Japanese American Research Articles

Transpacific Exodus: Japanese American Migrants in Japan through the 1950s

Arguing for a reconceptualization of Asian American history that utilizes a transpacific framework, this important and welcome study expands our understanding of Japanese American history by tracing the migration of young U.S.-born Nisei to Japan and its colonial empire during the decades prior to the Second World War. Michael R. Jin argues that this migration, in which as many as one in four Nisei participated, should be regarded not as a return to Japan but as a separate wave of migration originating in the United States. The resulting diaspora, as such, was a U.S. and not a Japanese diaspora. In so arguing, Jin explains, he “writ[es] against the predominant orientation of ‘diaspora’ as fixated on diasporic subjects belonging to a timeless, ethnicized, and often romanticized ancestral home,” in this case, Japan (5). Key among those who comprised this “highly mobile transpacific diaspora” were Nisei born in the United States who were sent to Japan as children to be educated and were known as Kibei (written with characters representing “return” and “America”) on their return to the United States (4). Also among those Jin includes are children who accompanied immigrant parents who decided to return to Japan, sometimes in response to the alien land laws adopted by many western states by the 1920s, as well as older Nisei who chose to emigrate to Japan or other parts of an expanding Japanese empire as young adults in search of opportunities denied them in the country of their birth on grounds of race, only to be confronted by “a world with its own complex racial ideology and hierarchy” (9).

Reimagining Trauma: Japanese American Incarceration Reflected in Kenji by Mike Shinoda

Trauma inherited by forbearers from those who had suffered racial injustice can endure so much consequence for later generations. Similarly, what had been affected to intergenerational Jews around the world about the Holocaust was, to an extent, repeated by Japanese Americans who had experienced incarceration during the World War II. This tragedy was recorded and reflected in several art and literary works including photography, short stories, and music. Interestingly, these eerie memories transmitted by the postgeneration or referred as ‘witness’ instead of ‘testifier’ (survivor) can be thoroughly seen present and well understood in such works. One of which is a song written by an American musician, Mike Shinoda, entitled Kenji. Therefore, this paper aims at figuring out on how this traumatic experience inhabited by the person who seemed to own the memories coming from someone else. Later in this study, the problem will be approached with postmemory by Frosh gradually by investigating constructive process in the lyrics of Kenji. In order to enhance discussion on this issue, the details of each line will be further analyzed with the concept of postmemory including memory, transmission and constructive process. As a result, the findings indicate that transmission of the trauma is reimagined through ‘actively’ constructive process by the songwriter as the ‘witness’ of the Japanese American incarceration. Rather than picturing the memory in similar context, the witness employs testimony in his creative reinvention to offer ‘new context’ in working through the trauma.

Responsiveness in mother-infant social interactions among immigrant and nonmigrant families: Japanese, South Korean, South American, and European American

A culture learning perspective motivated the present study of the acculturation of responsiveness in mother-infant interactions. Several conceptual and analytic features of responsiveness in mother-infant social interactions were examined: Temporal contingency, mean differences in responsiveness among and within dyads, attunement of mother and infant responsiveness withing dyads, and the influence of acculturation on individual responsiveness. Methodologically, acculturation was assessed at group and individual levels in immigrant Japanese, South Korean, and South American dyads in comparison with nonmigrant dyads in their respective cultures of origin (Japan, South Korea, and South America) and their single common culture of destination (United States). In total, 408 mothers and their 5½-month-old infants were observed in the naturalistic setting of the home, and observations were coded for mothers’ speech to infant, social play, and encouraging her infant to look at her, and infants’ looking at mother and nondistress vocalizations. Odds ratios were then generated for mother and infant responsiveness in four types of social interactions: Mother speaks to infant and infant looks at mother (Mother Speak/Infant Attend), mother plays with infant and infant looks at mother (Mother Play/Infant Attend), mother plays with infant and infant vocalizes (Mother Play/Infant Vocalize), and mother encourages infant to look at her and infant vocalizes (Mother Encourage/Infant Vocalize). Five key findings emerged. Specifically, mother and infant responsiveness in Mother Speak/Infant Attend interactions were temporally contingent in all cultures. Mean differences in responsiveness among cultures emerged, and within dyads infants were more responsive than their mothers in Mother Speak/Infant Attend interactions. Mother and infant responsiveness in Mother Speak/Infant Attend interactions were attuned in all cultures. Responsiveness in Mother Play/Infant Vocalize interactions showed acculturation effects at the individual level. Implications of these findings for understanding the development of responsiveness in social interactions and acculturation in immigrant families are discussed.

