victimized by this legend.
2/
-2-
Katherine Pinkham Harris, former correspondent who covered the 1949 trial,
wrote to David Brinkley (NBC) protesting the distorted manner in which he
presented the filing of the pardon petition.
Don McGaffin of KING-TV, Seattle, Washington, called stating the outraged
reactions from viewers of NBC report. KING-TV is preparing a program to
counter the David Brinkley presentation.
In November the following press reports were noted:
11/10/76 - COLLEGE OF MARIN TIMES (Charlotte Kester)
"Group seeks presidential pardon for Tokyo Rose"
11/17/76 - SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER (Dexter Waugh)
"Ford pardon asked by 'Tokyo Rose'"
11/18/76 - SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Formal Plea for Pardon.
'Tokyo Rose' Comes Back to S.F."
11/18/76 - HOKUBEI MAINICHI
"27 Years After Dubious Conviction of Iva Toguri d'Aquino
Petition Filed Here for Presidential Pardon"
11/18/76 - OAKLAND TRIBUNE (Richard Spencer)
"'Tokyo Rose' Plea"
11/18/76 - INDEPENDENT AND GAZETTE (Berkeley)
"Tokyo Rose Makes Plea for Pardon"
11/18/76 - SAN JOSE MERCURY
"Tokyo Rose Files Petition For A Presidential Pardon"
11/18/76 - CHICAGO SUN TIMES
"Tokyo Rose again seeks pardon: 'America is my home. '''
11/18/76 - WASHINGTON STAR (D.C.)
"Seeking Pardon"
11/18/76 - WASHINGTON POST (D.C.)
"Tokyo Rose' Petition For Presidential Pardon of Treason Conviction"
11/18/76 - NEW YORK TIMES
"Tokyo Rose Files Petition For Presidential Pardon"
3/
-3-
11/18/76 - BALTIMORE SUN
"'Tokyo Rose' of World War II asks for presidential pardon"
11/18/76 - PALO ALTO TIMES
"'Tokyo Rose' appeals for presidential pardon"
11/19/76 - MAINICHI DAILY NEWS (Tokyo/Osaka)
"'Tokyo Rose' Files Clemency Petition"
11/19/76 - CHICAGO SUN TIMES (Editorial)
"Pardon 'Tokyo Rose
11/20/76 - COLORADO SPRINGS SUN
"Tokyo Rose--soldiers' legend"
11/22/76 - NEW YORK TIMES
Letter to Editor, by Michi Weglyn: "A Pardon for 'Tokyo Rose 111
11/22/76 - DENVER POST (Editorial)
"Heed Plea of Tokyo Rose"
"There is much merit to her plea."
"Nothing now can restore the years she lost in prison, or
salve the heartbreak of unjustly being branded a traitor. But
a presidential pardon, restoring the citizenship she cherished
through all her travail, would be only simple justice. We urge
President Ford to sign it."
11/22/76 - HONOLULU ADVERTISER (Editorial)
"Pardon 'Tokyo Rose
"Her requests presents President Ford the opportunity to make
a humane and symbolic gesture during his final days in office.' "
"For the President of the United States, a pardon would be a
small act that says much about our fairness and compassion as
a nation. "
11/22/76 - OAKLAND TRIBUNE (Editorial)
FORD LIBRARY
"Pardon Tokyo Rose"
"President Ford should undertake a compassionate act before he
leaves office in January--grant a full pardon to Tokyo Rose. "
R
GERALD
"Now that her official request for pardon has been filed
it
is time for the President to act."
4/
-4-
11/26/76 - HOKUBEI MAINICHI (Delphine Hirasuna)
"Scapegoat"
11/26/76 - PACIFIC CITIZEN
"Iva files pardon plea"
11/29/76 - STANFORD DAILY (Editorial)
"Pardon Iva Toguri"
"We are hopeful
that President Gerald Ford, now free from
political pressures will grant the pardon expeditiously.
If not, President-elect Jimmy Carter should begin his adminis-
tration in a positive note by righting the government's
30-year-old wrong against Toguri."
11/29/76 - Clifford Uyeda on KDKA, Pittsburgh, Pa. (10:00 - 11:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh time). Talk show concerning "Tokyo Rose." John Signa
moderating. (Pittsburgh a cold 6° F, with the wind making the "chill
factor" -150 F. San Francisco was shivering in the mid-50s.)
11/29/76 - San Jose VFW Nisei Memorial Post No. 9970 unanimously passed
a resolution at its October meeting supporting pardon for Iva Toguri.
Thanks to Post Commander, Robert E. Pursel, who notified us.
12/2/76 - Received a copy of Congressman (Senator-elect) Spark M.
Matsunaga's letter urging President Ford to grant pardon to Iva.
Congressman Matsunaga has been the most active and eloquent supporter
from the U.S. Congress--going all the way back to March 22nd. We are
truly grateful.
Please continue the letter writing campaign to the President.
Just received copies of reports in Japan:
11/24/76 - YOMIURI NEWSPAPER (Fuyuko Kamisaka)
"Private interview with 'Tokyo Rose 111
12/03/76 - ASAHI WEEKLY (Fuyuko Kamisaka)
"'Tokyo Rose' relates first post-war story"
11/30/76
Stanford
Daily
Opinions
FOR
STATE
Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. Monday, November 29, 1976
DE
ST
Editorials
Pardon Iva Toguri
reason
FEBRUARY 1976 $1.50
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THE
Japanese on December 7, 1941, brought
the United States formally into World War
11. Americans fought the Japanese in the
FRAMING
Pacific for nearly four years, about twice
as long as they eventually fought the
Germans and Italians in Europe. It was a
OF
veritable race war (Norman Thomas once
described World War 11 in the Pacific as
"an organized race riot"), and accom-
TOKYO
panying U.S. propaganda was pitched at a
level of racial venom which many involved
never did repudiate.
ROSE
Hatred of the Japanese was developed
into a science by the war administration's
propaganda arm. On some levels it became
James J. Martin
so aggravated that one would have
imagined Americans were fighting large
It is a very comfortable feeling to
insects in the Pacific lislands, so degraded
imagine that there is no past and that
did the enemy become on the evolution-
the future begins with the present
ary scale invented by the clever chaps
[but] the future has a very awkward
fighting a psychological war on the home
way of reminding us that our past
front. A cursory examination of the popu
will not down. Francis Neilson, The
lar press of 1941-45 reveals substantial
American Journal of Economics and
slanderous dehumanization of the enemy
Sociology (July 1949), p. 358.
in Asia, but it was far worse on what
might be called the vulgar or informal
World War II ended 30 years ago, but
level.
the unfinished business of this war clut
The purpose here is not to dwell on this
ters the planet. Unresolved political ques
aspect of the war, but it is necessary to
tions involving the territorial disposition
have some understanding of the state of
of disputed regions have brought about
mind in superheated postwar America. It
the VICIOUS Korean and Vietnam wars. The
was part of the emotional climate in
nearly 30 years of strife in the Mideast
which such trials as that of "Tokyo Rose"
grows out of other aspects of unbalanced
took place. It was many years before any
accounts of the war The boundaries and
headway was discernible in efforts to
structure of Germany are still as unsettled
dissipate the ferocity of Japanophobia in
as they were three decades ago, and "war
the United States, and overtones of this
crimes" trials still go on there. For that
clever and successful brainwashing are
matter, there still is no general peace
palpable to this day, thanks in part to the
treaty ending the war of 1939 1945.
reappearance of war time anti Japanese
On another level, there are many inci
movies on television.
dents which appear to be settled perma
Much balderdash had emanated from
nently, but are really in a kind of histori
"experts" and even military and naval
cal limbo, with the final word, if there
spokesmen in the decade before Pearl
ever will be one, far from forthcoming.
Harbor, to the effect that the Japanese
One of these, the subject of this reapprais
could not put up a decent fight against
al, is the infamous treason trial of the
Americans for SIX months, that an Ameri-
woman known around the world three
can fighting man was worth at least a half
decades ago as "Tokyo Rose," and which,
dozen Asiatics, and that any encounter in
despite accepted modern legendry, has
the Pacific predicted by all manner of
never been resolved. We already have a
"seers" after the Russo-Japanese War of
generation which has only the haziest
1904-05 would be little more than
notions as to what this case was all about,
an outing. It was soon realized in 1942,
if they have any understanding about it at
however, that the United States was con
all. And very few of those old enough to
fronted by a tough, resourceful, and
recall the case realize that the person
intelligent enemy, that it was going to be
found guilty in the trial of 1949 has never
a long and bitter struggle. A steady
admitted any guilt, and furthermore, her
drumfire of verbal abuse of the enemy
attorneys sought for 25 years thereafter to
establish not only that she was innocent,
but that she should be pardoned and com-
James J. Martin received his M.A. and
pensated for past indignities.
Ph. D. from the University of Michigan.
This amazing narrative must be started
A leading revisionist historian, his books
on a broad scale, however, if one is to
include the classic Men Against the State,
understand how the whole sorry tale be
American Liberalism and World Politics,
came part of the history of the times.
and Revisionist Viewpoints. He is current-
ANTI-JAPANESE PROPAGANDA
ly at work on a book dealing with U.S.-
The attack on Pearl Harbor by the
Soviet relations during World War 11.
Tokyo Ros
The saga of Tokyo Rose:
Was she really a traitor?
Late markets
Chicago Daily News
Red
Flash
MONDAY, FEBRUARY, 23, 1976 @ 15 CENTS IN CHICAGO AND SUBURBS 0 25 CENTS ELSEWHERE
12
CHICAGO DAILY NEWS, Monday, Feb. 23, 1976
Tokyo Rose saga: Was she really a traitor?
Pacific siren:
A number of U.S. and Australian prisoners - must Her story might have ended quietly with tralia. He paid his own way to San Francisco
a recollection
SUB ---- -
A reward
CHICAGO TRIBUNE 2-25-76
How 'Rose'
'in heaven'
Iva's father, Jun Toguri,
was there when she
went off to prison in
myth began
1949. And he would be
Continued from 1st Tempo page
waiting when she was
1956 to
By Jerry Carroll
and Keith Power
surrendered
By Linda Witt
First of three parts
Section 3
*
Section 3
13
CHICAGO TRIBUNE 2-23-76
Was Tokyo Rose enemy or ally?
Continued from 1st Tempo page
ning the search for "Who lost China?"; the , certificate authorized a 60-day stay. When
herun
her
aunt
began
to
recover.
Mrs.
