Answer: During World War II, approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in internment camps by the U.S. government. This action was based on the belief that Japanese Americans posed a threat to national security due to their ancestry, despite the fact that there was no evidence of their disloyalty or involvement in espionage.
The forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans was a result of racism, xenophobia, and wartime hysteria. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, which authorized the Secretary of War to designate certain areas as military zones and exclude any and all persons from these areas as deemed necessary or desirable for national security. This allowed the U.S. government to forcibly remove Japanese Americans from the West Coast and place them in internment camps in remote areas across the country.
Life in internment camps was difficult and degrading, as Japanese Americans were forced to live in barracks with inadequate facilities, limited privacy, and poor sanitation. They were also subjected to strict regulations and curfews, and many were forced to do hard labor for little pay. Japanese Americans lost their homes, businesses, and possessions, and many suffered long-term psychological and emotional trauma from the experience.
The internment of Japanese Americans was not officially recognized as a mistake until 1988, when the U.S. government issued an official apology and paid reparations to surviving Japanese American internees. This acknowledgment of wrongdoing was an important step towards recognizing and addressing the injustices faced by Japanese Americans during World War II.