Disparities in the Medal of Honor Why African American Soldiers Awards were Delayed, and Japanese American Awards were Immediate

The 442nd Infantry Regiment Combat Team, composed mostly of Japanese American soldiers, is the most decorated division in U.S. military history. As a minority combat team motivated by accusations of disloyalty following Pearl Harbor, they sought to demonstrate their patriotism through excellence in battle. President Harry Truman formally recognized the valuable contribution of the 442nd Infantry Team to the Allied victory and assigned a medal of honor to one of the Japanese American soldiers, Private First-Class Sadao S. Munemori, immediately after the war. African American soldiers similarly demonstrated great loyalty and skill in the 332nd Fighter Group, called the Tuskegee Airmen, and the 761st Tank Battalion, also known as the Black Panthers. However, although both units fought with distinction, the granting of medals of honor for African American World War II service was delayed until 1997. Based on memoirs, interviews, and an Army Report Investigation conducted by the Department of Defense, this paper analyzes the reasons for the decades-long discrepancy in the timeline for the acquisition of medals of honor between Japanese American and African American soldiers. The differing experiences and interpretations of discrimination and segregation, both during and after the war, account for the immense positive attention paid to Japanese American efforts compared to the total lack of national honor assigned to African American soldiers. Through their service, Japanese Americans resoundingly exposed the errors of the federal governments decision to intern families of Japanese descent and helped promote a narrative of wrongdoing that the federal government has since acknowledged. In contrast, African American victories, no less impressive than those of Japanese American and white soldiers, were overshadowed by the racial discourse of Jim Crow-era politics. Specifically, African American soldiers continued to face systemic discrimination at home and in the armed forces despite their military accomplishments. It delayed the formal acknowledgement of the significance of African American service.

"The Potential That Was in All of Us": Carceral Disability and the Japanese American Redress Movement

The mass incarceration of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II has usually been assessed in terms of devastating economic and property losses, racist profiling, and the abrogation of constitutional rights. However, survivors also claimed incarceration as an experience of individual and collective disablement. In a break from decorum, survivors testified about a range of mental and physical disabilities at the U.S. Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians Hearings (CWRIC) held across the United States in 1981. This article discusses how a grassroots redress movement for government restitution brought the experiences of disabled, chronically ill, and mad people into the Commission hearings. Informed by 1960s-1970s Asian American and Third World Women's movements, intergenerational redress organizing transmitted and amplified the subjugated knowledge of disabled survivors. These efforts to involve ordinary people in redress produced an unanticipated yet profound record of what I call carceral disability: the aggregate disabling effects of mass incarceration and state violence. I further deliberate on the unresolvable ambiguities and ongoing anticarceral legacies of the Redress Movement.

Gender Politics at Home and Abroad: Protestant Modernity in Colonial-Era Korea

Gender Politics at Home and Abroad: Protestant Modernity in Colonial-Era Korea

Her Broken English

Her Broken English Melissa Akie Wiley (bio) Grandma said, “Mr. and Mrs. Wrench live next door.” When I learned to read, I noted the white letters on their mailbox. L-Y-N-C-H Broken English. The term used for the Japanese American accent. And that’s how I saw her then. Broken, embarrassing, simple. “My glass is perspiration from the heat,” she said. “I think you mean condensation,” I said. “No tell me what I mean,” she snapped. In the morning, she took the night’s soaked-rice pot to the backyard and dumped the loosened grains. Then she stretched her arms toward the sun. Her daily rejoicing ritual. To the wonderment of God. Before Buddhism captivated America. Before yoga pants and high-end sushi restaurants signaled the country’s wealthiest white enclaves. I asked her to read to me. “I don’t speak English very well,” she said. Then she turned silent. I apologized. Disconnection from her felt unbearable. [End Page 89] I knew every crack in her dried fingernails, her wispy hair, her wide feet. Our time together long enough to memorize her physicality. But not long enough to know her. “You’re the best person I’ve ever known,” she said and pressed her forehead to mine. Did I love her as much as she loved me? I corrected her. I cowered in embarrassment. I look for her now. I dip my hands into a soaked-rice pot. I rejoice at the morning sky. To have been loved by her. To the wonderment of her God. I want to tell her I’m sorry. [End Page 90] Melissa Akie Wiley Melissa Akie Wiley is a writer, keynote speaker, and nationally-recognized leader in local government. She is the survivor of a facially disfiguring childhood dog attack and creator of an anti-bullying curriculum for children focused on the intersection of storytelling and disability. Her work was most recently published by The New York Times, The Manifest-Station, and Public Management Magazine. She is writing a forthcoming memoir about coming-of-age as a disfigured, bi-racial girl in America. She has traveled throughout the country teaching government officials how to drive innovation, change, and equity in public service delivery. Her mission is to restore faith in government and to redefine beauty for women and girls. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and lives with her husband, daughter, and dog in Erie, Colorado where she currently serves as the Deputy Town Administrator. Copyright © 2023 River Teeth

