Contribution to Book
Dual Citizen Interpreters: Consequences of Assigned Loyalties in the Aftermath of War
Interpreting Conflict: A Comparative Framework
(2021)
Abstract
During the Asia-Pacific War (1931-45), there were Nisei (in this context, second-generation Japanese Americans and Canadians) who used their language skills to serve in the Japanese war effort. In the 1930s, thousands of Nisei crossed the Pacific for education and employment in Japan. At the time of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, some had chosen to stay in Japan or were stranded there. They were recruited by the Japanese government to engage in language-related tasks. This chapter examines the backgrounds and activities of Nisei linguists within the Japanese war organizations and the consequences they faced in the postwar period. The discussion illuminates the nature of work assigned to heritage language speakers, the issue of dual citizenship and the visibility of interpreters in war.
Keywords
- Nisei interpreters,
- Asia-Pacific War,
- war crimes,
- dual citizenship,
- Japanese military
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 12, 2021
Editor
Todorova, Marija, and Ruiz Rosendo, Lucia
Publisher
Palgrave
ISBN
978-3-030-66908-9
Citation Information
Kayoko Takeda. "Dual Citizen Interpreters: Consequences of Assigned Loyalties in the Aftermath of War" Interpreting Conflict: A Comparative Framework (2021) p. 17 - 35 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kayoko_takeda/62/