Japanese American Citizens League releases “Removed By Force” documentary

The Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League presents “Removed By Force: The Eviction of Hawai‘i’s Japanese Americans During WWII.”

Through personal interviews and stories by affected individuals, lawyers, volunteers and government officials, this one-hour film memorializes the unique and relatively unknown experiences of the 1,500 Americans of Japanese ancestry from 23 geographic areas in Hawai‘i who were evicted, but not interned, during World War II.

“Not many people know about Japanese Americans living in Hawai‘i who were forcibly removed from their homes during the war with nowhere to go,” said Bill Kaneko, the film’s producer and former president of the Honolulu JACL. “It was devastating to hear their stories and it became really personal for me to do something about it.”

Kaneko, whose father-in-law was forcibly removed from his home in Kahuku, fought for restitution for the 2,000 persons of Japanese ancestry in Hawai‘i who were interned, as well as the 1,500 Hawai‘i residents of Japanese ancestry who were evicted but not incarcerated.

“These stories have gone unheard for far too long,” said Ryan Kawamoto, the film’s director and producer. “It was an honor to be a part of a project like this that immortalizes a piece of history that had been ignored.”

“Removed By Force” premiered on June 29 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center and will be shown at the 2023 JACL National Convention in Los Angeles.

JACL Honolulu will host the following public screenings of “Removed by Force” throughout the summer.

• July 8, 1 p.m. at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center on Maui
• Aug. 17, 7 p.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center
• Aug. 19, 10 a.m. at the Hawai‘i Convention Center
• Aug. 26 (tentative) at Kauai Community College
• Sept. 23 at the Hawai‘i Japanese Center in Hilo

“It is important for our community to remember the unlawful acts that occurred during the war so that it doesn’t happen again to any other group of people,” said Minda Yamaga, president of the Honolulu JACL.

“Removed by Force” was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program. Sponsors include Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI), Bank of Hawai‘i, First Hawaiian Bank and Island Insurance.

For more information, visit jaclhonolulu.org.