‘Removed By Force’ documentary to screen on Maui
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The Maui News
A documentary on the forced eviction of Japanese Americans during World War II will screen at the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League is holding public screenings of "Removed By Force: The Eviction of Hawai'i's Japanese Americans During WWII," on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island this summer. Through personal interviews and stories by affected individuals, lawyers, volunteers and government officials, the one-hour film memorializes the experiences of the 1,500 Japanese Americans from 23 geographic areas in Hawaii who were evicted but not interned during the war.
"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 Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. "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 people of Japanese ancestry in Hawaii who were interned, as well as the 1,500 Hawaii residents of Japanese ancestry who were evicted but not incarcerated.
The film premiered on June 29 at the Hawaii Convention Center and will be shown at the 2023 Japanese American Citizens League National Convention in Los Angeles.
For more information, visit jaclhonolulu.org.