Japanese American Voice: Historical Background

Some argue Mike Masaoka's position was a function of the era in which he lived, suggesting that an accommodationist stance was inevitable.

As a standard against which to contrast Masaoka's Creed and testimony, we have included the testimony of James Omura, a former journalist from San Francisco, before the same Congressional committee on the same day.

You will also find an editorial written by Omura, entitled "In Spirit, We Are Americans." The contrast between Masaoka and Omura is striking. Whereas Masaoka accommodated the government, Omura stood up for civil rights.

For a much more detailed account of the actions and positions of the Japanese American Citizens League and Mike Masaoka during the war, we have also published a copy of the Lim Report. This report was commissioned by the JACL to study wartime activities and has now been made available by the author.
Historical Documents

Mike Masaoka's "Japanese American Creed"

Excerpts from Masaoka's testimony before the House Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration, February 23, 1942

James Omura, "In Spirit We Are Americans," circa 1942

Excerpts from Omura's testimony before the House Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration, February 23, 1942

Lim Report (read HTML version)

Lim Report (download MS Word file)

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	Some argue Mike Masaoka's position was a function of the era in which he lived, suggesting that an accommodationist stance was inevitable. As a standard against which to contrast Masaoka's Creed and testimony, we have included the testimony of James Omura, a former journalist from San Francisco, before the same Congressional committee on the same day. You will also find an editorial written by Omura, entitled "In Spirit, We Are Americans." The contrast between Masaoka and Omura is striking. Whereas Masaoka accommodated the government, Omura stood up for civil rights. For a much more detailed account of the actions and positions of the Japanese American Citizens League and Mike Masaoka during the war, we have also published a copy of the Lim Report. This report was commissioned by the JACL to study wartime activities and has now been made available by the author. Historical Documents Mike Masaoka's "Japanese American Creed" Excerpts from Masaoka's testimony before the House Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration, February 23, 1942 James Omura, "In Spirit We Are Americans," circa 1942 Excerpts from Omura's testimony before the House Select Committee Investigating National Defense Migration, February 23, 1942 Lim Report (read HTML version) Lim Report (download MS Word file) Go to Page 4, Inscription