Seventy-six Japanese Canadian UBC students were forcibly removed and exiled from the B.C. coast in 1942, when the Canadian government implemented internment.
This disruption changed the course of UBC students’ lives. Few were able to complete their studies after the war because their family or financial circumstances no longer made this possible; others ended up at universities in eastern Canada.
Part of UBC’s acknowledgement of what happened in 1942 includes a UBC Library project to collect and archive stories from individual students, to document how their lives were forever altered because of what happened.
A Degree of Justice: Japanese Canadian UBC Students of 1942
A Degree of Justice: Japanese Canadian UBC students of 1942 tells the story of six former UBC students who were forcibly removed and exiled from the B.C. coast during the Second World War.
The students recall growing up in Vancouver, attending UBC, the many hardships caused by their removal in 1942, and their thoughts on UBC’s efforts to formally recognize and honour them.
Former Students Featured in the Film
Ruth Fusako Cezar (Nagata) – UBC, 1941-42
Mary Shinko Kato (Nagata) – UBC, 1940-42
Tom Nishio – UBC, 1939-42
Fred Sasaki – UBC BCom 1942
Dr. Roy Shinobu – UBC BA 1942
Mits Sumiya – UBC, 1941-42
Film Credits
Directed by Alejandro Yoshizawa
Production Coordinator Elena Kusaka
Produced by Mary Kitagawa, Tosh Kitagawa, Henry Yu, and Shirin Eshghi
Copyright: UBC Library