Transformation of the image of Japanese Americans in U.S. newspapers: From the raid on Pearl Harbor to the internment act

The article is devoted to the transformation of the image of Japanese residents of the United States in the American press after the country’s entry into World War II and before the beginning of their internment. The main sources chosen were the media that influenced the formation of public opinion: the press of the western states, where most Japanese lived, and The New York Times, a national newspaper. The study examined published editorials, speeches by politicians, officials of various ranks, and representatives of public associations and groups. Content analysis of The New York Times publications allowed us to interpret the quantitative characteristics of the articles’ content. In different editions of the periodical press, the image of the Japanese living in the United States was similar, but, in the West, it had its own specific features. In the western states, the history of interaction between different ethnic groups, including after the beginning of immigration from the Asian region, contained many more contradictions than in the rest of the United States. Japan’s aggressive actions in the Pacific Ocean exacerbated the attitude of coastal residents towards members of the “enemy nation.” Publications took on a form of outright antipathy, which distinguished their tone in the press of the western states and the more moderate The New York Times. The analysis of the press allowed us to identify a consistent change of the image of Japanese Americans in the pages of newspapers in the period from December 1941 to February 1942. Initially, they were “loyal residents of the country, not associated with the policy of militaristic Japan,” while in February 1942 – “potential subversive elements capable of sabotage and betrayal of U.S. interests.” Based on the research, works of domestic and foreign authors, it was concluded that there was a set of reasons that influenced this transformation of the image of the Japanese living in the country after the entry of the United States into World War II.