Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

112 • IMMIGRATION
On 30 October, Ikeda and Robertson issued a joint communiqué that
contained the following points:
1. Japan would continue to increase its own defense capabilities
while taking into account constitutional and economic constraints.
2. Delegates from both countries would continue to hold discussions
concerning military aid in Tokyo.
3. An agricultural surplus provision in the amount of some $50
million (a sum that was based on Article 559 of the Mutual Security
Act [MSA]) and reciprocal yen funds acquired from sales
of agricultural surplus would be used to subsidize Japan’s defense
production and used for overseas purchases and investment
to help strengthen the country’s defense-related industries.
IMMIGRATION. The first Japanese in the United States arrived as
castaway sailors in the 1840s and 1850s, with Japanese students,
government officials, and businessmen arriving by the 1860s and
1870s. The first Japanese immigrants were members of the Wakamatsu
Colony and arrived in California in 1869. In the 1880s, the
number of Japanese immigrants in the United States began to significantly
increase and, by 1910, outnumbered Chinese immigrants on
the mainland, and were by far the largest ethnic group in Hawaii.
From 1910 until the 1970s, Japanese Americans were the largest
Asian ethnic group in the United States, with the largest number living
in California and Hawaii. According to the 2000 U.S. Census,
more than 700,000 Japanese Americans live in the U.S.
At first respected for their diligence and hard work, by the early
20th century Japanese Americans increasingly became the target for
racially based discrimination. The “Gentlemen’s Agreement” of
1907–1908; Alien Land Laws of the 1910s; the Oriental Exclusion
Act of the 1924 Immigration Bill, and especially the internment of
Japanese Americans during World War II are the best-known examples
of discriminatory laws against Japanese Americans. Despite hardship
and discrimination, first generation (issei) and second generation
(nisei) Japanese Americans significantly contributed to the agricultural
development of western states and Hawaii, and also developed
thriving business communities in many areas of the United States.
During World War II, many Japanese American soldiers fought