Fred Korematsu Direct Examination Q & A
Q: State your name and age for the court
A: Fred Korematsu and I’m twenty-five years old.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Oakland, California.
Q: Since you’re of Japanese descent do you feel that you’re loyalty is to Japan or America?
A: I was born in America, and raised on its values. I consider myself to be an American Citizen and am fully loyal to my country.
Q: Can you state an example of your loyalty?
A: Yes, I attempted to enlist in the U.S National Guard and The U.S Coast Guard after the bombing on Pearl Harbor.
Q: Why did you want to enlist after the attack?
A: I felt that I needed prove myself as an American citizen, and help America’s war effort against Japan.
Q: Why didn’t you end up serving in the military?
A: I was rejected, they wouldn’t allow me to join because they said I was a NON-ALIEN ENEMY.
Q: Why do you think that is?
A: I assume that it was because of my Japanese ethnicity.
Q: How did that impact you?
A: It made me feel ashamed of what I look like, and I feared that the government thought my allegiances were to Japan, and that I wasn’t a true American citizen.
*bring in evidence* (DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE)
Q: Do you recognize this?
A: Yes, it’s a propaganda war poster.
Q: Where have you seen it?
A: I saw it in the newspaper as an advertisement a short time after Pearl Harbor.
Q: Is this a fair and accurate representation of what you saw?
A: Yes, this is the exact advertisement I saw
Q: When you saw this, what was your immediate reaction?
A: I was terrified. I knew that people associated me with the Japanese nation because of my appearance.
Q: Have you changed your appearance in any way?
A: Yes, I ended up getting surgery to make my eyes less slanted.
Q: What brought you to decide upon getting surgery?
A. I thought that if I attempted to change my appearance, I wouldn’t have to report to the government.
Q: Why didn’t you want to report to the government if it was required by law?
A: Well after seeing the wartime propaganda posters and the Civilian Exclusion order I started to fear for my life. To imagine myself being targeted because of my race, and then put into an internment camp, was an awful thought. My life was in California.
Q: What was your first reaction after seeing the Civilian Exclusion order?
A: At first, I thought the exclusion order would be only for aliens and for those that were born in Japan. I didn’t think that the government would go as far as to include American citizens. I found that, because of this, my rights were being taken away from me.
Q:Why were you so surprised by this?
A: I always thought of America as the land of the free… and I, being born here, thought I was safe from the ignorant encroachment of my rights as a human being , yet it seems to not be so.
Emily: No further questions your Honors.
Evidence
-War Time Propaganda
-http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Anti-Japanese_World_War_II_propaganda_poster_war_bonds.jpg
-This evidence depicts a racist image of a Japanese Soldier putting a knife to an American womens throat.
-”Keep this HORROR from our home.”
-This evidence helps our case because it shows that the media was targeting racist slogans and depictions of the Japanese through propaganda. This help shows the prejudice against Japanese-Americans
-The only way this could hurt our case is if the Prosecution somehow disproves it’s authenticity.
Q: State your name and age for the court
A: Fred Korematsu and I’m twenty-five years old.
Q: Where were you born?
A: I was born in Oakland, California.
Q: Since you’re of Japanese descent do you feel that you’re loyalty is to Japan or America?
A: I was born in America, and raised on its values. I consider myself to be an American Citizen and am fully loyal to my country.
Q: Can you state an example of your loyalty?
A: Yes, I attempted to enlist in the U.S National Guard and The U.S Coast Guard after the bombing on Pearl Harbor.
Q: Why did you want to enlist after the attack?
A: I felt that I needed prove myself as an American citizen, and help America’s war effort against Japan.
Q: Why didn’t you end up serving in the military?
A: I was rejected, they wouldn’t allow me to join because they said I was a NON-ALIEN ENEMY.
Q: Why do you think that is?
A: I assume that it was because of my Japanese ethnicity.
Q: How did that impact you?
A: It made me feel ashamed of what I look like, and I feared that the government thought my allegiances were to Japan, and that I wasn’t a true American citizen.
*bring in evidence* (DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE)
Q: Do you recognize this?
A: Yes, it’s a propaganda war poster.
Q: Where have you seen it?
A: I saw it in the newspaper as an advertisement a short time after Pearl Harbor.
Q: Is this a fair and accurate representation of what you saw?
A: Yes, this is the exact advertisement I saw
Q: When you saw this, what was your immediate reaction?
A: I was terrified. I knew that people associated me with the Japanese nation because of my appearance.
Q: Have you changed your appearance in any way?
A: Yes, I ended up getting surgery to make my eyes less slanted.
Q: What brought you to decide upon getting surgery?