D'Aquire
AP Photo
Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino, as she appeared in
1949, shortly before she became the first Amer-
ican woman convicted of treason.
Was Tokyo
Rose ally
or enemy?
V. February 24, 1976
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Was Tokyo Rose mocking the Japanese?
Iva Toguri D'Aquino was only 25
else. He was under the same police sur-
years old when she was trapped in
Return to freedom
veillence as me, and when I met him, it
Japan by war while visiting a sick
was the first time [in the two years of
Two men who influenced her life
aunt. Today, at 59, she still denies
the war] I was able to express myself
that this turn of events transformed
without fears about being turned in."
her into Tokyo Rose. This second of
three articles reviews her case.
THE ZERO HOUR over Radio Tokyo,
on which Iva "starred," was operated
By Linda Witt
by POWs from Bunke prison camp. Maj.
Charles E. Cousens, a tall, moustached
Second of three parts.
Sandhurst-educated man from Sydney,
The men-and woman-behind the myth of Tokyo Rose
A sensation
on earth
Iva spent a year in jail
in Japan, allowed only
one 20-minute visit a
Pardon for Tokyo Rose?
CHICAGO TRIBUNE 2-25-76
Continued from 1st Tempo page
month with her husband,
Some people still think
that I started the war'
By Linda Witt
On Sept. 25, 1948, she arrived in San Francisco
for her trial. She had amoebic dysentry en route
Last of three parts
and had "lost so much weight the skirt which fit
of
Radio
Tokyo
my waist in Yokohama fit only my hips in San
She was rearrested in Japan; shortly anerward,
her baby was stillborn.
Continued on page 3, col. 1
to 5,0 S
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL,
11
Letters to the Editor of the Journal
Monday, February 23, 1976
he did something about the more objection-
able regulatory issues facing our industry
as a result of these discussions. It appears
More on Tokyo Rose
me, is most acute in politics because the bottom lines and top incomes.
ernment today suggests the possibility of
express my thoughts on these issues. But
legitimacy of our system and national cul-
As a "New Majority" conservative, I success.
there is a difference between the Comptrol-
to me that his only sin is that he has de-
for qu A th in R th is ci in HOPE
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FRIDAY, FEB. 6, 1976
The Case of 'Tokyo Rose'
By EDWIN MCDOWELL
Trapped in a country whose language acts of treason, opened in July 1949, lasted
Twenty vears 820 last month Iva Tosuri she barely understood she eventually almost weeks
a
TORO LIBRARY
DEPARTMENT
been relocated to a detention camp in Ari- Francisco and indicted by a féderal grand
zona (where her mother died soon after-
jury.
Mr. McDowell is a member of the Jour-
wards)..
The trial, charging her with eight overt
nal's editorial page staff.
WASHINGTON OFFICE
JACL
JAPANESE AMERICAN CITIZENS LEAGUE
DESCRIBED THROUGH
1730 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE. N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
(202) 223-1240
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS. JACL
DAVID E. USHIO, NATIONAL DIRECTOR
1765 POST STREET
WAYNE K. HORIUCHI
SAN FRANCISCO. CALIFORNIA 94115
WASHINGTON REPRESENTATIVE
July 14, 1976
(415) 921-5225
Dr. Myron Kuropas
JUL 15 1976
Special Assistant to the President
for Ethnic Affairs
Room 190
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20501
Dear Myron,
Pursuant to our telephone conversation the other day, I have included
the following items which may be of interest to you with respect to the Iva
Toguri case:
1. Press release and letter of support of Evelle Younger, Attorney
General of California and Director of President Ford's California
Campaign Committee.
2. Press release indicating support of the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors for Mrs. Toguri.
3. Letters of support from Congressman Donald Fraser, Congressman
Abner Mikva, Congressman Spark Matsunaga, and Governor George
Ariyoshi. (Other Congressmen have supported her and I'll send you
those letters as soon as I receive them from San Francisco.)
4. News articles indicating support from the California State
Legislature and California Secretary of State, March Fong Eu.
LIBRARY
5. A news article reporting testimony of innocence from one of
the witnesses at the Toguri trial.
Myron, other things will be coming from San Francisco. As soon as I
receive them, they will be in the mail to you.
Thanks for your help.
WKH/11c
Enclosures
FOR BETTER AMERICANS IN A GREATER AMERICA
Japanese american
JACL
CITIZENS LeaGUE
1
UNIT
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 1765 Sutter Street San Francisco, California 94115 (415) 921-5225
REGIONAL OFFICES: Washington, D.C./Chicago/San Francisco/Los Angeles/Portland/Fresno
THROUGH
David E. Ushio, National Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Information Contact:
Miyo Tatsumi (415) 921-5225
May 21, 1976
Evelle Younger, Attorney General and top Republican office
holder for the State of California, has urged President Ford to
grant a Presidential Pardon in the case of Iva Toguri d' Aquino,
accused of being "Tokyo Rose." In a letter to President Ford,
Younger said, "...many people today believe that her conviction
was more a product of wartime hysteria than a trial on the merits..."
The decision to make the request by Mr. Younger, who also serves as
President Ford's California Campaign Manager, is based upon recent
new evidence which creates substantial doubt about the fairness
of the original conviction.
OKO
LIBRARY
David E. Ushio, National Executive Director of the
Japanese American Citizens League, a nonprofit human rights
organization representing over 30,000 members in 32 states, says
Younger's action in the matter is "commendable and very gratifying.
It is historically significant," says Ushio, "in that it was in the
State of California, under the administration of another Republican
Attorney General (Earl Warren), that a climate of racism existed
that ultimately led to the internment of over 110,000 Japanese
(more)
Better Americans in a Greater America
Iva Toguri
2-2-2-2-2
May 21, 1976
Americans in concentration camps during World War II. And it
was in the climate of the postwar hysteria against Japanese
Americans that Mrs. Toguri was convicted. "
"Now to have Mr. Younger call for justice for Mrs. Toguri
is significant because it shows that America is strong enough to
recognize past mistakes, and work to insure justice and equality
for all. It is only a shame that she had to suffer so much and
for so long."
The Japanese American Citizens League has spearheaded the
campaign for a pardon for Mrs. Toguri. The American-born, UCLA-
educated woman, the JACL believes, was a victim of tragic
circumstances. When she went to Japan in 1941 to help care for
a sick relative, World War II broke out before she could return.
She found herself an enemy alien in wartime Japan, unable to get
money or communicate with her family in America, and disowned by
her relatives in Japan when she repeatedly refused to renounce her
American citizenship and apply for Japanese citizenship, though
constantly harassed to do so by Japanese authorities.
Without skills in the Japanese language, she sought
employment utilizing her English language abilities, but en-
countered difficulties where she worked because of her "outspoken
TENNEL
pro-American" views.
(more)
Iva Toguri
3-3-3-3-3
May 21, 1976
As a typist for Radio Tokyo, she met three male prisoners
of war (POWs), assigned to "Zero Hour" (the English language music
program by which the Japanese wished to demoralize American troops.)
These three POWs were covertly burlesquing the intent of the
Japanese broadcasts, and when Japanese authorities decided to
add a female voice to the program, the POWs recommended Iva Toguri,
knowing her sympathies, and assuring her that she could help the
American war efforts.
Although there was never any substantial evidence as to her
guilt, in spite of a one-year investigation by the U.S. Dept. of
Justice, and a Federal Grand Jury refused to indict Iva Toguri
because there was never a similar charge of treason made against
the American POWs who worked with her at Radio Tokyo, she was
singled out as a scapegoat. She was convicted on one of eight
counts, after the longest and most expensive trial on record at
the time, in which spectators and journalists agreed in predicting
an acquittal or, at worst, a hung jury. Finally, pressured by
the judge to do their "patriotic duty" and remember how
"expensive the trial had been for the government," the deadlocked
jury returned a "guilty" verdict. Iva Toguri was convicted to
ten years imprisonment, fined $10,000 and stripped of her American
citizenship.
(more)
Iva Toguri
4-4-4-4
May 21, 1976
Having spent 25 years trying to prove her innocence including
three appeals for review to the Supreme Court which have been denied,
and two petitions for pardon to the President which have been
unanswered, she is now 59 years old. Denied most of her civil
rights, as a "stateless person,' and destitute after the enormous
legal and other financial costs, Iva Toguri deserves finally
to receive the justice to which she is entitled. Her citizenship
is only a token repayment for all she has had to pay.
The text of Younger's letter follows:
10 LIURARY
"30"
The Honorable Gerald R. Ford
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D. C.
Re: Pardon for Iva Toguri
Dear President Ford:
In recent months, there has been renewed interest in the case of Iva
Toguri (D'Aquino), the woman of Japanese ancestry who was convicted
shortly after World War II of treason as being the supposed "Tokyo
Rose. =
Although she has long since served her sentence and paid her fine, the
treason conviction prevents her from regaining her American citizenship.
Iva Toguri has steadfastly maintained her innocence and many people
today believe that her conviction was more a product of wartime hysteria
than a trial on the merits. Of course, this dispute cannot be definitively
resolved some thirty years later.
However, in light of the substantial doubt which now exists over the
fairness of the original conviction, and Ms. Toguri's excellent conduct
since such time, I believe it would now be appropriate for you to restore
her American citizenship by granting her a Presidential pardon.
I urge you to do so.
Sincerely,
FORD
LIBRARY
Evelle J. Younger
GREAT
Attorney General
Ir
Japanese american
JACL
citizens LeaGUe
OFFICE
NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 1765 Sutter Street San Francisco, California 94115 (415) 921-5225
THROUGH
REGIONAL OFFICES: Washington, D.C./Chicago/San Francisco/Los Angeles/Portland/Fresno
David E. Ushio, National Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information contact:
Miyo Tatsumi (415) 921-5225
July 2, 1976
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS
PARDON IN "TOKYO ROSE" CASE
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) commends the
National Affairs Committee of the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors for the favorable approval of the resolution offered
by President of the Board Quentin Kopp calling on President Ford
to pardon Mrs. Iva Toguri d'Aquino for her unjust conviction in the
so-called "Tokyo Rose" trial. The Board of Supervisors' committee
on National Affairs has voiced its decision to join in a
nationwide recognition that an innocent woman has suffered unjustly
and long enough. "On this bicentennial eve, we must recognize
that the strength of America lies not only in celebrating our positive
heritage and history, but also that we as a nation can correct our
mistakes in a humanitarian way, and more importantly--learn by our
mistakes," said David Ushio, National Executive Director of the
Japanese American Citizens League.
