Densho Digital Archive - Yuri Kochiyama Interview (denshovh-kyuri-01-0023)

<Begin Segment 23>

MA: I wanted to move ahead a little bit and ask you about the redress movement for redress and reparations for the internment. And what were your feelings at the time of the redress movement?

YK: Well, let's see. I know a lot of things changed, but because at first I didn't know it was going to be that successful, redress. Because you figure that redress means, really, to give reparations, and would that be possible? And then when you think redress, we had to realize that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, so naturally the American government was angry and also didn't know if they could really trust Japanese, and they did what they did. But the more we learn, I think, about the U.S. government, we should absolutely... we have to expose this government. At the same time, we have to expose Japan. Japan, I don't think, had any business going into... where was it in China?

MA: The Nanking massacre?

YK: Nanking...

MA: Manchuria?

YK: What?

MA: Manchuria?

YK: Yes, Manchuria, you know. And then we realized how much we have to know the difference between countries that are imperialists or capitalists and those who are trying to become socialists, and why America was so much against socialism. Of course, afterwards, a lot of people as they studied more, they felt there was not a real cut and dry where you could say this country is true socialism. Because socialist countries were becoming sort of capitalist. You know, China, Russia, you know. That's why in the movement, I guess it'll always be, there's going to be not just two sides, but maybe three or four different sides. And it shows that we have to do a lot of good research. Because we could all go into the same mistakes. And right now, I think around the world, people don't quite agree. I mean, so many countries have changed quite a bit. Some people consider Russia as almost like a capitalist nation. Well, China is something she's done, it seems like. But what's sad is that there is not a good feeling among so many countries. But I think the real culprit or the main culprit is United States.