[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2178-2179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    IN CELEBRATION OF THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF SAN FRANCISCO'S 
                               JAPANTOWN

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to 
recognize the centennial anniversary of San Francisco's historic 
Japantown. Today San Francisco's Japantown is one of only three 
remaining Japantowns in California. The other two are in Los Angeles 
and San Jose. For the past 100 years, Japantown has been an integral 
part of San Francisco's rich and diverse cultural history. At 100 years 
old, it is the first and oldest Japantown in the continental United 
States.
  The first Japanese immigrants arrived in San Francisco in the 1860s. 
Originally settling in the South Park and Chinatown areas, the Japanese 
community relocated to the Western Addition after the great earthquake 
and fire of 1906 destroyed much of San Francisco. When Japantown 
relocated to the Western Addition in 1906, the

[[Page 2179]]

Japanese community had the opportunity to grow. More Japanese 
businesses, shops, churches, schools, restaurants, and hotels moved to 
the area and supported community development. Before long, the area 
became known as Nihonmachi, or Japantown. At the height of its growth 
in 1940, more than 5,000 Japanese lived in Japantown, and there were 
more than 200 Japanese-owned businesses.
  We are not proud of what happened to the Japanese-American community 
during World War II in the early 1940s. In 1942, President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced ``all persons of 
Japanese ancestry, including aliens and non-aliens'' into internment 
camps until the end of World War II. The internment was fueled by 
racism and war hysteria and will forever tarnish our country's history. 
As time has proved, there was no excuse for our Government's decision 
to intern American citizens. Since those dark days, our Nation has made 
great strides toward tolerance and inclusion.
  In 1983, as part of Fred Korematsu's successful petition to the 
Federal District Court in San Francisco to overturn his conviction for 
violating evacuation orders, the court also ruled that the internment 
of American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II was 
legally unsupportable. In 1989, Congress passed legislation formally 
apologizing for the internment of Japanese-American citizens during 
World War II and authorized a reparations fund for internment 
survivors. Though we still have further to go to assure equality for 
all, most Americans now realize that diversity is one of our country's 
greatest strengths.
  When the Japanese community returned to San Francisco after World War 
II, it was difficult to rebuild the extensive community that existed 
before the war. However, despite the many barriers, the Japanese 
community did rebuild Japantown. And although San Francisco's Japantown 
is smaller today than it was in the past, it still plays a large and 
important role in our community. Not only does it serve as a reminder 
of our past, it provides us with an opportunity to celebrate the 
history, challenges, triumphs, and contributions of the Japanese-
American community in San Francisco.
  For 100 years, San Francisco's Japantown has served as a cultural 
resource for the San Francisco Bay area and California. I thank the San 
Francisco Japantown community for its many efforts to educate the 
community about Japanese culture and traditions. I congratulate them on 
their centennial anniversary and wish them another 100 years of 
success.

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