Citizens, Immigrants, and the Stateless: A Japanese American Diaspora in the Pacific by Michael R. Jin

In examining records from the U.S. Census Bureau and from the Japanese Consulates General in the United States, Jin estimates that 50,000 Nisei Japanese (citizens born in the United States) departed the United States for Japan or the territories of the Japanese Empire in the first half of the twentieth century—approximately one-fourth of the Nisei Japanese in the United States during this era. The scholarly and popular historical works about the Nisei Japanese, which are hardly numerous, generally discuss these people as an Asian American minority rooted within the United States. Jin’s use of sources from both sides of the Pacific, however, discovers that for the Nisei Japanese, transpacific migration was more “the norm rather than the exception.” The diversity of their experiences is the major theme throughout this well-researched study.Some of the Nisei Japanese went to Japan to join their families and others to study the Japanese language, to find work, or to find a spouse. Most were also driven from the United States by anti-Asian immigrant movements, especially in the American West. Asian-exclusion sentiment was often supported by state and national laws, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the 1924 Immigration Act, and various alien land laws. Executive Order 9066 was eventually to confine first-generation Japanese and Nisei Japanese to interment camps in the American West, following the Japanese military attack on Pearl Harbor.Although Jin often uses the concept of diaspora effectively as a framework to interpret the transpacific experiences of Nisei Japanese, the individual stories about various Nisei Japanese experiences in the first half of the twentieth century are particularly engaging. For example, Toshiko Inaba’s American citizenship was revoked after his marriage and divorce in Japan. David Akira Itami, who was held at the Manzanar internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor, joined the U.S. Army as a language specialist during the war and afterward at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. Kanji Kuramoto and Kaz Tanaka Suyeishi somehow managed to survive the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Such are just a few of the book’s many stories that demonstrate the legal, social, and personal hardships faced by transpacific Nisei immigrants.Citizens, Immigrants, and the Stateless is an important contribution to the fields of immigration and Asian American history due in no small part to Jin’s polished writing skills. His combination of clear historical description, context, and analysis with just the right amount of sociological and interpretive language helps to make book both readable and informative. The endnotes and bibliography demonstrate his significant bilingual and transnational research of primary, secondary, and popular source material.Citizens, Immigrants, and the Stateless is not simply a study of a marginalized immigrant group “caught between two worlds.” It portrays a diverse people who had to exercise considerable initiative to navigate multiple social, legal, national, and geopolitical contexts. Although complex factors, such as racism in the American West and the deteriorating geopolitical relations between Japan and the United States, affected the Nisei immigrants as a group, Jin demonstrates that they were more than capable of making decisions on an individual basis whenever the opportunity arose. On a broader scale, the Nisei Japanese experience is directly related to the issues of racism, immigration, imperialism, and war that are fundamental in any discussion of twentieth-century history.

