Iva Toguri, an American citizen trapped in Japan during World War II, worked as a secretary for Radio Tokyo and was chosen to broadcast propaganda as “Orphan Ann,” one of the English-speaking women known as Tokyo Rose. After the war, Toguri was arrested and convicted of treason, but was later pardoned and had her US citizenship restored. She died in 2006 at the age of 90.
During World War II, Tokyo Rose was the name given to numerous radio presenters broadcasting on Japanese radio. The radio programs were intended to broadcast anti-American propaganda. Although Tokyo Rose was a fictional character, a woman was thought to be the original Tokyo Rose, and her story is one of heroism and betrayal.
This woman, Iva Ikuko Toguri, was eventually tried and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment by the US government. When World War II broke out, Toguri, who was visiting relatives, became trapped in Japan. Toguri was an American citizen born in Los Angeles, California in 1916. The Japanese government did its best to try to get Toguri denied her American citizenship.
Despite the pressure Toguri was under, including daily harassment by military police, she refused to renounce her US citizenship. Trapped in Japan, Toguri found two jobs to support herself while she tried to get back to the United States. While working as a secretary for Radio Tokyo, she met American and Australian POWs who were forced by the Japanese to broadcast propaganda.
Radio Tokyo wanted a female voice to broadcast its programmes, and when asked, the POWs selected Toguri. Using the name Orphan Ann, Toguri was one of many English-speaking women created to broadcast Japanese propaganda. The POWs wrote the scripts for the radio shows, including many hidden pro-American sentiments and messages that she Toguri would read. The English-speaking women collectively became known as the Tokyo Rose, and Toguri was instrumental in boosting the morale of American troops.
It was after the war that Toguri’s involvement in radio broadcasting turned against her. Reporters traveled to Japan to interview Toguri and prove that she was Tokyo Rose. At one point, reports claimed that Toguri signed a statement that she was Tokyo Rose. In 1945, Toguri was arrested and imprisoned in Japan by the US government. She was released after a year, but in 1948 she was arrested again and taken to the United States to stand trial for treason.
In 1949, Toguri was convicted of eight counts of treason. The original Tokyo Rose was sentenced to ten years in prison and a fine of 10,000 US dollars (USD). She was released after six years and moved to Chicago. Reporter Ron Yates continued to investigate the allegations made against Toguri. Two of the key witnesses, Kenkichi Oki and George Mitsushio, were found to have lied under oath.
Oki and Mitsushio said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) instructed them what to say hours before the trial. Ironically, Oki and Mitsushio were two Radio Tokyo employees who had renounced their American citizenship during the war. As a result of her trial and conviction, Toguri was stripped of the US citizenship she fought so hard for.
In 1976, the television show 60 Minutes covered Toguri’s story, and she was later granted a full pardon by President Ford in 1977. Toguri’s full US citizenship was also restored. In 2006, at the age of 90, Iva Toguri, the original Tokyo Rose, died in a Chicago hospital of natural causes.
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