Sanji Abe
Sanji Abe (阿部三次, Abe Sanji, 1895–1982) was a pre-
Early life and political career
Abe was born in
In 1940, Abe became the first American of Japanese ancestry to be elected to Hawaii's territorial senate; he ran from the South Hilo district as a Republican.[5] His dual citizenship of the U.S. and Japan became a hotly discussed issue during his election campaign.[3] His citizenship issues first came to public attention in early October; soon afterwards, Abe announced that he would be renouncing his Japanese citizenship.[6] He received confirmation of his expatriation on November 2.[7]
Arrests and detention
The intersection of Abe's ancestry and rise to prominence set him up for negative attention from the US Army's Hawaii sub-command; he was arrested on August 2, 1942, roughly eight months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II.[8] Two days later, he was formally charged with possession of a Japanese flag.[9] However, at the time he was charged, this was not in fact an offence; with martial law in effect, the Army issued an order making this a crime, but that was not until six days after his arrest.[8] As a result, he was released by a military tribunal two weeks later.[10] The flag in question was a prop in a movie theater which Abe owned jointly; he suspected that it had been planted.[5][8]
However, the Army took Abe into "custodial detention" anyway soon after, a fact which they did not publicly announce until September 8.
Later activities
Unlike fellow internee Sakakihara, Abe did not return to politics after the
Notes
- ^ a b "Obituary: Sanji Abe", The New York Times, 1982-12-03, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ 1/8 KHBC Radio by Masafumi Honda, Hawaii Japanese Center, 2008, archived from the original on 2010-06-07, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ a b "Japs' Dual Citizenship Causes Storm in Hawaii", Palm Beach Post, 1940-12-21, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ Bernardo, Rosemarie (2016-10-19). "Center preserves legacy of WWII internment camp". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ a b c d Whitehead 2004, p. 79
- ^ HSA 2009, p. 1
- ^ HSA 2009, p. 4
- ^ a b c d Robinson 2009, p. 227
- ^ "Hawaiian Senator Faces Japanese Flag Charge", The New York Times, 1942-08-04, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ "Hawaiian Senator Freed on Charge of Possessing Jap Flag", Chicago Tribune, 1942-08-19, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ "Abe Detained in Hawaii: Territorial Senator of Japanese Extraction Held by Army", The New York Times, 1942-09-08, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ "Nippon Resigns As Isle Senator", The Bend Bulletin, 1943-02-04, retrieved 2009-12-28
- ^ HSA 2009, p. 13
- ^ Whitehead 2004, p. 83
Bibliography
- Whitehead, John S. (2004), Completing the union: Alaska, Hawai'i, and the battle for statehood, American Histories of the Frontier Series, UNM Press, ISBN 978-0-8263-3637-8
- Robinson, Greg (2009), A Tragedy of Democracy: Japanese Detention in North America, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-12922-0
- Name Index: Abe, Sanji (PDF), Hawaii State Archives, 2009, retrieved 2009-12-28