Traffic in Asian Women

Traffic in Asian Women

Introduction

Introduction Dayo F. Gore (bio) and Christina B. Hanhardt (bio) In 2020 the Movement for Black Lives, drawing on what it describes as an "ecosystem of over 170 organizations," relaunched its 2016 Vision for Black Lives platform to build "political will and power" (Movement for Black Lives 2020). Two aspects of the platform stand out to us: first, that an intersectional analysis is at the center of all demands; and second, that "the state" is theorized as a source of punishment that activists reject and as a set of resources that activists might make claims upon. Given our respective research on twentieth-century U.S. social movements (Christina on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer activism, and Dayo on Black women's radicalism and the U.S. Left) and investments in contemporary left movements, these issues have long preoccupied our work on and engagement with political organizing. In the last three years the stakes have only intensified. Social and economic conditions in the United States and around the globe demonstrate the necessity of addressing categories of difference while confronting state power, its resources, and institutional reach. From abolitionist demands to "defund the police and invest in communities" to calls for protecting rights such as access to abortion and health care, these years of pandemic, protests, and legal mandates have laid bare the power of the state to shape everyday life and survival. This is especially the case in the context of the recalibration of neoliberalism and white nationalism. Counter to claims on the left and right that identity politics stand in contrast to class politics, or that movements named by single-identity frames are necessarily delimited, many activist responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and leadership during the Black Lives Matter uprisings of the [End Page 11] summer of 2020 treated race, gender, sexuality, and class as tightly interwoven social categories that are essential to building justice movements and radical change. In addition, many of these movements have directly engaged the state, be that in supporting socialist- and progressive-identified political candidates or demanding economic resources for state health infrastructure, even as they have also participated in local mutual aid networks and called for the end of carceral systems, borders, and even the U.S. nation-state itself. We have been struck by how these organizing efforts speak to histories that we have studied of political movements that center identity and economic politics and also urge a revisiting of the ways states mobilize power and belonging through interconnected systems of benefits, discipline, and violence. In considering this special issue we were inspired by important debates about the state that have long animated social movement organizing as well as left and feminist scholarship, such as the place of liberal reforms in radical strategy, the value or limits of centralization and seeding electoral power from below, the challenges of forging new visions on an international scale while sustaining local engagement, and how to recognize the state's co-optation of radical terms without ceding discursive and political ground. We also sought to highlight scholarship and activism emerging from feminists of color that have long made visible the capitalist state's use of social locations beyond class to structure resource distribution. We seek in this issue on State/Power to provide productive insights and provoke further conversation. The articles that follow reroute expected histories and dominant discourses about state power and track how people, particularly Black and other racialized communities, have organized in response. They also take up some precise issues from recent years that have been at the forefront of discussions about the state, such as practices of mutual aid and collective care, the expansion of state punishment alongside the retraction of public resources, and the relationship between local, federal, and global power. Throughout, they explore what directly engaging the state might offer and restrict, and they do so with an attentiveness to identity and difference. The first two articles approach these issues through an analysis of the place of bodily regulation in the operation of the carceral state. In "'The Potential That Was in All of Us': Carceral Disability and the Japanese American Redress Movement," Adria L. Imada looks at how...

Abstract P603: Diet Quality Scores Measured With Standard and Modified Component Weights Are Associated With Mortality Risk in the Multiethnic Cohort

Introduction: The Dietary Patterns Methods Project reported higher scores of four selected dietary indices were all inversely associated with mortality risk. Diet quality components are generally weighted equally but previous meta-analyses and NHANES analyses suggest some may be more integral for mortality risk reduction. Thus, we examined if modified weight (vs. standard) Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2015 scores were differently associated with all-cause and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality risks. Hypothesis: High modified weight (vs. standard) HEI-2015 scores will be associated with stronger mortality risk reduction. Methods: Data from adults (n=156,863) enrolled in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study recruited between 1993-96 from Hawaii and California with vital status and dietary data were analyzed. Baseline diet quality was assessed with the HEI-2015 using a food frequency questionnaire. Standard component weights of 5 or 10 points on 9 adequacy and 4 moderation components were reweighted creating two modified HEI scores, the Key Facets HEI with equally weighted fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant proteins and the Machine Learning (ML)-weighted HEI, calculated using weights reflecting relative component contributions to mortality risk from a prior analysis of NHANES III adults using LASSO models. All 3 HEI scores were assigned to deciles; sex-stratified, adjusted Cox models evaluated associations of HEI deciles with all-cause and CVD mortality risk. Results: Participants represented 5 ethnic groups (24% White, 16% African American, 23% Latino, 29% Japanese American, and 7% Native Hawaiian), and 55.3% were women. The mean age was 59.1 years, mean BMI was 26.4 kg/m 2 , and 27.3% were college graduates. For men and women, high scores (≥90th, vs. <10th percentile) on all HEIs were significantly associated (p<0.05) with 10% to 24% reduced all-cause and CVD mortality risks. Conclusions: Similar mortality risk reductions were observed for standard and modified weight diet quality scores in this sample.

