Japanese Emperor in Canada

Although many Canadians like to think so, Canada is not a country without a blemished past.

When war with Japan broke out during after the attack on Pearl Harbour, Canadian authorities rounded up all Japanese Canadians and imprisoned them in work camps, took away their homes and businesses, and broke apart their families.

It wasn't until many years after the end of the Second World War that the Canadian government offered any apology or compensation, and that only occurred thanks to the hard work of Japanese Canadians to reclaim what was theirs.

This makes Japanese Emperor Akihito's visit to Vancouver's downtown East Side (one of the largest and most notorious skid row districts in North America) more than just another royal visit.

He and his wife are travelling into what was the heart of Vancouver's, and surely at the time Canada's, Japantown. Today it is no more.

There he will visit the Japanese Language School and Hall, the last and only remnant of this once thriving cultural area, and the only building that was actually returned to its rightful Japanese Canadian owners.

This is a significant visit for several reasons. No royals, let alone any local politicians, make it a point to visit the downtown East Side of Vancouver. By doing so Japanese Emperor Akihito is saying much without speaking a word.

He is drawing attention to a human landscape that is today still neglected, and to a historical wrong that has yet to be righted. The poingiency of this visit is subtle, but should not be missed.

By setting eyes on the Japanese Language School and Hall, the Emperor of Japan is also forcing Canadians to look in the mirror and realize that what they did to the Japanese Canadians is still going on today, but for different reasons and with different victims.