(more)
Better Americans in a Greater America
SF Board of Supervisors Committee Recommends Pardon
-2-
"To pardon Mrs. Toguri, and thereby restore to her the American
citizenship she cherishes so much, can demonstrate to the world
that America is the nation that is big enough to live up to the ideals
of fairness and justice that are being challenged throughout the
world," said Ushio.
In recent days an outpouring of support has emerged on behalf
of the campaign to pardon Mrs. Toguri. CBS-TV presented the story
of Iva Toguri on 60 MINUTES, their award-winning documentary show
which outlined the facts of the case that have come to light in the
recent weeks, including perjured testimony by government witnesses,
a biased judge, and FBI and U.S. government harrassment which led
to Mrs. Toguri's conviction. Leaders and opinion makers who have
examined the facts of the case, and who have set aside the legends
and myths that have surrounded the story of "Tokyo Rose" have come
to the conclusion that she was innocent and deserved mercy and her
full rights as an American citizen. "All we have ever asked the
American people for, has been to review the facts of the case.
There has never been a greater miscarriage of justice," said Ushio.
Last week the California State Legislature passed a unanimous
joint resolution requesting the President pardon Mrs. Toguri.
The legislature was preceded by many public officials in the State
of California, including the top GOP office holder in the state,
Attorney General Evelle Younger, who has urged President Ford to
pardon Mrs. Toguri. Governor Ariyoshi of Hawaii and numerous
major newspapers throughout the United States have also taken a
stand on her behalf.
Creaty
(more)
SF Board of Supervisors Committee Recommends Pardon
-3-
The campaign to restore the citizenship of Mrs. Toguri
through a Presidential Pardon has been spearheaded by the National
Japanese American Citizens League. The League's Iva Toguri
Committee Chairperson, Dr. Clifford Uyeda of San Francisco,
has worked in close conjunction with Mrs. Toguri, and her
attorney Wayne Collins, also of San Francisco. Collins is
the son of the Wayne Collins who represented Mrs. Toguri
in the 1949 trial in San Francisco, and who championed her cause
for over 25 years until his death two years ago. Dr. Uyeda
recently was awarded the highest civic award given by the
Japanese American Citizens League for his work on the Iva Toguri
Committee, in bringing to the American public, the story of this
tragic miscarriage of justice.
(A copy of the Resolution follows.)
"30"
FORD
AMOUNT
R.
DEPARTMENT
URGING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO PARDON IVA TOGURI D'AQUINO
WHEREAS, Iva Toguri d'Aqiuno -- a California-born, reared and educated
woman - was stranded in Japan at the onset of World War II while making an
emergency humanitarian visit to a sick aunt; and
WHEREAS, It was brought out in her 1949 trial in an Francisco that because
of her steadfast refusal to renounce her American citizenship in war-time
Japan, she was harassed unmercifully by the Japanese police, and denied food
rations, causing her severe physical sufferings; and
WHEREAS, Witnesses and affidavits presented at her trial pointed out she was
outspokenly pro-American throughout the war years in Japan, continuously main-
taining despite much personal danger that the United States would win the
war; and
WHEREAS, Many testified that she was threatened and ordered to broadcast
over Radio Tokyo by the Japanese military government; and
WHEREAS, Allied POWs (prisoner of war) Major Charles Cousens of Australia
and U. Army Captian Wallace Ince, both forced to work at Radio Tokyo, testified
they assured her that she could help the American war efforts by conducting a
popular American music program and by watering down anti-American propaganda;
and
WHEREAS, She spent her own meager funds to purchase food, medicine and.
tobacco, and risked her own life and safety to aid the sick and the weak at
the Bunka POW camp in Tokyo; and
WHEREAS, The term "Tokyo Rose" was coined by American soldiers and applied
to any and all female broadcasters heard on Japanese radio stations; and
WHEREAS, Iva Toguri d'Aquino was one of 14 English-speaking women announcers
employed by Radio Tokyo, but only she was arrested, investigated, tried and
convicted; and
- 1 -
WHEREAS, Major Cousens and Captain Ince both testified in the 1949 trial that
they wrote all the scripts for Iva Toguri d'Aquino's "Zero Hour" programs; and
WHEREAS, U.S. military propaganda monitors were unable to locate any propa-
ganda or demoralizing statements in her program; and
WHEREAS, U.S. Army Alaskan Defense Command in the spring of 1944 issued a
memorandum instructing staff officers to urge their men to listen to her broad-
casts because they were free of propaganda; and
WHEREAS, After a year of extensive investigation on the scene by the legal
staff of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that there was no
cause and released her in October 1946; and
WHEREAS, After the federal jury twice informed Judge Michael J. Roche that
they were unable to reach a verdict, they were then ordered to deliverate some
more and bring a verdict on the ground that it had been a long and expensive
trial; and
WHEREAS, She was convicted solely on the testimony of two prosecution
witnesses who had renounced their American citizenship; and
WHEREAS, She spent 8-1/2 years of her life in prison, paid $10,000 in fine,
suffered untold humiliations and harassments for over 30 years for words she
did not say; and
WHEREAS, Although she has lost her rights as an American she has remained a
proud and loyal American in spite of her ordeal; and
WHEREAS, Numerous concerned public entities and human rights groups, in-
cluding the Japanese American Citizens League, the largest national organization
representing Americans of Japanese ancestry, have joined in bringing to the con-
FORD
LIBRA
sciousness of the American people the unjustices surrounding this case; and
R.
- 2 -
WHEREAS, President Ford in his recent proclamation terminating Executive
Order 9066, which sent more than 112,000 Japanese-Americans into detention
camps during World War II, stated that there must be "an honest reckoning
of our national mistakes as well as our national achievements"; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco,
the site of the infamous trial of Mrs. d'Aquino, urges the President of the
United States to consider favorably her petition for pardon; and, be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, That Iva Toguri d'Aquino be given a full and unconditional
Presidential Pardon to redeem her name and restore her cherished American
citizenship.
FORD
LIBRARY
014839
Supervisor Quentin L. Kopp
Board of Supervisors
IVA TOGURI
(d'AQUINO):
VICTIM OF A LEGEND
Published by
The National Committee for Iva Toguri
Japanese American Citizens League
1765 Sutter Street
San Francisco, California 94115
(415) 921-5225
FORD TREATY
September 1975
R.
GREATE
No charge for single copy. Charge for additional copies equal to the postage
rate. This booklet is published in the public interest and may be reproduced
for any non-profit purpose. The National Committee for Iva Toguri would
appreciate receiving a copy of any reprint or use of this material.
Donations may be made to the "JACL Iva Toguri Committee."
INTRODUCTION
Iva Toguri is a victim of a World War II fantasy - a powerful and persistent
legend that continues to plague her today, some 30 years later. Trapped in
Japan as a young American woman during the war years, she survived
harassment by the Japanese government only to be consumed by a fictitious
image created by American soldiers. She became a casualty of the prejudices,
stereotypes, and social mores of that era, and was convicted of treason in
1949. After her release from prison, the United States government continued
to persecute her with deportation threats and property confiscation. She
firmly proclaims her innocence, and a renewed effort is under way to clear
her name and restore her constitutional rights. This booklet will describe
(1) how a real person was stranded in Japan, (2) how a legend was created,
and finally (3) how the real person became tyrannized by that legend.
1
IVA IKUKO TOGURI
Early Years (1916-40)
Stranded in Japan (1941)
Iva Ikuko Toguri was born on July 4, 1916, in Los Angeles, California,
Soon after her college graduation, her family learned her maternal aunt in
the first daughter of Jun and Fumi Toguri. Her father was born in Japan but
Japan was seriously ill with diabetes and high blood pressure, and possibly on
naturalized in Canada, and her mother was a Japanese citizen: United States
the verge of death. Because her mother was also bedridden with the same
law prohibited persons of Asian ancestry (including citizens of Canada) from
ailments, Iva Toguri was selected as the family's representative to go to Japan
becoming naturalized, so neither parent had an opportunity to gain American
and help care for her aunt. Because the matter was urgent, she had to leave
citizenship. (This prohibition was not repealed for Japanese until 1952.)
promptly. The only available transportation was by ship, which took about
Three other children were born to the Toguris: Fred, June, and Inez. Two
two weeks (airline passenger service to Japan was not inaugurated until 1947). A
months after her birth, Iva Toguri's father entered her name in the genealogical
passport took too long to obtain, so she secured a State Department Certificate
registry at the family's ancestral village in Japan. This procedure, customary
of Identification and hurriedly sailed for Japan on July 5, 1941, one day after
at the time, would have given her citizenship rights in Japan, but her father
her 25th birthday. She arrived in Yokohama on July 24 with just enough
cancelled the registration in 1932. Her father did not register her with the
money to buy a ticket back to the United States and with practically no
Canadian government, so she lost any eligibility for citizenship rights in
knowledge of the Japanese language or customs. Her uncle, Hajime Hattori,
Canada. Thus, by the time she was 16 years of age, Iva Toguri was a citizen
met her at the pier and took her to his home. After several weeks of getting
only of the United States.
acquainted with relatives she had never met before, she applied for an
American passport at the United States Consulate in Tokyo in August. She
The Toguri family lived in predominantly white neighborhoods in various
presented her birth certificate and State Department Certificate of Identification,
parts of Southern California: Los Angeles, Calexico, San Diego, and Compton.
but any person of Asian ancestry claiming U.S. citizenship faced considerable
English was the primary language spoken at home, the family belonged to the
difficulties because this was during the period of total prohibition of Asian
Methodist Church and Iva Toguri's friends were mostly Caucasian. She
immigration under the provisions of the Immigration Act of 1924.
attended public schools, music and business schools, Compton Junior College,
and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). She became an
She had not received her passport by October (she later learned her appli-
accomplished pianist, was a skilled typist, and was graduated from UCLA with
cation had been ignored), and she became nervous over the increasing war
a bachelor's degree in zoology in June 1941. During her childhood and
rumors in Japan. She contacted her father to ask if she should return, but her
student years, she had very little contact with Japanese culture. She had many
father reassured her and told her to stay longer for the sake of her sick aunt.
talents, but her very "all-American" upbringing ill-prepared her for the
Like most other Americans, her father underestimated the ominous war signs
unexpected ordeals ahead.
during 1940-41: for example, Japan was already at war in Asia and had signed
a military alliance with Germany; the United States froze Japanese assets and
imposed a total embargo on exports to Japan; Britain and the Dutch East Indies
(Indonesia) joined the embargo and effectively cut off Japan's oil supply; U.S.
