Below is a copy of an Associated Press Release from December 10, 1945 word for word:

                                      THOSE JAP REPATRIATES AREN'T HAPPY

                                                                                                                          by Duane Hennessy,

                                                                                                                          Associated Press Staff Writer

     Uraga, Japan, Dec. 10-- In the stench-ridden halls of the filthy barracks in which Japanese civilians returning from the United States are housed, one of those who renounced his American citizenship hurried over and said:

     "This place is terrible! Why can't the American Army disinfect these buildings? Why didn't they bother to do it before we arrived?"

     "It's tough, brother, but the American Army has nothing to do with this place. You are under the Japanese government now," I told him. "They are running this place. These are the buildings they picked for you."

BORN IN HAWAII

     He said his name is Robert Tsuida, that he was born in Hawaii, had been a cook in Chicago, and had worked in Santa Ana.

     "We never thought we were coming back to anything as bad as this," he complained. "This is terrible!"

     The "welcome" in Japan for these repatriates who asked to be relieved of their American citizenship is indeed a harsh revelation. Once they leave their American ship, they are completely under the care of the Japanese government. Uraga camp, at the mouth of Tokyo bay, is even off limits for Allied military personnel.

     Civilians trudged for a mile up a muddy, rutted road to reach the camp -- a half-dozen weatherbeaten, unpainted barracks. Windows were broken, letting a chill wind whip through the barren rooms.

NO BEDS

     Rotting and untended since the Japanese Army moved out, the buildings had not been cleaned for months. Halls were littered with old tin cans, ashes dumped from charcoal burners, and cardboard boxes of refuse and junk.

     There were no beds, just worn, woven straw sleeping mats. Each man was issued four dirty blankets, presumably salvaged from the Japanese Army.

     "At least, they could have cleaned the blankets," Tsuida said. "They even smell bad. Living here is miserable!"

     " Not like Japanese relocation centers in the States?" he was asked.

     "There is no comparison. I sure wish I had an American meal right now, but I guess it will be a long time before I get that kind of food again."

JAP RATIONS

     He was told the American Army is not feeding the Japanese people, and that henceforth he would be on the standard Japanese ration, as set by the government.

     At least 500 of the repatriates were waiting in the mess hall, a place of unmopped floors, with pools of water here and there on the uneven cement. Each person was served one saucer of rice-- a plate the size of an American coffee saucer-- and one apricot, shriveled to the size of a walnut.

     Then they all returned to their quarters, shivering. There was no heat anywhere in the camp.

     That's what they came back to, from America.

(BainbridgeHistorians note: According to War Relocation Authority records, 13,000 applications renouncing their U.S. citizenship and requesting expatriation to Japan were filed by or on behalf of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Over 5,000 had been processed by the end of the war. All still living in 1988 were eligible for an apology from the United States and a $20,000 reparations payment.)

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