What is it about?
The essay shows how a very small number of Japanese Americans were involved in espionage for Imperial Japan prior to the Pearl Harbor attack.
Featured Image
Photo by Peter Kasprzyk on Unsplash
Why is it important?
As many celebrate the patriotism of Japanese Americans and create an image of the political Model Minority, this essay reminds us that at least some Japanese Americans are human and make choices that in hindsight prove less than wise.
Perspectives
I suspect the essay will surprise some people and perhaps take an extreme position--that I am supporting the idea that all West Coast Japanese Americans were rightfully mass removed and interned or that the 200+ Hawaii Japanese leaders were rightfully interned. I am NOT advocating this position at all.
Brian Hayashi
Kent State University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: “Frank Knox’s Fifth Column in Hawai’i: The U.S. Navy, the Japanese, and the Pearl Harbor Attack”, Journal of American-East Asian Relations, July 2020, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/18765610-02702003.
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