EXPLORE FURTHER
A Betrayal
Despite being promised that their property and belongings would be kept in trust, the government seized and sold everything at a fraction of its worth. When Japanese Canadians were given full rights of citizenship in 1949, including the right to live anywhere in the country, there was nothing to return to. Less than half chose to return and rebuild from nothing.
Life in Japan
In 1946, nearly 4,000 exiles from Canada arrived in a devastated Japan. In addition to the unthinkable destruction of the atomic bombs, Allied aerial bombing had devastated cities across the countries. The Japanese government had also driven its population to poverty in the effort to win the war. When Japanese Canadians sailed to Japan, they joined millions from across the former Japanese empire who were also seeking new homes. The Canadian-born children often struggled to fit into the new culture. Over the coming decades, many returned to Canada.
What was lost