Diet Quality and Body Mass Index Over 20 Years in the Multiethnic Cohort

BackgroundWith increasing rates of overweight and obesity and disparities by ethnicity, it is important to understand the role of diet in ameliorating this health problem. ObjectiveThis study examined the relation of diet quality as measured by the Healthy Eating Index 2015 with body mass index (BMI; calculated as kg/m2) and obesity among participants of the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) in cross-sectional analyses at 3 time points (T-1, T-2, and T-3) over 20 years. DesignIn a subset of 1,860 MEC participants, 3 cross-sectional analyses at cohort entry (1993 to 1996, T-1) and follow-ups in 2003 to 2008 (T-2) and 2013 to 2016 (T-3) were performed. Participants/settingThe cohort consists of African American, Native Hawaiian, Japanese American, Latino, and White adults in Hawaii and California; mean age was 48 years at T-1. Main outcome measureBMI and weight status in relation to diet quality were measured. Statistical analysisLinear and multinomial logistic regressions were applied to analyze the relation of diet quality with BMI and obesity, while adjusting for known confounders. ResultsHealthy Eating Index 2015 increased by 6.1 and 5.1 units for men and women, respectively, from T-1 to T-3; the respective values for BMI were 1.5 and 2.4. Diet quality was inversely associated with BMI across time: BMI was lower by –0.47, –0.72, and –0.92 units for every 10-point increase in Healthy Eating Index 2015 scores at T-1, T-2, and T-3, respectively (P < .0001 for all). During the 20 years, the association was consistently high among Japanese American participants (–0.79, –0.87, and –1.02) and weakest in African American cohort members (–0.34, –0.37, and –0.40). Higher diet quality was related to lower odds of having obesity at all 3 time points; prevalence odds ratios were 0.72, 0.57, and 0.60. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that consuming a high-quality diet is related to lower BMI and rates of overweight and obesity but with the strongest association at an older age. To understand the ethnic differences, investigations of dietary habits and behaviors and/or fat distribution patterns will be needed in the future.

Review: Elaine Black Yoneda: Jewish Immigration, Labor Activism, and Japanese American Exclusion and Incarceration, by Rachel Schreiber

Review: <i>Elaine Black Yoneda: Jewish Immigration, Labor Activism, and Japanese American Exclusion and Incarceration</i>, by Rachel Schreiber

Structural and clinical outcomes after superior capsule reconstruction using an at least 6-mm-thick fascia lata autograft including the intermuscular septum.

Superior capsule reconstruction (SCR) is a viable treatment option for irreparable rotator cuff tears. However, graft tear rate is highly variable in the previous studies, and the impact of graft tears on clinical outcomes after arthroscopic SCR remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the graft tear rate, timing of graft tear, and the impact of graft tears on clinical outcomes after arthroscopic SCR using an at least 6-mm-thick fascia lata autograft including the intermuscular septum. This retrospective multi-institutional study included 154 patients (79 women and 75 men; mean age, 69.9yr; age range, 49-87yr) with irreparable rotator cuff tears who underwent arthroscopic SCR using an at least 6-mm-thick fascia lata autograft including the intermuscular septum and completed a minimum 2-year follow-up. Postoperative graft integrity was evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging examinations performed at 3, 6, 12, and 24mo after surgery. The presence of a full-thickness defect within the graft was diagnosed as a graft tear. In contrast, a graft without a full-thickness defect was diagnosed as a healed graft. We compared the following data between patients with and without graft tears: (1) baseline characteristics, (2) visual analog scale pain score, (3) Japanese Orthopaedic Association score, (4) American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons shoulder score, and (5) active range of motion. The overall graft tear rate was 11.7% (18 of 154 patients). Of 18 graft tears, 14 (77.8%) occurred within 6mo after SCR. Two additional graft tears were diagnosed at 12mo postoperatively and another 2 at 24mo after SCR. The visual analog scale, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores improved significantly after SCR in both patients with and without graft tears (all P<.0001). However, patients with graft tears showed significantly inferior postoperative visual analog scale, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores (1.9, 75.2, and 77.4, respectively) than those without graft tears (0.5, 93.1, and 92.3, respectively; all P<.01). The overall graft tear rate after arthroscopic SCR using an at least 6-mm-thick fascia lata autograft including the intermuscular septum was low (11.7%), relatively to that reported in previous studies. The majority of graft tears (77.8%) occurred within 6mo after SCR. Graft healing was associated with more favorable clinical outcomes after SCR.