Secretary of State Cordell Hull refused to negotiate reopening oil supplies
until Japan ceased aggression and withdrew troops from China, Indochina,
and Manchuria; Japan's Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye (leader of the
moderate faction) was forced to resign and General Hideki Tojo (leader of
the pro-war faction) took over as Prime Minister. Her father finally realized
the danger and sent an urgent cable on December 1 instructing her to board
a ship leaving for the United States the next day. She frantically tried to get
aboard, but Japanese authorities refused port clearance because she did not
have a passport. It actually made no difference because that Japanese-owned
ship was in mid-Pacific when Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's Task Force
2
3
attacked Hawaii, and the ship was ordered to return to Japan.
Abandonment and Survival (1942-43)
One day after the outbreak of hostilities, the Japanese Army Thought-Control
Because of her outspoken support for the United States, inability to speak
Police (Kempeitai) interrogated Iva Toguri and demanded that she renounce
Japanese well, and frequent visits from the Kempeitai, neighbors taunted her
her American citizenship and apply for Japanese citizenship - or else life in
aunt and uncle for harboring an enemy. Life became so intolerable that in
Japan would be "very, very inconvenient." She flatly refused, stating she was
June 1942 the Hattoris told her to live elsewhere. From that time on, Iva
raised as an American and could never become a Japanese citizen. Iva Toguri
Toguri was on her own, and she very quickly used up what little money she
soon learned the meaning of the Kempeitaï's threats: she was classified as an
had. Without an income and without a food ration card, she faced the
enemy alien, her movements were restricted, she was denied food rations,
possibility of starvation. She asked Japanese authorities to imprison her with
and she was constantly harassed by the Internal Security Police and Kempeitai.
other American nationals, but was refused. Job hunting was difficult because
Ironically, if she had succeeded in returning to the United States, she would
the only marketable skills she possessed were her abilities in the English
have shared the fate of 110,000 other persons of Japanese ancestry (two-thirds
language. First, she worked for a pittance (about $5 per month) as a typist
of whom were American citizens) living on the West Coast (but not Hawaii)
and piano teacher at the Matsumiya English Language School. Later that June,
who were classified as the "enemy race," restricted by prohibited zones and
she found a part-time job typing and monitoring English language short-
a racial curfew, intimidated by the police and federal agents, and eventually
wave broadcasts at the Domei News Agency, where she met Felipe J. d'Aquino,
imprisoned en masse. Iva Toguri's own parents, brother, and sisters were
a Portuguese citizen of Japanese ancestry. Felipe d'Aquino was working as a
incarcerated at Gila River, Arizona. (The U.S. government called them
linotypist at Domei, and they became good friends (and were later married).
"Relocation Centers" but the facilities were actually mass detention camps,
complete with barbed wire and guard towers.)
In September 1942, she received a notice from the Swiss legation announcing
a second and final repatriation ship. Since most of the diplomats and other
In February 1942, she learned that the neutral Swiss legation representing
supposedly important Americans had already left on the first ship, her chances
the United States was accepting applications from American citizens who
of getting aboard were good if she could raise the necessary $425 passage.
wished to repatriate. A Japan-United States agreement allowed repatriation
Unfortunately, she had no savings (her $20 per month salary at Domei was
through neutral nations. Iva Toguri applied for repatriation, but without a
used for bare survival), had been repudiated by her relatives in Japan, and
passport she was informed her citizenship must be confirmed by the American
had no means for contacting her parents in America. She could not raise the
consulate. On April 4, 1942, the American consular staff, themselves awaiting
passage money, and she cancelled her application.
repatriation, belatedly processed her August 1941 passport application by
attaching a notation stating that her U.S. citizenship was "not proved." Again,
She was unable to purchase much food on her low wages and by June 1943
the lack of a passport thwarted her attempt to leave.
she was suffering from malnutrition and beriberi. Nursed back to health by
her friend d'Aquino, she regained enough strengh by August to take a second
part-time job as a typist in the business office of Radio Tokyo. There she met
three prisoners of war (POWs): Major Charles Cousens, an Australian captured
in Singapore; Captain Wallace Ince, an American captured in Corregidor;
and Lieutenant Norman Reyes, a Pilipino (spelling preferred by Pilipino
Americans) captured in Bataan. The three men had been experienced radio
broadcasters prior to their capture, and they had been assigned to work on
the English language "Zero Hour" since March of that year. Iva Toguri became
friendly with the POW broadcasters. She spent much of her own meager funds
to purchase food, medicine and tobacco, and at considerable risk to herself,
secretly gave the supplies to the POW broadcasters and other prisoners at
the Bunka POW camp in Tokyo.
4
5
In November, Japanese authorities decided to add a female voice to the
Iva Toguri continued to risk her own safety by clandestinely providing
"Zero Hour" program. The POWs persuaded the Japanese to select Iva Toguri.
American POWs with extra food, clothing, and blankets, plus scarce vitamins
The POWs needed a trustworthy companion because they were covertly
and medicine.
burlesquing the Japanese program intent. When informed of her new duties,
Iva Toguri refused. She was then ordered to broadcast by Japanese authorities
On April 19, 1945, she married Felipe d'Aquino and converted to
and was reminded she had "no choice" in the matter since she was an enemy
Catholicism. She became eligible for Portuguese citizenship under the laws
alien without any rights. Refusal in militaristic wartime Japan usually resulted
of Portugal, but she chose to retain her American citizenship under the laws
in severe punishment, including starvation, beatings, and even execution.
of the United States. (The Cable Act, as amended in 1931, extended the right
Although she was not explicitly threatened with bodily harm, she was well
to retain U.S. citizenship to American women who married non-American
aware of what happened to others who had refused and was conscious of
men of Asian ancestry.)
the non-direct manner in which the Japanese spoke. Moreover, Major Cousens
took her aside, confined their scheme, and assured her that she would not
During the war years, Iva Toguri's problems were similar to an estimated
harm and might possibly help the American war effort. Cousens' confidence
10,000 other young Japanese American men and women stranded in Japan.
Some, like her, were in Japan to visit relatives, but most were there to attend
won her over, and she read her first POW-written script over the air on
November 13, 1943.
Japanese schools or work for Japanese firms. Due to severe employment
discrimination in the United States, it was not unusual for parents to ensure
In December 1943, she war forced to quit Domei because of constant
an alternative means of livelihood for their children by sending them to Japan
arguments with other employees over her pro-American statements, and
for part of their education. Most Japanese American college graduates found
because her friend d'Aquino got into a fistfight defending her position.
that the only means of gaining employment commensurate with their education
was to work in Japan. (Two such American college graduates working in Japan
later became the key witnesses against Iva Toguri.) All of the Japanese
"Orphan Ann" (1944-45)
Americans were placed under intense pressure to change their citizenship.
Young men were drafted into the army, while others were forced to work
Initially, she called herself "Ann" (short for announcer) on the air, but
for the government or war industries. With only partial education in Japan,
later switched to "Orphan Ann" because she identified with the comic strip
most Japanese Americans could not compete with the natives for regular
character of "Little Orphan Annie." It was a bitter-sweet, self-mocking name for
jobs and had to resort to their English language skills as a means of survival.
the young woman who felt lonely and forsaken, but who also thought she
When the war ended, the U.S. State Department proclaimed that Japanese
was resisting the enemy while waiting to be rescued from her predicament.
Americans who served in the Japanese Army, worked for the Japanese
In January 1944, she went to the Danish legation as a full-time typist, and on
government, or voted in a Japanese election had lost their American citizen-
most evenings reported to Radio Tokyo to host a program of music, humor,
ship in accordance with the Nationality Act of 1940. If this was true, Iva Toguri
nostalgia, and news. She read the scripts exactly as written by her POW
was no longer a citizen of the United States, and not subject to the charge
compatriots, and her program was always aired from 6 to 7 p.m. Tokyo time.
of treason. (Later, in the 1950s, court decisions restored citizenship to
However, the female voice on "Zero Hour" was not always that of Iva Toguri.
approximatley 5,000 Japanese Americans affected by this State Department
She refused to work on Sundays and American holidays, and took frequent
ruling.)
sick leaves. During her absences, she was replaced by one of the 13 other
English-speaking women announcers employed by Radio Tokyo: six Japanese
Americans, one white American, one Japanese Canadian, one Japanese Briton,
one Swiss, one Japanese, one with Japanese surname of unknown nationality,
and one with European surname of unknown nationality. Radio Tokyo had
many other English language programs broadcast at different hours of the
day, and each program had its own staff. Throughout her stay at Radio Tokyo
6
7
THE LEGEND OF "TOKYO ROSE"
A Soldier's Fantasy
Pre-World War II Stereotypes
Unknown to Iva Toguri, or anyone else in Japan, American soldiers invented
Historic stereotypes about Japanese Americans in general, and Asian women
the term "Tokyo Rose" and applied it to any and all female broadcasters
specifically, created an atmosphere whereby war-weary soldiers and civilians
heard on Japanese radio stations. The term "Tokyo Rose" was used as early
could easily transfer their fantasies and hostilities to a real person. Negative
as December 1941. Part of the experience of fighting in Asia and the Pacific
images of Japanese American originated in the 1890s, when the first sizable
Islands consisted of listening to a woman with a seductive voice, who played
number of immigrants from Japan arrived in the United States and became
the latest American popular music, announced American troop movements,
targets for anti-Asian prejudice previously directed against Chinese pioneers.
and read the latest war news. The soldiers knew the programs were supposed
The anti-Japanese feelings were fueled by Japan's empire building in Asia
to be propaganda, but they felt compelled to tune in anyway and spread
(Taiwan in 1895, Sakhalin in 1905, Korea in 1910, Manchuria in 1931), and
the word about the broadcasts. Soldiers laughed at the obvious propaganda
the newspapers were full of stories implying Japanese Americans were the
ploys and enjoyed the recently issued American records, which they could
outpost for an ever expanding Japanese empire. The newspapers depicted
not hear on American shortwave broadcasts. The legend differs according
Japanese Americans as being unassimilable and incapable of loyalty to the
to the listener: some said she spoke with a British accent, others attributed
United States because somehow their ancestral ties to Japan would pre-
a Japanese or Asian accent, while still others insisted she had an American
dominate. This theme was later expressed by Lt. General John L. DeWitt,
accent and used American slang. The listeners even differed on the languages
military chief of the Western Defense Command: "A Jap's a Jap. It makes no
used: some said English was the only language used, but others claimed
difference whether the Jap is a citizen or not. He's still a Jap and can't
Japanese, Chinese, and other Asian languages were intermixed.
