Mochizuki v. United States 43 Fed. Cl. 97 (1999) was a class action lawsuit brought by survivors of Japanese Latin Americans interned during World War II by the United States government. The lawsuit alleged forcible kidnapping and imprisonment. In a settlement, the government conceded it erred and allocated $5,000 each for survivor, as well as a formal apology from then-President Bill Clinton.[1][2]

Of those incarcerated by the government, 17 opted out of this class action lawsuit, including Isamu Shibayama, who sued separately for the higher compensation awarded by the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 to citizen internees. After losing in federal court, Shibayama subsequently took his case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which ruled in his favor posthumously.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "World War II", Carl J. Schneider. Dorothy Schneider. Infobase Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-8160-4484-8, ISBN 978-0-8160-4484-9. p. 256
  2. ^ "Japanese Latin Americans Imprisoned By US During World War II Win Bittersweet Victory From Department of Justice", ACLU. June 12, 1998. Accessed June 7, 2011
  3. ^ Nakagawa, Martha (August 13, 2020). "Rights commission rules in favor of Japanese Latin Americans kidnapped during WWII". Nichi Bei Times. San Francisco. Retrieved October 22, 2022.


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