Transpacific Convergences: Race, Migration, and Japanese American Film Culture before World War II. By Denise Khor

Denise Khor’s Transpacific Convergences reveals diverse worlds of Japanese American leisure, recreation, and community building almost entirely new to the historiography: Japanese film exhibition and viewership, a migrant film industry, transpacific circuits of filmic culture from Japan and the Philippines, Hollywood employment. These worlds unfold against transformations in the Hollywood and Japanese film industries, while Khor also highlights parallels with Black race films to frame out her story. Transpacific Convergences illuminates Japanese migrant film culture, as well as the “radical heterogeneity within American film historiography” and the long lineage of Asian American independent cinema (p. 3). Khor uses creative methodologies to analyze films no longer in existence and reanimate ephemeral publics. As she points out, most of the Japanese migrant films from this period no longer exist. She therefore digs in archives for the stories of producers, exhibitors, and theater owners, but she also trawls ethnic newspapers for ads, reviews, and coverage that she reads for audience participation. Khor also uncovers an early gem: the 1914 The Oath of the Sword, perhaps the oldest surviving Asian American film and a rare example of early Japanese American filmmaking. (She is working with its archive and a museum to restore the film.)

Evaluation of Financial and Nonfinancial Conflicts of Interest and Quality of Evidence Underlying Psoriatic Arthritis Clinical Practice Guidelines: Analysis of Personal Payments From Pharmaceutical Companies and Authors' Self-Citation Rate in Japan and the United States.

To assess financial conflicts of interest (COI) and nonfinancial COI among psoriatic arthritis (PsA) clinical practice guideline (CPG) authors in Japan and the US, and to evaluate the quality of evidence and strength of recommendations of PsA CPGs. We performed a retrospective analysis using payment data from major Japanese pharmaceutical companies and the US Open Payments Database from 2016 to 2018. All authors of PsA CPGs issued by the Japanese Dermatological Association (JDA) and American College of Rheumatology (ACR) were included. Of 23 CPG authors in Japan, 21 (91.3%) received at least 1 payment, with a combined total of $3,335,413 between 2016 and 2018. Regarding 25 US authors, 21 (84.0%) received at least 1 payment, with a combined total of $4,081,629 during the same period. The 3-year combined mean± SD payment per author was $145,018 ± $114,302 in Japan and $162,825 ± $259,670 in the US. A total of 18 authors (78.3%) of the JDA PsA CPG and 12 authors (48.0%) of the ACR PsA CPG had undisclosed financial COI worth $474,663 and $218,501, respectively. The percentage of citations with at least 1 CPG author relative to total citations was 3.4% in Japan and 33.6% in the US. In sum, 71.4% and 88.8% of recommendations for PsA in the JDA and ACR were supported by low or very low quality of evidence. More rigorous cross-checking of information disclosed by pharmaceutical companies and self-reported by physicians and more stringent and transparent COI policies are necessary.

Enemies Among Us: The Relocation, Internment &amp; Repatriation of German, Italian &amp; Japanese Americans during the Second World War by John E. Schmitz

Reviewed by: Enemies Among Us: The Relocation, Internment & Repatriation of German, Italian & Japanese Americans during the Second World War by John E. Schmitz Steph Hinnershitz Enemies Among Us: The Relocation, Internment & Repatriation of German, Italian & Japanese Americans during the Second World War. By John E. Schmitz. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2021. Pp. 386. Notes, bibliography, index.) John E. Schmitz’s Enemies Among Us: The Relocation, Internment & Repatriation of German, Italian & Japanese Americans during the Second World War is an ambitious work that sets out to expand and complicate the story of wartime detention in the United States. Using a variety of records on the forced removal of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian Americans, Schmitz “examines the causes, conditions, and consequences of America’s selective relocation and internment of its own citizens and enemy aliens” (2). Schmitz argues that historians have largely focused on the “relocation and internment” of Japanese Americans and suggests that broadening this approach to include German and Italian Americans also globalizes this moment by connecting it to the repatriation of enemy aliens in exchange for American civilian internees abroad. Enemies Among Us also posits that scholars should question the argument that race fueled Japanese American internment. Schmitz provides the first full-length monograph on the policies behind and experiences of detention for all three groups while also highlighting challenges in comparing their internment. Schmitz organizes the book into nine chapters. Chapter 1 provides a useful discussion of the precedent World War I set for World War II internment, while chapters 2 through 4 explain how fears of fifth-column threats from Germans, Italians, and Japanese Americans from the late 1930s through 1940 set the stage for another round of wartime internment. Long before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as Immigration and Naturalization Services, conducted investigations on potentially subversive Germans, Italians, and Japanese Americans. But, as Schmitz explains in chapter 5, Pearl Harbor appeared to validate the fears of political leaders and military officials that fifth columnists were responsible for the attack. Chapters 6 and 7 detail [End Page 408] how rumors and propaganda contributed to relocation and internment policies nationwide and on both the East and West Coasts. Chapter 8 provides a fascinating discussion of the connections between the internment and repatriation of enemy aliens in exchange for American civilian internees abroad, and chapter 9 concludes the book with a disappointingly short yet useful description of internment experiences, particularly the psychological impact of detention in the Crystal City family internment camp in Texas. Schmitz’s in-depth study is a useful and much-needed beginning for a new direction in this period of America’s wartime history: taking a broad view of detention across ethnic and racial groups. His linkage to repatriation and internment policies in the Western Hemisphere will be valuable to many scholars, but his decision to include Japanese American incarceration in his study detracts from his overall goals and undermines his argument in key places. His introduction could provide a more thorough discussion of his choice of terminology for the forced removal and imprisonment of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans (most of them second-generation, American-born Nisei) to clarify for the reader when he is discussing foreign-born Issei and Nisei. This muddies his argument that including Japanese American incarceration within the study of enemy alien internment is useful. Schmitz explains that key figures found it difficult to differentiate between loyal and disloyal Japanese Americans regardless of their citizenship status, which supports other historians’ claims that racism—while perhaps not as key for the internment of enemy aliens—was in fact a crucial factor in the unique set of circumstances faced by Japanese Americans from the West Coast. Schmitz does, however, provide food for thought in interrogating how detention and surveillance across ethnic and racial minority groups created a policy with broad implications. His work will be important for shaping future studies about wartime internment. Steph Hinnershitz National WWII Museum Copyright © 2022 The Texas State Historical Association