change." The anti-Japanese elements were very influential and succeeded in
passing numerous state and federal laws discriminating against Japanese and
The lonely soldiers undoubtedly internalized and romanticized what they
Japanese Americans. By 1942, the negative stereotypes were SO well implanted
actually heard, and there was considerable speculation about her physical
in the public's consciousness that there was practically no protest over the
appearance. "Tokyo Rose" existed more in the imagination than in fact, and
mass incarceration of American citizens based solely on a presumption of
the image was a fairly pleasant one. In 1944, the Alaskan Defense Command
disloyalty.
issued a bulletin instructing officers to urge their men to listen to the "Tokyo
Rose" broadcasts because they were free from propaganda and were "the
The image of the seductive and sinister Asian woman emerged during the
strongest factor for building morale of our troops in the Alaskan Chain."
height of anti-Chinese agitations during the 1880s, and became particularly
Just before the war ended, Captain T.J. O'Brien, Director of Welfare for the
prominent when Japan became a military power in the 1930s. Hollywood
United States Navy, issued a citation to "Tokyo Rose" for "meritorious service
movies and newspaper cartoons confused and combined Chinese and Japanese
contributing greatly to the morale of U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific
by
images into a general "oriental" stereotype, and Asian women were portrayed
persistently entertaining them during those long nights in fox-holes and on
as exotic, sexy, and smart, but always determined to corrupt the morality of
aboard ship, by bringing them excellent state-side music, laughter and news
white American men.
about home." The citation was made in jest, but it also reflected the fact
that American soldiers enjoyed the broadcasts. Also, a survey conducted by
Post World War II Animosities
a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University in 1968 found that 93
percent of veterans of the Pacific war thought the "Tokyo Rose" programs
Public distrust of Japanese Americans did not subside after the end of the
did not have a demoralizing effect, and 84 percent considered the programs
war. The well-publicized heroism of the Japanese American soldiers on the
to be successful as entertainment.
European Front (442nd Regimental Combat Team) helped but did not entirely
ameliorate animosity against Japanese Americans. In fact, more violence
was committed against Japanese Americans returning to California in 1945-46
8
9
VICTIM OF A LEGEND
FORD LIBRARY
than during the aftermath of Pearl Harbor in 1941-42. In August 1946, the
Detention and Release (1945-46)
National Opinion Research Center reported two-thirds of all Americans still
believed Japanese Americans had spied for Japan, and only 13 percent believed
By the end of the war, the legend of "Tokyo Rose" had become so ex-
they had no part in espionage activities for the enemy. Newspapers continued
aggerated that "Tokyo Rose" was probably the third most well known Japanese
to reinforce distorted images of Asian women through such comic strips as
name to Americans (after Emperor Hirohito and Prime Minister Hideki Tojo).
"Steve Canyon" and "Terry and the Pirates."
American journalists landed in Japan a few days before the formal surrender
was signed, and began a frantic and competitive search for the legendary
Immigrant Japanese were still prohibited by law from becoming citizens,
"Tokyo Rose." Harry Brundidge of Cosmopolitan Magazine and Clark Lee of
from owning land, and from engaging in occupations requiring licenses. New
International News Service hitched a ride to Tokyo with an advance party
immigration from Japan was banned, and 4,724 persons of Japanese ancestry
on August 31 and contacted Leslie Nakashima, a Domei News Agency writer
were deported during 1945-46 (1,659 immigrant repatriates, 1,949 children
whom they knew from before the war. Nakashima told the Americans
accompanying parents, 1,116 renunciant expatriates). The bitterness and
that there was no person named "Tokyo Rose" and there were five or six
pressures during the mass incarceration coerced 5,766 Japanese Americans
women at Radio Tokyo who might fit their description. But the legend could
into renouncing their American citizenship, but nearly all filed lawsuits after
not be deflated so easily. Undaunted, Brundidge and Lee asked Nakashima
the war to regain their birthright. (Court decisions between 1945 and 1968
to locate any "Tokyo Rose," and Nakashima, who had a pre-war obligation
restored citizenship to nearly all renunciants, including those who expatriated.)
to repay, accommodated them by introducing Iva Toguri.
American citizens of Japanese ancestry were still prevented from owning
homes by restrictive covenants, denied employment in most fields, hindered
Brundidge and Lee, in army uniforms and armed, met Iva Toguri on September
in social mobility by antimiscegenation laws, and even dead soldiers were
1 and offered her $2,000 for an exclusive story to be published in Cosmopolitan.
refused burial in home-town cemeteries. Japanese Americans embarked on
That sum was a fortune for anyone who had lived through the war in Japan,
a campaign to overcome these injustices, but the struggle was long and hard.
and she agreed to their interview. However, when Brundidge cabled Cosmo-
The powerful anti-Japanese elements in California had not lost any of their
politan editors about his "scoop," the editors rejected his article stating they
vigor, so every issue created a prolonged court battle, bitter legislative
would not glorify a traitor and refused to pay the $2,000. In the meanwhile,
campaign, or heated public debate.
other correspondents were filing stories implicating numerous other women,
and it soon became obvious that no single individual was "Tokyo Rose." But
One of the important postwar issues was the question of statehood for
during this hectic and confusing period, Iva Toguri gained the unfortunate
Hawaii. The major obstacle hindering statehood was the fact that one-third
distinction of receiving the most publicity. She considered herself a heroine
of the population of Hawaii was of Japanese ancestry. Mainland Caucasians
of sorts, and had no reluctance about granting interviews and signing auto-
feared Japanese Americans might control the politics of the Islands, and were
graphs, not realizing the consequences would become so serious.
unwilling to accept the possibility of a Japanese American being elected to
Her triumph was quickly shattered for she alone became the scapegoat.
Congress. (The racial prejudices were strong enough to prevent Hawaii state-
A few days after the Brundidge-Lee interview she was arrested, but inexplicably
hood until 1959.) All of these issues were being contested during the 1945-49
released the next day. The first arrest was probably engineered by Brundidge
period; they carried great import for the well-being of every Japanese
and Lee to prevent other journalists from interviewing her. She was rearrested
American, and in particular for Iva Toguri, who was in Japan and unaware
on October 17 and held at a Yokohama prison for one month; then she was
of the circumstances closing in around her.
transferred to Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, where she remained for another
eleven months. (Sugamo was the prison for Japanese leaders accused of war
crimes. Prime Minister Tojo and six other high officials were executed there
in 1948.) During her 12 months imprisonment, she was never informed of
the charges against her, was denied legal counsel, was denied speedy trial,
and was prohibited from sending or receiving mail (see Appendix A). She was
10
11
held totally incommunicado for over two months until a Christmas visit from
were for removal and exclusion, not prosecution under due process. The
her husband was allowed. Thereafter, the only person permitted to visit was
protests delayed her return, and in January 1948 her baby died at birth.
her husband - for only one twenty-minute session per month. After an
exhaustive investigation by the Army and Federal Bureau of Investigation
Many newspapers, including the New York Times, published an appeal for any-
(FBI), the Justice Department concluded there was insufficient evidence to
one able to identify Iva Toguri as "Tokyo Rose" to report to the FBI. Claiming
bring charges, and released her on October 25, 1946. During her confinement,
to have a "confession," Brundidge dug up his old field notes from the 1945
government agents lost or destroyed their phonograph records and written
interview and delivered them to his friend, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
transcripts of the alleged "Tokyo Rose" broadcasts. The case appeared closed
Attorney General Tom Clark rejected the notes as improper evidence, but
and her life temporarily returned to normal. She settled in Tokyo with her
Brundidge was not easily put off. Brundidge demanded and received a
husband, and became pregnant in 1947.
government-paid trip to Japan to get his notes signed by Iva Toguri. She was
summoned by the Occupation Army to a meeting with Brundidge and John
Going Home (1947-48)
B. Hogan, a Justice Department attorney. She had been reading the American
newspapers and was aware of the controversy surrounding her application
Iva Toguri learned that her mother died in 1942 while incarcerated at
to return. She was tired of the uncertainty, wanted desperately to see her
Gila River, Arizona, and that her father, brother, and sisters had moved to
family, and had come to the conclusion that if a trial was the only way to
Chicago. She wanted her child born in the United States (to guarantee
clear herself once and for all, she wanted to get on with it. Without legal
her child acquire American citizenship), and she had a great desire to see
counsel at this critical moment, she signed Brundidge's notes.
her family. She applied once again for that long-elusive passport. She became
one of the thousands of Japanese Americans stranded in Japan who sought
Presumably on the basis of the Brundidge notes, Iva Toguri was arrested
to return home, but faced lengthy investigations concerning their activities.
once again on August 26, 1948 in Tokyo and charged with treason. While
The American Consular officials told her she was "stateless" due to her
the government had earlier denied that she was a citizen, they now used
marriage to a Portuguese citizen, but that she could re-establish her American
the same birth certificate in her passport application as proof of her citizen-
citizenship if her passport application was approved. (Consular officials must
ship. According to law, when an alleged treason takes place abroad, the trial
have been unaware of the amended Cable Act.)
