Lunes 1 de diciembre de 2025:
I watched the following film in the Japanese-style room that night.
It was recorded on an external HDD connected to a DIGA (made in 2017). It will be broadcast on BS12 at 9 PM on November 29, 2025.
SATURDAY SHORT THEATER "二世／nisei" (original title). Produced in the United States in 2023. 21 minutes long. Originally in English. Japanese dubbed version.
This short film depicts one scene from a battle on the Italian front lines by the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-second-generation Japanese Americans team. It is based on a true story. It was made by the grandson of a unit member.
It is an excellent film filled with tributes to his grandfather.
The story of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and that of Daniel Inouye (who does not appear in this film) are well known in Japan as well. The movie "Go For Broke!" (1951, USA, black and white film) is famous, but I haven't seen it yet.
The tactic of experimentally using units composed of prisoners of war from untrustworthy enemy countries as "vanguards" has been used in all countries since ancient times (even in ancient Rome). It was also commonly used in Japan during the Sengoku period (16th century).
Additionally, Japan has not done this once since the Meiji Restoration. The Kantō (Kwantung) Army did have a "Mongolian" cavalry unit, but they were professional soldiers who had come to Japan of their own volition, hoping for Mongolian independence, and received specialized education and training at the Japanese Military Academy.
I once saw footage in another documentary of President Truman gathering members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team after World War II, smilingly presenting them with awards and placing medals around their necks.
It was President Roosevelt (FDR) who committed the worst atrocities in human history by depriving tens of thousands of Japanese Americans of almost all of their private property (it was "legal" because a "law" had been enacted by Congress. This "law" would not have been possible under modern legal principles, but modern law only applied to "humans" (i.e., white people), and modern legal principles had no bearing on animals. On the other hand, it was in line with the principles of "democracy"). FDR forcibly relocated them to a desert-like area and imprisoned them in concentration camps for four years.
FDR did not imprison German Americans or Italian Americans. Even the Italian Mafia lived in luxury (there is a scene in the movie "The Godfather" where they mock the Japanese military's "balloon bombs" while enjoying lavish meals.).
Watching the video of the award ceremony above, I thought, "What a hypocrite!" He should have apologized a million times by kneeling down.
However, as a politician, it was impossible for him to apologize to "Japanese Americans" at this time. The American public would have reacted strongly, which would have undoubtedly affected his approval ratings. No matter who he was, all he could do was smile and praise these people, who had been treated like expendable pawns, saying, "You did a good job！"
President Reagan was the first to officially apologize. Perhaps it was because he was a "hawk" within the Republican Party that he was able to apologize to "Japanese Americans" (the American people).
The internment of Japanese Americans is an important historical example that shows what can happen when "democracy" goes in the wrong direction.
In addition, Japan did not forcibly relocate or deport "foreigners" such as Americans, British, Dutch, or Chinese, or imprison them in concentration camps.
Even during the war, Americans lived in Japan. To avoid indiscriminate urban bombing by U.S. military aircraft, they painted marks on the roofs of their homes indicating "This house is an American home." There are no known cases of Japanese people interfering with this.
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