San Francisco and the Trial of "Tokyo Rose" A Case Study in Anti-Asian Prejudice

San Francisco and the Trial of "Tokyo Rose"A Case Study in Anti-Asian Prejudice

October 23, 2021 at 10:30 am ​ 

Racial  prejudice against Asians is, unfortunately, not unique to today.  Prejudice against Japanese-Americans was never more virulent than during  and immediately after World War II, and few suffered more from it than  Iva Toguri, who was tried in San Francisco for treason.  As  an American citizen visiting Japan in 1941, Toguri was trapped there  after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Arrested in Japan after the  war as “Tokyo Rose,” her trial was located by law wherever she first set  foot back in America. Justice Department prosecutors determined that  location to be San Francisco, despite logistical obstacles. At the time,  Iva’s trial was the most expensive prosecution ever conducted by the  Department of Justice. As one of only two women tried for treason at the  end of the war, Toguri’s trial gripped the nation. Why did the  government pick the City by the Bay for this public trial, and how did  politics and prejudice play a role in the outcome of the trial? 

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Speaker:  Mike Weedall recently retired from a career in energy efficiency and  renewable energy. Returning to his long-time passion for researching and  writing American history, he published Iva: The True Story of Tokyo Rose in 2020. The book was highlighted as one of the Top 100 Indie Reads in  2020 by Kirkus Reviews. He is currently at work on his new book that  will explore the “Maroon” communities for escaped slaves in North  America.