TIMELINE |
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| JAPAN | THE UNITED STATES | |
| Commodore Matthew Perry with the U.S. Navy delivers an official letter to urge the Shogun regime to open Japanese ports. | 1853 | |
| Japanese feudal regime, the Tokugwa Shogunate, signs America-Japan Treaty of Amity, ending the government’s seclusion policy. | 1854 | |
| 1855 | ||
| 1856 | ||
| 1857 | ||
| 1858 | ||
| 1859 | ||
| 1860 | ||
| 1861 | The Civil War begins (-1865). | |
| 1862 | ||
| 1863 | Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves. | |
| 1864 | ||
| 1865 | ||
| The Tokugawa Shogunate permits Japanese citizens to go abroad for the first time. | 1866 | |
| The last shogun, Yoshinobu Tokugawa, resigns. Edo era ends with the restoration of the Imperial Rule, crowning the young Meiji Emperor. | 1867 | Alaska is purchased from Russia. |
| The first group of Japanese immigrants, “Gannenn Mono,” immigrates to Hawaii without government permit. | 1868 | An unauthorized group from Aizu Wakamatsu region immigrates to California, establishing a short-lived first Japanese Colony (Wakamatsu Colony) in Gold Hill. |
| 1869 | First transcontinental railroad opens. | |
| 1870 | ||
The feudal land system is replaced by the prefecture system. The Japanese government issues passports to Japanese immigrants upon a treaty signed between the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Japanese Imperial government. |
1871 | |
| 1872 | ||
Japanese government starts policy of nationwide draft for the military. Meiji Government announces the Japanese Land Tax Reform, changing from payment method from rice or other crops to cash payment. |
1873 | |
| 1874 | ||
| 1875 | ||
| 1876 | ||
| 1877 | ||
| 1878 | ||
| 1879 | ||
| 1880 | ||
| King Kalakaua of Hawaii visits Japan to meet with the government officials, requests increased number of immigrants to support the agriculture industry in Hawaii. | 1881 | |
| 1882 | Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act, ending Chinese immigration for the next 60 years. | |
| 1883 | ||
| The Meiji Japanese government issues official permits for the citizens to travel abroad. | 1884 | Japanese Consulate opens in Hawaii. |
Cabinet gets established. The first Prime Minister is elected. The first government-organized farmer group immigrates to Hawaii. |
1885 | Japanese laborers begin arriving in Hawaii, recruited by plantation owners to work the sugarcane fields. |
| 1886 | ||
| 1887 | ||
| 1888 | ||
| 1889 | ||
| 1890 | ||
| Mass immigration to California starts. | 1891 | Union Pacific Railroad starts hiring Japanese immigrants, sending them to Idaho. |
| 1892 | ||
| 1893 | ||
| First Sino-Japanese War starts (-1895).
Private immigration agencies start operating. |
1894 | The republic of Hawaii is established, ending the monarchy. A U.S. district court rules that Japanese immigrants cannot become citizens because they are not "a free white person" as the Naturalization Act of 1790 requires. |
| Japanese government stops recruiting immigrants, handing down the task to private immigration agencies. | 1895 | |
| 1896 | ||
| 1897 | ||
| 1898 | Hawaii is officially annexed to the United States, easing up the immigration policy from Hawaii to the mainland. | |
| 1899 | ||
| 1900 | The first large-scale anti-Japanese protest in California is held, organized by various labor groups. | |
| 1901 | ||
| 1902 | ||
| 1903 | ||
| Russo-Japanese War starts (-1905). | 1904 | |
| 1905 | The Asiatic Exclusion League is formed in San Francisco. In attendance are labor leaders and European immigrants, marking the first organized effort of the anti-Japanese movement. | |
| 1906 | The San Francisco Board of Education passes a resolution to segregate children of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ancestry from the majority population. | |
| 1907 | ||
| 1908 | Japan and the U.S. agree (Gentlemen's Agreement) to halt the migration of Japanese laborers in the United States. Japanese women are allowed to immigrate if they are wives of U.S. residents. | |
| 1909 | ||
| 1910 | ||
| 1911 | ||
| 1912 | ||
| 1913 | 13 states pass the Alien Land Laws, forbidding "all aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning land. This later grew to include prohibition on leasing land as well. | |
| Japan gets involved in World War I. | 1914 | |
| 1915 | ||
| 1916 | ||
| 1917 | ||
| 1918 | ||
| 1919 | ||
| The Japanese Government stops issuing passports to picture brides. | 1920 | |
| 1921 | ||
| 1922 | ||
| 1923 | ||
| 1924 | Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1924, effectively ending all Japanese immigration to the U.S. | |
| 1925 | ||
| 1926 | ||
| 1927 | ||
| 1928 | ||
| 1929 | ||
| 1930 | ||
| The Imperial Japanese Army invades Manchuria. | 1931 | |
| The Japanese government invites the last emperor of China Pu-Yi to create Manchukuo, a puppet state in China. | 1932 | |
| Japan withdraws from the League of Nations. | 1933 | |
| 1934 | ||
| 1935 | ||
| 1936 | ||
| Second Sino-Japanese War starts | 1937 | |
| 1938 | ||
| Germany invades Poland. World War II breaks out. | 1939 | |
| The Tripartite Pact is agreed by Japan, Germany and Italy. | 1940 | |
Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact is signed. Japanese army invades French Indochina. U.S - Japan peace negotiations fail. Japanese navy bombs the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Japan occupies Guam and Penang, and gains control over Hong Kong. |
1941 | A U.S. Intelligence report commissioned by President Roosevelt concludes that the great majority of Japanese Americans are loyal to the U.S. and do not pose a threat to national security in the event of war with Japan. Martial law is declared in Hawaii. U.S. delivers the Hull note demanding that Japan withdraw from China, the last diplomatic communication. The FBI begins arresting Japanese immigrants identified as community leaders: priests, Japanese language teachers, newspaper publishers, and heads of organizations. A declaration of war against Japan is brought by the President and passed by Congress. |
Japan occupies Manila, Kuala Lumpur, and Rabaul. Japan occupies Batavia in Jakarta and Rangoon in Burma. U.S. conducts the first air bombing in Tokyo. The U.S. Navy defeats the Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway. The first exchange ship “Asama Maru” transports Japanese immigrants from the United States to Japan. Japanese army is destroyed in New Guinea. |
1942 | President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 authorizing military authorities to exclude civilians from any area without trial or hearing. Japanese Americans were the only group to be imprisoned as a result of it. General DeWitt begins the process of removing all persons of Japanese ancestry--U.S. citizens and aliens alike. A curfew goes into effect for all those of Japanese ancestry. The Wartime Civil Control Administration opens 16 "Assembly Centers" to detain approximately 92,000 men, women, and children until the permanent incarceration camps are completed. The President signs Executive Order 9102 establishing the War Relocation Authority. The first Civilian Exclusion Order is issued for Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington. Forty-five families are given one week to prepare. The incarcerated Japanese Americans begin transfer to 10 permanent WRA incarceration facilities or "camps." The WRA, Department of Justice, and other types of confinement sites eventually hold 120,000 people. |
Japan withdraws from Guadalcanal. Greater East Asia Conference is held in Tokyo. |
1943 | From the results of the "loyalty questionnaire," "disloyal" incarcerees are separated from "loyal" incarcerees. |
Japanese navy is defeated at Battle of the Philippine Sea. The Hideki Tojo Cabinet resigns. The first fleet of Kamikaze suicide bombers takes off. |
1944 | The War Department imposes the draft on Japanese American men, including those incarcerated in the camps. A few hundred resist and are imprisoned in a federal penitentiary. |
Japanese army is defeated in Iwo Jima. Fierce land battles in Okinawa take place. Japanese Government signs Instrument of Surrender, ending the World War II. The Supreme Commander for the Allied Power occupies Japan. |
1945 | The U.S. blanket bombs Japanese cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe. The U.S. drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. Japan surrenders on August 14. Some 44,000 people still remain in the camps. Many have nowhere to go, having lost their homes and jobs. Many are afraid of anti-Japanese hostility. |
Humanity Declaration is issued by Emperor Showa. Constitution of the State of Japan is enacted. |
1946 | Tule Lake "Segregation Center" closes. This is the last War Relocation Authority facility to close. "You not only fought the enemy but you fought prejudice... and you won." These were the words of President Truman as he received the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. |
| 1947 | ||
| 1948 | President Truman signs the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act. Approximately $38 million was paid from this act. | |
| 1949 | ||
| 1950 | ||
| 1951 | ||
| The Supreme Commander for the Allied Power ends occupation of Japan. | 1952 | The Senate and House vote the McCarran-Walter Act into law. This bill allows Japanese immigrants to become naturalized U.S. citizens. |
| 1953 | ||
| 1954 | ||
| 1955 | ||
| 1956 | ||
| 1957 | ||
| 1958 | ||
| 1959 | Daniel Inouye is first Japanese American to be elected to Congress | |
| 1960 | ||
| 1961 | ||
| 1962 | ||
| 1963 | ||
| Olympic games take place in Tokyo. | 1964 | |
| 1965 | ||
| 1966 | ||
| 1967 | ||
| 1968 | ||
| 1969 | ||
| 1970 | ||
| 1971 | ||
| Okinawa returns to Japan. | 1972 | |
| 1973 | ||
| 1974 | ||
| 1975 | ||
| 1976 | ||
| 1977 | ||
| 1978 | ||
| 1979 | ||
| 1980 | The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians is established calling for a congressional committee to investigate the detention program and the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066. | |
| 1981 | ||
| 1982 | ||
| 1983 | ||
| 1984 | ||
| 1985 | ||
| 1986 | ||
| 1987 | ||
| 1988 | President Ronald Reagan signs HR 442 into law. It offers an apology and reparation payments of $20,000 to each person incarcerated. | |
| 1989 | ||
| 1990 | In a Washington D.C. ceremony, the first nine redress payments are made. | |