must take place at the first location where the accused is returned to American
territory. Attorney General Clark publicly admitted she could not receive a
The State Department was caught in a bind: if she was permitted to return,
fair trial in California. On the other hand, Hawaii might be too tolerant, so
there might be a public uproar; but there was no legal means to prevent her
Clark initially announced she would be brought directly to the East Coast. It
entry because she was a native-born citizen cleared by the Army and the
was a difficult, but not impossible, logistical task; and elaborate plans were
FBI. Moreover, the Justice Department was in the embarrassing position of
made to transport her by air through Canada or Mexico. For an unexplained
having lost or destroyed evidence which originally cleared her. Hence, the
reason, Clark changed his mind and ordered her brought to San Francisco -
government issued a statement to the press that "Tokyo Rose" had applied
a city considered to be a center of anti-Japanese prejudice. The ship carrying
to return to the United States. The public outcry was immediate and im-
Iva Toguri purposely bypassed Hawaii and docked in San Francisco on
passioned. Radio commentaor Walter Winchell vigorously campaigned
September 25, 1948. She was escorted off the ship by numerous FBI agents
against her return (radio in the 1940s was a powerful medium). The American
and brought before Federal Commissioner St. J. Fox, who read a complaint
Legion and Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West, with a long
charging her with treasonable activities while in Japan. She was then taken
history of anti-Asianism, issued strong protests. The Los Angeles City Council
to the old county jail near Chinatown's Portsmouth Square. She was finally
passed a resolution opposing her return on the curious basis she might
home in America, albeit behind bars, and she saw her family for the first
adversely affect "loyal" Japanese Americans. Possibly because many Caucasians
time since she left home in 1941. The Toguri family searched for a lawyer to
could not envision her as an American citizen, no one particularly demanded
defend her, but most attorneys turned down the case because the family
her prosecution for treason. The traditional goals of anti-Japanese groups
was financially impoverished. Eventually, Wayne M. Collins, Theodore Tamba
12
13
and George Olshausen volunteered to represent her without fee. (Collins,
defense witnesses from Occupied Japan. The judge denied her constitutional
a strong advocate of civil liberties, also was a non-paid volunteer attorney
right to summon these witnesses in her favor (see Appendix A). Meanwhile,
for Fred Korematsu's constitutional challenge to the wartime incarceration,
prosecutors, who were provided with a list of potential defense witnesses,
the renunciants' fight to regain American citizenship, and the Japanese Peruvians'
teletyped the names and addresses to the FBI Office in Tokyo. FBI Agent
battle to prevent deportation to Japan. Collins took these controversial cases
Frederick Tillman, accompanied by armed American soldiers, called on the
when the National American Civil Liberties Union and National Japanese
Japanese witnesses and intimidated them (see Appendix D). The judge allowed
American Citizens League declined to act.) She was, at last, accorded the
transportation expenses for one defense lawyer and one translator to travel
right to legal counsel.
to Japan to obtain written depositions, but most witnesses were too frightened
by then to cooperate. The prosecution did not have such handicaps.
Grand Jury (1948)
Prosecutors brought 19 Japanese witnesss from Occupied Japan using
government transportation, paid the witnesses $10 per day with government
A Federal Grand Jury was convened in San Francisco in October 1948 to
funds, and allowed them to go sightseeing for several weeks in California.
determine if there was "probable cause" for the treason charges. After review-
ing the evidence, the Grand Jury refused to indict Iva Toguri unless the other
The trial began on July 5, 1949, in the Federal District Court in San Francisco
American citizens involved at Radio Tokyo were similarly charged. Grand
with Judge Roche presiding. Jury selection proceeded with unexpected
Jurors were especially insistent that Captain Ince, a POW who had worked
speed and was completed within two hours. Eight non-whites (six Black
with her, be charged. When prosecutors claimed Ince was still in the army
Americans, two Asian Americans) were on the first jury list, but prosecutors
and outside their jurisdiction, the Grand Jury adjourned without an indictment,
used peremptory challenges to remove all eight. Prosecutors were allowed
went on "strike," and announced they would hold no further sessions until
12 more peremptory challenges, but as soon as the panel was all-white,
prosecutors prepared charges against Ince. Harried prosecutors then promised
prosecutors announced acceptance. (Special Prosecutor Thomas DeWolfe
Ince would be charged before an army court-martial. Based on that explicit
was an observer at an earlier treason trial for Tomoya Kawakita in Los
promise, the Grand Jury issued an eight-count indictment against Iva Toguri.
Angeles. The three jurors who held out longest against conviction were
(The promise was never kept. Ince was promoted to major shortly thereafter.)
reported to be minority persons: A Black American, a Jewish American, and
In historic hindsight, the eight "Overt Acts" charged seem vague and inconse-
a Japanese American.) The defense also accepted the all-white jury of six
quential (see Appendix B).
men and six women.
Following the indictment, defense lawyers made a motion for bail, but Federal
Judge Louis B. Goodman ordered her confined without bail. She was in prison
for nearly two years (counting her imprisonment in Japan) before her trial
started the next year.
All-White Jury (1949)
At the arraignment before Federal District Judge Michael J. Roche on
January 4, 1949, Iva Toguri pleaded innocent to all counts. (In 1943, Judge
Roche denied a Habeas Corpus petition from Mitsuye Endo, an American
woman involuntarily detained despite the government's lack of charges
against her. This was one of the important test cases challenging the con-
stitutionality of the mass detention of American citizens based on ancestry.)
In the preparation for her trial, defense lawyers petitioned the court to subpoena
14
15
The Prosecution
Attorneys for the prosecution were Frank J. Hennessy, head of the Justice
with appealing music. Tsuneishi said he waited for a Japanese battle victory
Department's Northern California office; Thomas DeWolfe, who had success-
to insert propaganda, but Americans won every battle after "Zero Hour" was
fully convicted Mildred Gillars for treason; John Hogan, who accompanied
inaugurated, and he observed, "Propaganda broadcasts from the losing side
Brundidge to Japan; and James Knapp, a new Justice Department lawyer. The
were rather ineffectual." He said English-speaking women broadcasters were
prosecution was required to prove Iva Toguri committed treason as defined
used on 13 Japanese-controlled radio stations besides Tokyo: Arai, Bandung,
in the Constitution: "Treason against the United States shall consist only in
Bangkok, Hsinking, Korea, Manila, Nanking, Rangoon, Saigon, Shanghai,
levying war against them, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and
Singapore, Soerabaja, Taiwan. (The specific locations in Korea and Taiwan
comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony
were not identified.)
of two witnesses to the same overt act
(see Appendix A).
The critical witnesses for satisfying the constitutional requirement regarding
Clark Lee opened the prosecution's case, testifying that Iva Toguri admitted
treason conviction were two "ex-Americans" who claimed they saw Iva Toguri
to him she was a broadcaster at Radio Tokyo. However, Lee could only
engaged in broadcasting as charged. One was George Mitsushio, who was
testify as to what she allegedly told him at that single interview, and he had
born in San Francisco, attended the University of California at Berkeley and
no direct knowledge of what went on at Radio Tokyo. Co-accuser Harry
Columbia University, but left for Japan in 1940 and eventually became the
Brundidge was present in San Francisco during the trial, but strangely enough,
civilian chief of the "Zero Hour" program. The other was Kenkichi Oki, who
the prosecution did not call Brundidge to the witness stand. The reason
was born in Sacramento, attended St. Mary's College in Moraga and New York
became obvious when the next prosecution witness was cross-examined.
University, but left for Japan in 1939 and eventually became the production
FBI Agent Tillman testified he knew that a key witness before the Grand
supervisor at Radio Tokyo. Both men claimed they changed nationality by
Jury, Hiromi Yagi, was bribed by Brundidge to falsely say he saw and heard
signing their names in the Japanese family registry. According to the Jus
Iva Toguri broadcasting anti-American statements (see Appendix C). Brundidge
Sanguinis laws of Japan, this action made them Japanese citizens; but they
was not allowed to testify - apparently because the prosecutors, the de-
did not legally renounce their American citizenship before the U.S. Consul.
fense attorneys, and the judge all agreed that Brundidge was an unreliable
They were technically citizens of both nations, and therefore were subject
witness.
to treason charges by the United States. Oki testified he was not appearing
voluntarily but had been brought forcibly to San Francisco by order of the
Several former soldiers testified they heard "Tokyo Rose" while stationed
U.S. Occupation Forces. Newspaper commentary focused on the irony of
in the Pacific Theater, but they contradicted each other on the broadcaster's
Iva Toguri being charged with treason because she insisted on retaining her
voice, accent, theme song, language, and time of program. The inconsistency
American citizenship, while the key witnesses against her were "turncoats."
was due to the fact that the soldiers actually heard different women, on
different programs, at different times, broadcast from different locations. The
ex-soldiers were actually identifying the legend of "Tokyo Rose", not the person
on trial. None of the prosecution's American witnesses saw Iva Toguri commit
the overt acts charged. Also, the prosécution did not present any recordings
linking the defendant with the overt acts charged.
Thus, the prosecution's case depended on the testimony of Japanese officials
present at Radio Tokyo during the war. Shigetsugu Tsuneishi, former Lt.
Colonel in the Japanese army and chief of propaganda broadcasting, testified
under cross-examination that "Zero Hour" was supposed to eventually contain
propaganda, but it never got beyond the point of building listener interest
16
17
The Defense
The main defense witnesses were the three former POWs who worked on
a Japanese radio station in Manila.
the "Zero Hour" program. Charles Cousens voluntarily came from Australia
at his own expense to testify. Cousens, who had been previously cleared by
As the final defense witness, Iva Toguri told her own story to the court.
Australian courts, testified he recruited Iva Toguri for the job, recalled he
She emphasized she had no intent to betray the United States and believed
talked her into broadcasting by assuring her the program was "straight-out
she was only entertaining American troops. She said she retained her American
entertainment," and had said if she would "place herself under my orders, I
citizenship and loyalty throughout the war years, despite threats and pressure.
would see to it that she did nothing harmful." He said only bright, pleasant
Iva Toguri was a sympathetic and convincing figure for the courtroom audience.
music was played, and community sing-alongs were used as morale-building
The trial started out in the traditionally anti-Japanese mode: selection of
devices. Cousens said he wrote in British idiom, so Iva Toguri could not have
an all-white jury, intentional use of the derogatory term "Jap," and segregation
spoken with the alleged American slang.
of Japanese and Caucasian witnesses into separate waiting rooms. But by the
time the trial was nearing conclusion, courtroom spectators and newspaper
Wallace Ince, who had been earlier cleared by the U.S. Army and promoted
reporters were nearly unanimously sympathetic to the defendant. In a straw
to major, corroborated Cousens' testimony. Ince was a cautious witness
vote, the press corps voted 9 to 1 for acquittal on all counts. This remarkable
because of the Grand Jury's demand for his prosecution. Norman Reyes, who
transformation was brought about solely through the persuasiveness of the
likewise had been cleared by the Philippine government, also confirmed
defendant's case. In contrast to the present-day trials with racial or political
Cousens' testimony and added he was so sure of Iva Toguri's loyalty he
overtones where defense support groups have helped to raise pertinent issues
would have trusted her with his life. But prosecutors produced a statement
for the attorneys, judge, press, spectators (and jury indirectly through attorney's
signed by Reyes in 1948 which was inconsistent with his oral testimony. Reyes
questions and remarks), there were no defense committees for Iva Toguri
explained the FBI intimidated and frightened him into signing a fabricated
in 1949.
statement during a 20-hour interrogation in Occupied Japan. But the judge
ruled Reyes to be an unreliable witness, and disqualified all of Reyes' testimony.