A. I thought that if I attempted to change my appearance, I wouldn’t have to report to the government.
Q: Why didn’t you want to report to the government if it was required by law?
A: Well after seeing the wartime propaganda posters and the Civilian Exclusion order I started to fear for my life. To imagine myself being targeted because of my race, and then put into an internment camp, was an awful thought. My life was in California.
Q: What was your first reaction after seeing the Civilian Exclusion order?
A: At first, I thought the exclusion order would be only for aliens and for those that were born in Japan. I didn’t think that the government would go as far as to include American citizens. I found that, because of this, my rights were being taken away from me.
Q:Why were you so surprised by this?
A: I always thought of America as the land of the free… and I, being born here, thought I was safe from the ignorant encroachment of my rights as a human being , yet it seems to not be so.
Emily: No further questions your Honors.
Evidence
-War Time Propaganda
-http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Anti-Japanese_World_War_II_propaganda_poster_war_bonds.jpg
-This evidence depicts a racist image of a Japanese Soldier putting a knife to an American womens throat.
-”Keep this HORROR from our home.”
-This evidence helps our case because it shows that the media was targeting racist slogans and depictions of the Japanese through propaganda. This help shows the prejudice against Japanese-Americans
-The only way this could hurt our case is if the Prosecution somehow disproves it’s authenticity.
Fred Korematsu Cross-Examination
Q: Is there any chance you enlisted in the coast guard with the intent of becoming a spy on the inside?
A: No, not at all
Q: So you had eye surgery to hide from the government?
A: Yes but I did it because I wanted to stay in my home town and I felt that my rights were being taken away from me just because of my appearance. I did not do it with the intent of deliberately defying the government.
Q: Did you do anything else in order to hide from the government?
A: Yes, I changed my name and said I was of Spanish and Hawaiian descent
Q: So not only did you run from the government but you also had surgery to change your appearance and you lied to the government as well.
A: Yes, I did do those things but it is not for the intent in which you are accusing me of. I did it because I felt that my life was being threatened. I did it because I had the right to stay where I was. I felt that I was being racially targeted and I felt that I was in grave danger. I was being being targeted simply because I looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. However just because I may look like those responsible for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I am not and have never been disloyal to my country no matter what you chose to believe. I have never had the intention to threaten or harm my country and nor will I ever.
Q: Were you in any sort of relationship?
A: Yes I had a girlfriend before I was arrested.
Q: Was she of Japanese descent as well?
A: No she was of American-Italian descent
Q: Did that cause conflict?
A: No not at all, we loved each other. However, I haven’t seen her since I was arrested.
Overall I think that the prosecution lawyers will mainly try to pick at the fact that I had eye surgery and that I did not obey the eviction notice. I think they will try to prove that I am a threat to the country because of the fact that I hid from the government and because of the fact that I attempted to change my appearance. They might also find some way to question the fact that I had a girlfriend who was of American-Italian descent however, I am not sure how they might go about that. Mainly I think that they will target the fact that I disobeyed the law.
Q: Is there any chance you enlisted in the coast guard with the intent of becoming a spy on the inside?
A: No, not at all
Q: So you had eye surgery to hide from the government?
A: Yes but I did it because I wanted to stay in my home town and I felt that my rights were being taken away from me just because of my appearance. I did not do it with the intent of deliberately defying the government.
Q: Did you do anything else in order to hide from the government?
A: Yes, I changed my name and said I was of Spanish and Hawaiian descent
Q: So not only did you run from the government but you also had surgery to change your appearance and you lied to the government as well.
A: Yes, I did do those things but it is not for the intent in which you are accusing me of. I did it because I felt that my life was being threatened. I did it because I had the right to stay where I was. I felt that I was being racially targeted and I felt that I was in grave danger. I was being being targeted simply because I looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. However just because I may look like those responsible for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I am not and have never been disloyal to my country no matter what you chose to believe. I have never had the intention to threaten or harm my country and nor will I ever.
Q: Were you in any sort of relationship?
A: Yes I had a girlfriend before I was arrested.
Q: Was she of Japanese descent as well?
A: No she was of American-Italian descent
Q: Did that cause conflict?
A: No not at all, we loved each other. However, I haven’t seen her since I was arrested.
Overall I think that the prosecution lawyers will mainly try to pick at the fact that I had eye surgery and that I did not obey the eviction notice. I think they will try to prove that I am a threat to the country because of the fact that I hid from the government and because of the fact that I attempted to change my appearance. They might also find some way to question the fact that I had a girlfriend who was of American-Italian descent however, I am not sure how they might go about that. Mainly I think that they will target the fact that I disobeyed the law.