Kibei

Kibei kibei (帰米, literally "go home to America") was a term often used in the 1940s to describe Japanese Americans born in the United States who returned to America after receiving their education in Japan. The exact number is not known--perhaps about 11,000.^[1]

Those men who were in school in Japan in late 1941 typically entered the Japanese army. Those on the West coast of the United States were interned. Many volunteered for service with the U.S., especially as translators.^[2]

Another case was Minoru Wada, an American citizen educated in Japan who served as a Japanese Army junior officer. He was taken prisoner in the Philippines in 1945. He provided U.S. bomber crews with vital intelligence, and led the aircraft in a highly successful attack on the headquarters of the Japanese 100th Division. He was motivated by a desire to minimize the loss of life through aiding to effect a swift end to the Pacific War.^[3]

Notes

1. ↑ Roger Daniels (1988). Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850. U. of Washington Press. p. 1. 
2. ↑ Wendy L. Ng (2002). Japanese American Internment During World War II: A History and Reference Guide. Greenwood. p. 6. 
3. ↑ Merriam Press, "Japanese Officer Led a U.S. Air Strike Against His Own Troops" (retrieved on August 30th, 2011).

Sources

• "Impossible Subjects". Mae Ngai. Part III (p. 173). Princeton University Press. 2004. Princeton, New Jersey.
• Dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kibei. Retrieved 11-30-09.