Abstract C097: Association between a healthy lifestyle index and breast cancer risk among post-menopausal women in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study

Abstract Consistent evidence supports maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in physical activity, and limiting alcohol consumption as potential strategies for reducing breast cancer risk. Sleep duration and sedentary behavior are also emerging breast cancer risk factors. While these cardiometabolic factors have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, prior studies have primarily investigated these factors separately. The association between a healthy lifestyle index (HLI) and breast cancer risk, particularly across racially and ethnically diverse postmenopausal women, has not been well studied. Within the Multiethnic Cohort study, ongoing analyses are examining associations between an HLI and risk of invasive breast cancer among 65,813 eligible postmenopausal women (African American [18.7 %], Native Hawaiian [6.7 %], Japanese American [28.2%], Latina [21.1%], and White [25.3%]). During a median follow-up of 23 years, 4,571 incident invasive breast cancer cases were diagnosed between baseline (1993-1996) and the end of follow-up (2017). Self-reported baseline information on seven lifestyle factors was used to create an HLI based on the sum of scores (max HLI score=23): Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI 2010) score divided into quartiles (scored 1-4), metabolic equivalents (METs) of moderate and vigorous physical activity (1-3), time spent sedentary (1-3), smoking status and duration (1-5), alcohol consumption (1-3), body mass index (BMI) (1-3) and sleep duration (1-2). Preliminary analyses included descriptive statistics as well as age- and race and ethnicity-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models of invasive breast cancer to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association with HLI score (tertiles, (T)) using age as the timescale. The mean HLI score in the overall population was 15.3 [Standard Deviation (SD): 2.1] with 51.4% of the analytic population in an HLI score tertile of ≥18 to 23 (T3; most healthy) and 13.2% in the lowest HLI score tertile ≥7 to &amp;lt;15 (T1; least healthy). The mean HLI scores by race/ethnicity were the following: African American 16.5 [SD: 2.5], Native Hawaiian 16.7 [SD: 2.6], Japanese American 18.2 [SD: 2.2], Latina 17.3 [SD: 2.2] and White 17.2 [SD: 2.6] women. Preliminary findings suggest that overall, women in HLI score T3 had on average, a BMI of 23.6 [3.7] (mean [SD] kg/m2), dietary intake HEI 2010 scores between 60-78.9, exerted &amp;gt; 6 METs of moderate and strenuous activity, spent &amp;lt; 6 hours a day sedentary, consumed less than 4.9 grams of ethanol per day, slept between 7 to 8 hours and were never smokers. In initial age- and race and ethnicity-adjusted analyses, postmenopausal women with an HLI score in T2 (HR: 0.90 [95% CI:0.82-0.98]) and in T3 (HR: 0.81 [95% CI: 0.74–0.89]) (p-trend &amp;lt;0.001) were at reduced risk of breast cancer compared to women in T1. Ongoing analyses include race and ethnicity stratified and fully adjusted multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. Citation Format: Bethany T. Ogbenna, Iona Cheng, James Butler III, Typhanye Dyer, Xin He, Loic Le Marchand, Lynne Wilkens, Cher Dallal. Association between a healthy lifestyle index and breast cancer risk among post-menopausal women in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr C097.

