The Pardoning of “Tokyo Rose”: A Report on the Restoration of American Citizenship to Iva Ikuko Toguri

Abstract

On 19 July 1977, on his last full day in office, President Gerald R. Ford signed a full and unconditional pardon for Iva Ikuko Toguri d'Aquino, wiping the record clean. It was the first time in United States history that such a pardon had been granted in a treason conviction.The detailed account of Iva Toguri's experience in Japan and of the trial are contained in the booklet Iva Toguri (d'Aquino): Victim of a Legend, published by the Japanese American Citizens League's Committee for Iva Toguri (1975). For this reason, these details are not repeated in this present paper. Rather this report deals with the events leading to and the people involved in obtaining a presidential pardon for Iva Toguri.This report is also a story which chronicles the indomitable loyalty of a young woman who maintained her love for the United States in the face of incredible pressures. It is a story of justice denied in a trial in which the government's witnesses were ordered to perjure themselves. It is a story of the faith that sustained Iva Toguri despite a quarter century of harassment and persecution. Finally, it is a story of decent and fair-minded people who belatedly became aware of their culpability in neglecting her when she needed help, and set out finally on the almost impossible mission of vindicating her.Few know all the details of this story. I learned many of them through involvement in the campaign to obtain a presidential pardon for Mrs. d'Aquino. This presentation is a condensation of an earlier report (October 1977).There are many lessons to be gained from experience such as this, but only if the review is completely honest and candid. This I have attempted to do.