Conviction and Sentence
Yoneko Matsunaga, an American student stranded in Japan during the war,
The trial lasted 56 days and cost the government over $500,000. It was
testified she was drafted to work as an announcer on the "German Hour," a
the longest and most expensive trial on record at the time. The jury began
program produced by the German Embassy in Tokyo, and that her broadcasts
deliberation on Monday, September 26, and in the early ballots they stood
were similar to "Zero Hour." Also, Mark Streeter, an American construction
10 to 2 for acquittal on all counts. By Tuesday night, after 20 hours of debate,
worker captured on Wake Island, and John D. Provoo, an American army
the jury came to a 6 to 6 deadlock and informed the judge that they were
sergeant captured in Corregidor, testified they were forced to do broadcast
unable to reach a verdict. Judge Roche called the court into session at 10:15 p.m.
work at Radio Tokyo like the defendant. None of the other American citizens
that night, declined to rule a hung jury, and admonished the jurors until
who engaged in radio broadcast work for the Japanese were ever charged
midnight, reminding them how long and expensive the trial had been for the
with treason.
government and appealing to their sense of patriotic duty. The jury deliberated
Three important defense witnesses were disqualified and removed from
two more days, and announced their verdict on September 29: innocent on
the witness stand by Judge Roche. The judge ruled their testimonies were
seven counts; guilty on one count. She was convicted for one "Overt Act":
not related to the case. They were Captain Edwin Kalbfleish, Jr., who was
"That on a day during October 1944, the exact date being to the Grand Jurors
starved, beaten, and nearly executed for refusing to do radio work for the
unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation of Japan
Japanese; Suisei Matsui, who operated a Japanese radio station in Java using
did speak into a microphone concerning the loss of ships" (see Appendix B).
English-speaking Indonesian women as announcers: Ken Murayama, who wrote
There was an audible gasp of disbelief from the 100-plus spectators who had
scripts for Myrtle Liston to broadcast programs similar to "Zero Hour" from
gathered expecting to celebrate an acquittal.
18
19
Iva Toguri was convicted for allegedly reading over the air, shortly after
The Continuing Ordeal (1956 - present)
the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the words: "Orphans of the Pacific. You really are
orphans now. How will you get home, now that all your ships are sunk?" The
Iva Toguri was released from Alderson Federal Reformatory in January 1956,
incongruous historic fact is that the Battle of Leyte Gulf was a resounding
after serving six years and two months, with reduced time for good behavior.
victory for the United States, and it is difficult to imagine how American
She was reported to have been a model prisoner. She went to live with her
troops could have been demoralized by such words. If anything, it must have
family in Chicago. Her return home might seem a final ending to her long
sounded like hilarious comedy.
struggle, but that was not to be. Promptly upon her release, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service began deportation proceedings, claiming she was
On October 7, 1949, Judge Roche sentenced Iva Toguri to 10 years in prison
an "undesirable alien" and deportable under provisions of the McCarran-
and a $10,000 fine. Loss of American citizenship was automatic according to
Walter Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952. She had served her
law. Thus, at age 33, she lost the citizenship she so tenaciously preserved
sentence and presumably paid her debt to society, exile was not part of her
and the citizenship which caused her to be convicted of treason. Defense
sentence, and the 1952 law was ex post facto. Nonetheless, the government
motions for mistrial, arrest of judgment, clemency, and bail pending appeal
gave her 30 days to leave the United States, or be forcibly deported. She
were all denied by Judge Roche. Supreme Court Justice William Douglas later
moved back to San Francisco in May 1956 to defend herself in the deportation
granted bail for $50,000 pending appeal, but the money could not be raised.
hearings, living with the Collins family. In 1958, the Immigration and Naturali-
She said a final good-bye to her husband, who was in San Francisco for her
zation Service cancelled the deportation order, explaining they had nowhere to
trial, and was taken to Alderson Federal Reformatory for Women in West
deport her since she held neither Japanese nor Portuguese citizenship. She re-
Virginia. Felipe d'Aquino was forced to sign a statement that he would never
turned to Chicago to live with her father and work in the family store. Reunion
try to enter the United States again, and was taken back to Occupied Japan.
with her husband was not possible. The United States refused to grant
Appeals based on denial of legal counsel, unlawful detention, denial of speedy
d'Aquino an entrance visa; and if she left the country as a stateless person,
trial, destruction of evidencé, perjured testimony before the Grand Jury, denial
she could not expect to return. Despite these barriers, they have not divorced
of defense witnesses, misconduct by prosecutors, prejudicial instructions by
in deference to their Catholic religion.
the judge were all denied by the appellate courts. The Supreme Court
rejected appeals for review three times in the next three years.
In 1968, the Justice Department demanded payment of the $10,000 fine.
However, she was without assets and worked only for subsistence in the
family store. A Federal District Court in Chicago ordered her to surrender
the cash value of two life insurance policies. The Chicago Japanese Civic
Association Credit Union granted a loan equal to the cash value fof $4,745,
and the fine was partially satisfied. In 1971, the Justice Department again
summoned her into court to demand payment of the balance of $5,255.
Attorney Jiro Yamaguchi represented her in the Chicago proceedings; but
Wayne M. Collins remained as associate counsel, and Collins blasted the
government for capricious harassment. Collins charged the government must
have billions of dollars in fines which they never try to collect. On November
14, 1972, the Seventh United States District Court of Appeals denied her a
hearing to show why she could not be made to pay the remaining fine.
Attorney Theodore Tamba filed a petition for executive clemency (pardon)
with the President of the United States on June 7, 1954 (Dwight Eisenhower
was President), but Tamba's petition was not answered. Collins filed a second
petition for presidential pardon on November 4, 1968 (Lyndon Johnson was
20
21
EPILOGUE
President; Richard Nixon was elected one day later), but Collins' petition was
During her trial in 1949, there were no organized groups supporting
not answered either. A petition for presidential pardon can be filed only once
Iva Toguri. While Japanese Americans may have sympathized with her
during a six-year period.
predicament, there was very little they could effectively do to help while
their own position in American society was under attack. As their hard struggle
Iva Toguri's father recently died, and his will stipulated that the remaining
to gain fundamental rights progressed, Japanese Americans warmed up to
fine be paid from his estate. The government collected the last bit of
the idea of supporting Iva Toguri, but it was an excruciatingly slow evolution.
retribution and closed her case. She is now 59 years of age, manages the
In 1957, William Hosokawa suggested in the Japanese American Citizens
family store for a living, and tries to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
League (JACL) newspaper: "Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that she does
She is still a stateless person and she dreads publicity because every time
indeed exist, and say firmly that we are interested in seeing that she gains
articles appear in the newspapers about "Tokyo Rose," she receives threatening
justice." In 1969 proposals were initiated within JACL in support of Iva Toguri
mail and telephone calls.
and also in 1974 a resolution was adopted by the National Council of the
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) committing support for her
The Legend of "Tokyo Rose" persists, but most of Iva Toguri's adversaries
(see appendix E). Now the largest national human rights organization
are now dead: Journalist Clark Lee died in 1953; Prosecutor Thomas DeWolfe
representing Americans of Japanese ancestry with 30,000 members through-
in 1959; Journalist Harry Brundidge in 1961; Prosecutor Frank Hennessey in
out the United States is supporting Iva Toguri.
1968; Prosecutor John Hogan in 1968. Judge Michael Roche died in 1964.
Her loyal defenders are also gone: Theodore Tamba died in 1973 and
The general public also had difficulty supporting Iva Toguri during her
Wayne Collins in 1974. (The third defense counsel, George Olshausen, is
trial. McCarthyism was beginning to sweep the country in 1949, and most
living in Europe.)
people withdrew from involvement in controversial cases. Congressional
committees started investigating alleged communists in government and
the movie industry, loyalty oaths were imposed on college professors and
the espionage trial of Judith Coplon and perjury trial of Alger Hiss were
in progress (Hiss was recently readmitted to the practice of law). When the
severe repression subsided a bit in 1957, a small support committee was
formed in San Francisco during Iva Toguri's deportation hearing, but people
were still afraid to become involved.
Wayne M. Collins, Jr., has lived with the Toguri case since childhood,
and when his father died he took over as Iva Toguri's attorney and chief
advocate. He is planning to file another petition for executive clemency with
the President of the United States. With the support of the American people,
Iva Toguri has a good chance to redeem her name and regain her precious
American citizenship. Iva Toguri deserves justice. She has suffered enough.
22
23
APPENDIX A
APPENDIX B
CONSTITUTION
CHARGES AGAINST
OF THE UNITED STATES
IVA TOGURI
OF AMERICA
That said defendant committed each and every one of the overt acts herein
described with treasonable intent and for the purpose of, and with the intent
Article III, Section 3:
in her to adhere to and give aid and comfort to the Imperial Japanese
Government.
Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against
them, or adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person
shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses
Overt Act I:
to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall
have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason
Between March 1, 1944 and May 1, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand
shall work corruption of blood, or forteiture except during the life of the
Jurors unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation
person attainted.
of Japan discussed with another person the proposed participation of
defendant in the radio broadcasting program.
(Definition of Corruption of Blood: The effect of an attainder upon a person
(Verdict: INNOCENT)
which bars him/her from inheriting, retaining, or transmitting any estate,
rank, or title.)
Overt Act II:
Amendment VI:
Between March 1, 1944 and May 1, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand
Jurors unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy
of Japan did discuss with employees of the said corporation the nature
and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the
and quality of a specific proposed radio broadcast.
crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously
(Verdict: INNOCENT)
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with witnesses against him; to have compulsory
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of
Overt Act III:
counsel for his defense.
Between March 1, 1944 and May 1, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand
Jurors unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation
of Japan did speak into a microphone regarding the introduction of a program
dealing with a motion picture involving war.
(Verdict: INNOCENT)
24
25
APPENDIX C
Overt Act IV:
Excerpts from a Letter to the President of the Unitd States
Which Accompanied a Petition for Executive Clemency
Between March 1, 1944 and May 1, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand
Jurors unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation
By Theodore Tamba, Attorney at Law, June 7, 1954
of Japan did speak into a microphone referring to enemies of Japan. (Verdict:
INNOCENT)
The most shocking experience I had was the alleged conduct of a man
named Harry Brundidge, a newspaperman
(who) accompanied to Japan
Overt Act V:
a man named Hogan, an attorney for the Justice Department Mr. Brundidge
is alleged to have deliberately bribed witnesses by promises of trips to the
United States and other gifts. While Brundidge was in Japan with Hogan, he
Between March 1, 1944 and May 1, 1944, the exact date being to the Grand
made contact with (Hiromi) Yagi who was induced to come to the United
Jurors unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation
States as a witness for the United States Government, and who testified before
of Japan did prepare a script for subsequent radio broadcast concerning the
the United States Grand Jury
loss of ships. (Verdict: INNOCENT)
My investigation developed that Yagi was then an employee of the Japanese
Travel Bureau
and I went to the Japanese Travel Bureau and there met
Overt Act VI:
Yagi. I then asked (Yagi) what he knew about the case of alleged treason
against (Iva Toguri). (Yagi) then gave me a narrative of one of the most
That on a day during October 1944, the exact date being to the Grand
obviously fictitious stories I have ever heard in my professional career.