Abstract C102: Interactions of a polygenic risk score and modifiable lifestyle factors for breast cancer in the Multiethnic Cohort

Abstract Purpose: A polygenic risk score (PRS) has demonstrated great potential in stratifying breast cancer risk in non-African ancestry populations. Several modifiable lifestyle risk factors have been identified for breast cancer, although little is known regarding their effects among women with varying genetic risk. Methods: In the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC), we conducted a nested case-control study of 3,229 breast cancer cases and 3,921 controls from five major racial/ethnic groups (White, African American, Latino, Japanese American, and Native Hawaiian). We examined a PRS of 313 variants in association with breast cancer risk and evaluated the interaction with selected modifiable lifestyle factors on the risk of breast cancer. The modifiable lifestyle factors examined included body mass index (BMI), physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and five diet quality indexes, such as the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2010, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)-2010, the alternate Mediterranean Diet score (aMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension score (DASH), and the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII). Results: The 313-variant PRS was strongly associated with breast cancer risk across the five racial/ethnic groups, with per standard deviation (SD) odds ratios (OR) of 2.07 (95% CI=1.63-2.63) in Native Hawaiian, 1.72 (95% CI=1.54-1.92) in White, 1.56 (95% CI=1.36-1.77) in Latina, 1.45 (95% CI=1.31-1.60) in Japanese American, and 1.32 (95% CI=1.20-1.44) in African American women. For the lifestyle factors, BMI (OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.75-0.93, for &amp;lt;25 vs. ≥ 25 kg/m2) and alcohol consumption (OR=1.14, 95% CI=1.02-1.26 for drinkers vs. non-drinkers) were significantly associated with breast cancer risk. We also observed a suggestive positive association for smoking (OR=1.14, 95% CI=0.98-1.32 for current vs. never/past smokers) and a suggestive inverse association for AHEI-2010 (OR=0.96, 95%CI=0.91-1.01 per SD increment). No association was observed for physical activity or other dietary indexes. We found that the association of BMI and AHEI-2010 with breast cancer risk depended on PRS. Specifically, among women with above-average genetic risk (50-100% of PRS), the OR of breast cancer was 0.77 (95% CI=0.66-0.88) for women with a BMI &amp;lt;25 kg/m2 (vs. BMI³25 kg/m2), while among women with below-average genetic risk (0-50% of PRS) the OR was 0.96 (95%CI=0.81-1.14, P-heterogeneity=0.04). In contrast, a significant inverse association of AHEI-2010 (per SD) with breast cancer risk was only observed in women with below-average genetic risk (OR=0.90, 95%=0.83-0.97) but not among women with above-average genetic risk (OR=1.00, 95%CI=0.94-1.08, P-heterogeneity=0.04). Conclusions: In line with previous reports, the 313-variant PRS was effective in stratifying breast cancer risk, with diminished transferability for women of African ancestry. Our findings also suggest that maintaining a healthy BMI may offset the genetic risk of breast cancer, while adhering to a healthy dietary pattern may further reduce risk for women with lower genetic risk. Citation Format: Alisha Chou, Fei Chen, Peggy Wan, Xin Sheng, Song-Yi Park, Daniel O. Stram, Lynne R. Wilkens, Loic Le Marchand, Christopher A. Haiman. Interactions of a polygenic risk score and modifiable lifestyle factors for breast cancer in the Multiethnic Cohort [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr C102.

Катастрофизм и восстание природы: экологическая монструозность в нарративах популярной медиакультуры

This article examines the cinematic transformations of monstrosity within the context of a growing ecological awareness and the Anthropocene. The authors argue that these transformations reflect a posthumanist shift in popular culture ethics, suggesting that human nature is intertwined with the natural world, indigenous cultures should be protected, and our relationships with other beings should be nurtured. The blockbuster film franchise MonsterVerse illustrates similar shifts occurring in the portrayal of movie monsters. It creates new narratives for cinema’s most iconic monsters, the Japanese Godzilla and American King Kong. The authors analyze the types of monstrosities presented in the franchise, the narratives they are placed in, and whether the media franchise reflects posthumanist trends in contemporary culture by constructing images of monsters. In the MonsterVerse, Godzilla and American King Kong are reimagined as ecological monsters of the Anthropocene era that represent nature’s rebellion, the urgency to save the planet, and popular posthuman perspectives on ecology. MonsterVerse thus becomes one of the popular manifestations of posthuman ethics.