09/23/2026
On this day 38 years ago, the Japanese Canadian Redress Agreement was signed by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and NAJC President Art Miki after several years of negotiating between the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) and the federal government. This historic occasion was preceded by decades of grassroots political organization and human rights advocacy by Japanese Canadians across the country.
The Redress Agreement included a formal apology to all Japanese Canadians, $21,000 issued directly to survivors of the forced uprooting, Canadian citizenship for the individuals wrongly deported to Japan and their descendants, the exoneration of all those convicted for resisting internment, the creation of a community fund, and $24 million to establish the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, which continues its mandate to eliminate all forms of racism and racial discrimination to this day.
Following the internment and forced dispossession of Japanese Canadian communities from the coast during World War II, the redress campaign was conceptualized around the equality of individuals and protecting human rights in Canada. Central to this campaign was the inter-community alliances and solidarity forged to support these rights for all.
On the anniversary of this event, we remember and honour the work of those before us who campaigned for human rights to ensure that such injustices are not repeated. This work did not end with the signing of the Redress Agreement. We must continue to learn from our past, stand in solidarity with those facing injustice and advocate for human rights in Canada and around the world.
Photo: Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Art Miki sitting down at the signing of the redress. A row of people are standing behind them, Roger Obata, Audrey Kobayashi, Gerry Weiner, Maryka Omatsu, Roy Miki and Cassandra Kobayashi are amongst them. Photograph by Gordon King, 1988. Courtesy of the Nikkei National Museum, Gordon King Collection, 2010.32.55.