Jurors unknown, the defendant in the offices of the Broadcasting Corporation
Finally, under questioning by me, Yagi stated that this was a story he and
of Japan did speak into a microphone concerning the loss of ships. (Verdict:
Brundidge had concocted
GUILTY)
I had the occasion (to meet a man named Toshikatsu Kodaira, a Japanese
newspaperman working for the United Press in Tokyo). Mr. Kodaira then
Overt Act VII:
proceeded to narrate the events truthfully and his statements are supported
by his deposition on file in the United States District Court in Northern
That on or about May 23, 1945, the defendant in the offices of the Broad-
California, much of which was not allowed in evidence. (Kodaira stated
casting Corporation of Japan did prepare a radio script for subsequent
he accompanied Yagi to a meeting with Brundidge, and that Brundidge
broadcast. (Verdict: INNOCENT)
attempted to bribe both of them with whiskey, clothing, and a trip to the
United States.) Kodaira was summoned by the (United States) Occupation to
the Office of Occupation Intelligence Service and there he confronted Yagi,
Overt Act VIII:
who admitted that the testimony he (Yagi) gave before the United States
Grand Jury was pure fiction. Kodaira produced the suit of clothes given him
by Brundidge. The trousers and coat bore the name of Harry Brundidge.
That on a day between May 1, 1945 and July 31, 1945, the exact date
being to the Grand Jurors unknown, defendant in the offices of the Broad-
casting Corporation of Japan did engage in an entertainment dialogue with
an employee of the Broadcasting Corporation of Japan for radio broad-
cast purposes. (Verdict: INNOCENT)
26
27
APPENDIX D
APPENDIX E
Excerpts from a Letter to the President of the United States
NATIONAL JAPANESE AMERICAN
Which Accompanied a Petition for Executive Clemency
CITIZENS LEAGUE RESOLUTION
By Wayne M. Collins, Attorney at Law, November 4, 1968
Adopted by the National Council on July 27, 1974
There was no trick or device to which the government's agents would not
or did not resort in seeking an undeserved conviction
They
seized
two
at the 23rd Biennial National Japanese American
of the Australian witnesses (Maj. Charles Cousens and Sgt. Kenneth Parkyns)
Citizens League Convention in Portland, Oregon.
who had notified the Attorney General that Iva (Toguri) was guiltless of
any act against the interests of the United States and that they offered to
testify on her behalf. Both were former prisoners of war held by the Japanese
WHEREAS, Iva Toguri was the victim of wartime hysteria and became a
at the Bunka Prisoner of War Camp in Tokyo. Two F.B.I. agents seized them
scapegoat for her alleged role as "Tokyo Rose" for those forces which sought
on their arrival from Australia and secreted them in a locked room at the
to foster vengeance and national retribution; and
Pan American Airway Terminal at the San Francisco Airport and subjected
them to interrogation and attempted to browbeat. them into refusing to
testify for the defendant. They held those Australian ex-soldiers incommunicado
WHEREAS, Iva Toguri suffered imprisonment, embarrassment, and physical
until counsel for the defendant was informed by a Customs officer that the
and mental anguish for alleged acts of treason; and
agents had taken the two Australian passengers to that room. Thereupon,
counsel for the defendant broke through the locked door, irrupted into the
WHEREAS, it is now apparent that much of the evidence and the conduct
room and brought the tete-a-tete to an abrupt climax and halt.
of her trial were highly questionable and prejudicial and that in view of the
motivations and climate of public hysteria at the time of the trial the verdict
On March 1. 1949, the defendant filed a notice of motion for an order of
is a blot on the integrity of American jurisprudence;
court of the issuance of subpoenas to be served on 43 witnesses for the
defendant in Japan for the taking of their depositions. To obtain such an order
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Japanese American Citizens
on behalf of the improverished defendant at government expense, the defen-
League, meeting at its 23rd Biennial National Convention in Portland, Oregon,
dant was required by court rule to file an affidavit specifying therein the name
July 23 to 27, 1974, recognize that Iva Toguri was unjustly tried and convicted
and address of such witnesses and a statement of the testimony expected
in the aftermath of World War II;
to be elicited from them. Immediately following the service of such a notice
and affidavit on counsel for the prosecution, the names and addresses
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the JACL offer to Iva Toguri and her family
and contents of the affidavit revealing the testimony expected to be elicited
its belated apology for long silence and inaction;
from each of the 43 witnesses was teletyped to the Justice Department and
relayed to F.B.I. agents in Tokyo. Thereupon, F.B.I. agent Fred Tillman
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the JACL use its leadership, manpower, and
accompanied by one or two M.P.'s called upon a majority of the witnesses
and coerced them to sign statements containing a multitude of falsities.
resources to correct the miscarriage of justice in Iva Toguri's case by seeking
all executive or other remedies available under the law;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the JACL personally contact Iva Toguri to
apprise her of the action of the National Council, and to ask whether she
desires, consents to, or accepts any help from the National organization.
28
29
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
9. Holmstrom David; "They Called Her 'Tokyo Rose,' California Living,
September 15, 1974, page 16.
1. United States of America, Plaintiffs, vs. Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino, Defendant;
.Holmstrom, David; "Was Tokyo Rose' Really a Traitor?" Christian Science
District Court of the United States for the Northern District of California,
Monitor, August 18, 1973, page 7.
Southern Division; Case No. 31.712-R, Transcript of the Trial, Federal Archives
and Records Center, San Bruno, California.
11.Jordan, Phil; "Interest in Case Looms as Matter of Justice," Pacific Citizen,
December 21-28, 1973, page 1.
2. Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino, Appellant, vs. United States of America, Appellee;
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Case No. 12,383;
.Knickerbocker, Paine; " 'Tokyo Rose: The Prevalence of a Legend,"
Briefs Regarding Appeal of Conviction; Law Library, City Hall, San Francisco,
Nichi Bei Times, December 6-11, 1973.
California.
13. Lipton, Dean; "Did We Convict the Wrong Tokyo Rose?" Nexus, Volume 1,
3. United States of America, Plaintiffs, vs. Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino, Defendant;
Number 5, page 51, Spring 1964.
District Court of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois,
Eastern Division; Case No. 66-C-1136, Proceedings Regarding Payment of
14. Olshausen, George; 'Tokyo Rose' - Folklore and Justice," City Lights,
Fine; Federal Archives and Records Center, Chicago, Illinois.
page 19, July 1952.
4. Delaplane, Stanton; "Coverage of the Trial," San Francisco Chronicle, July 5
15.Reuben, William; "The Strange Case of 'Tokyo Rose,' Frontier, Volume 8,
through October 7, 1949.
page 10, February 1957.
5. O'Gara, Francis; "Coverage of the Trial," San Francisco Examiner, July 5
16. Tamba, Theodore; "Memoirs: More Light on a Tragic Wartime Case,"
through October 7, 1949.
Hokubei Mainichi, May 1, May 14, June 18, 1973.
6. Tajiri, Marion; "Coverage of the Trial," Pacific Citizen, July 9 through
17.Ward, David; "The Unending War of Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino," Amerasia
October 15, 1949. Reprinted on December 21-28, 1973.
Journal, Volume 2, Number 2, page 26, July 1971.
18. Waugh, Isami; "The Trial of Tokyo Rose,' Bridge, Volume 3, Number 1,
page 5, February 1974.
Secondary Sources
Background Sources
7. Fazio, Rose Maria; "The Effects of the Broadcasts of 'Tokyo Rose' During
World War II," Masters Thesis, Pennsylvania State University, Speech
Department, 1968.
19. Congressional Record; Volume 102, Part 2, page 1683, January 31, 1956.
Explanation of the government's position on the deportation proceedings
8. Hada, John; "The Indictment and Trial of Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino -
against Iva Toguri. Read into the record by Senator Harley Kilgore, Chairman
'Tokyo Rose,' " Masters Thesis, University of San Francisco, History
of the Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration
Department, 1973.
and Naturalization.
30
31
.Congressional Record; Volume 102, Part 3, page 2851, February 20, 1956.
Comments on the loyalty of Japanese Americans when Iva Toguri was
released from Alderson Federal Reformatory. Read into the record by
Senator Thomas Kuchel of California.
21. Daniels, Roger; The Politics of Prejudice: The Anti-Japanese Movement
in California and Struggle for Japanese Exclusion, Atheneum, New York, 1967.
22. Fairbank, John, et. al.; East Asia: The Modern Transformation, Chapter 7,
"Imperial Japan," Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1965.
23. The Grizzly Bear; Official Publication of the Native Sons and Daughters of
the Golden West, published monthly; 1945 through 1949. Indicates role
of organization in opposing Japanese Americans and Iva Toguri.
1.Heizer, Robert, et. al.; The Other Californians, Chapter 8, "Words and Acts
Against the Japanese," University of California, Berkeley, 1971.
25.Kaku, Michio; "Media: Racism in the Comics," Bridge, Volume 3, Number 1,
page 25, February 1974.
26. Ogawa, Dennis; From Japs to Japanese: The Evolution of Japanese
American Stereotypes, McCutchan, Berkeley, 1971.
27.Pacific Citizen, Official Publication of the Japanese American Citizens
League, published weekly; January 1946 through December 1950. Discusses
issues pertinent to Japanese Americans in the post World War II period.
28.Paik, Irvin; "That Oriental Feeling: A Look at the Caricatures of the Asians
as Sketched by American Movies," Roots: An Asian American Reader,
University of California, Los Angeles, 1971, page 30.
29. TenBroek, Jacobus, et. al.; Prejudice, War, and the Constitution, Part I,
"The Anti-Japanese Heritage and Activation of the Stereotype," University
of California, Berkeley, 1954, 1968.
30. Yoshimura, Evelyn; "G.l.'s and Asian Women," Roots: An Asian American
Reader, University of California, Los Angeles, 1971, page 27.
32