On May 7, 1945, the war in Europe was officially over. But now the attention was on Japan. The Allies needed soldiers who could Japanese. Americans and Australians were happy to enlist nisei in their own respective countries, but the Canadian government refused at first. Instead, the British military recruited Japanese Canadians fluent in Japanese for military and intelligence work in Asia. Their knowledge of Japanese was considered a secret weapon by the Allies. Akira, eager for a new adventure, enlisted with about 800 other nisei. They did their basic training in Brantford, Ontario and were sent off to Asia. Many past internees were now recruits of the Canadian Intelligence Corps working overseas in India and Southeast Asia. Some Japanese-Canadian soldiers helped teach nisei and white Canadians how to write kanji, Japanese characters, to question Japanese prisoners, check for potential war criminals, and examine Japanese documents.
"Despite the demanding nature of their assignments, none received a commission, whereas a Caucasian performing similar duties would have been promoted." - Toyo Takata, Editor at New Canadian
Unlike returning Japanese-Canadian veterans from World War I, the returning nisei were not treated with respect. They were still forbidden from voting or living on the West coast of BC, and were given a choice of either exile to Japan or resettlement east of the Rockies. Akira's family realized that going back to Japan was no longer an option, as they made Canada their home for almost 4 decades. They moved to the cities in Ontario and decided to start all over again.
Japantowns may not exist anymore in Canada, but if it was not for the thousands of Japanese people who came, and the thousands of Japanese who stayed, the presence of Japanese culture would not be embedded with Canadian history at all. Despite the voluntary deportation and rapid dispersal of Japanese-Canadians throughout Canada, their legacy still lives on.
Japantowns may not exist anymore in Canada, but if it was not for the thousands of Japanese people who came, and the thousands of Japanese who stayed, the presence of Japanese culture would not be embedded with Canadian history at all. Despite the voluntary deportation and rapid dispersal of Japanese-Canadians throughout Canada, their legacy still lives on.