On October 2020, 10, Josai International University held an international symposium on racial discrimination and trauma.This symposium was held online by connecting Japan and the United States, centered on the Japanese-American detention camp established in the United States at the time of World War II.With the spread of the new coronavirus and the protests against police violence against black people, the issue of racial discrimination attracted attention, and lively questions were asked in English.
The title of the symposium is "Secrets of Setuko: Heart Mountain and the Legacy of Japanese American Internment".This is the title of a book published in the United States in the fall of 3 by third-generation Japanese-American Shirley Ann Higuchi.Higuchi's parents met at a camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming, but his mother, Setuko, died without telling much about his experiences there.Mr. Higuchi has a sense of mission to pass down the history and continues to preserve the site of the camp.
At the symposium, in addition to Mr. Higuchi, Mr. Sam Mihara, who actually experienced life in the concentration camp, also gave a lecture.Pre-delivery was performed by an on-demand method, and on the day of the event, a public inquiry session was held by connecting Mr. Higuchi and Mr. Mihara in the United States online.Approximately 50 students and faculty members participated at the venue, and online from not only Japan and the United States but also Brazil and the United Kingdom, which confirmed the high level of interest.
Prior to the opening, President Kenji Sugibayashi told the students, "It is important to gain knowledge, but it is even more important to think deeply. I want everyone to think from the interaction with Mr. Higuchi and Mr. Mihara." I spoke to him.
The students who gathered at the venue learned and thought about the history lying between Japan and the United States based on the lecture videos of both of them, "Is German and Italian immigrants also put in the camp?" "How do you identify yourself?" I asked them frank questions directly in English, such as "Are you catching on?"In response to the student's question, "Only Nikkei were discriminated against and detained among immigrants from hostile countries" (Mr. Mihara), "I think I am an American, but we of Nikkei I have had a peculiar experience. That experience strengthens me, "said Higuchi.
In addition, Mr. Higuchi said, "The keyword of this era was'GAMAN'." "The Nikkei thought that it was a virtue to endure quietly without demonstrating. About the internment camp. , I haven't taught at school, and it's a buried history. That's why it's important to create an opportunity to inform people like this symposium. "Mr. Mihara also said, "Sometimes it is necessary to make a proper claim. Heart Mountain can be inherited in this way because there were people who raised their voices. I want to expect from the generation, "he sent a yell to the students.
