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The history of Japanese people in British Columbia began with the arrival of Manzo Nagano in New Westminster in 1877. Prior to 1942, British Columbia was home to 90% of all Japanese in Canada.

History

The first Japanese in Canada was Manzo Nagano, who stowed away on a British ship, and arrived in New Westminster in 1877. He would eventually settled in Victoria, British Columbia. During the 1890s, issei established themselves on Powell Street, building stores, boarding houses, and other businesses, adjacent to Hastings Mill, an major employer of Japanese. The neighbourhood was the largest settlement of Japanese Canadians prior to World War Two. In 1907, an anti-Asian riot broke out in Chinese and Japanese sections of Vancouver due to the increased presence of Japanese who in 1907, had entered Canada in a record number of 7,000. Following the riots, Japanese immigration to Canada was restricted to 400 male immigrants and domestic servants per year in 1908. Immigration was further restricted to 150 annually in 1923. In 1916, over 200 Nikkei volunteers attempt to enlist as a corps in the Canadian army. When refused by the Provincial government, they traveled to Alberta to enlist as individuals. Eventually 196 Japanese were sent overseas. In 1931, surviving veterans were given the right to vote.

Internment

When the Pacific war erupted, more than 8,500, or ⅓ of Japanese Canadians lived in the Greater Vancouver Area. More than half of these lived in the Powell Street district. Following the War Measures Act, all people of Japanese descent were declared “enemy aliens” of Canada. In February 1942, the Canadian government ordered “all persons of Japanese racial origin” to leave the 100-mile area along the coast. The Custodian of Enemy Property seized all property deemed to be dangerous, including boats, cars, radios, cameras, and was authorized to hold all land and property in trust. During the construction of the internment camps, the Pacific National Exhibition was designated a holding and distribution centre for Japanese Canadians. 22,000 Japanese Canadians—comprising over 90% of the total Japanese Canadian population—from British Columbia were forcibly relocated and interned in the name of national security. The majority were Canadian citizens by birth. Four years after the war, the last of the wartime restrictions were removed, and were allowed to return to the West Coast.