When japan and the United States went to war in 1941, Awaiko, a second-generation Japanese immigrant born in Los Angeles, was visiting relatives in Tokyo, but because she was an American citizen, she was ostracized by the Japanese government and her life was once in trouble.
After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Japan decided to use the radio program "Zero O'Clock" to carry out "soft propaganda" to strengthen the psychological warfare offensive of the US military. So, they found Akiko Tosumi, who had a pure and sweet voice and spoke fluent English, as a female anchor.
When the war ended in August 1945, the naïve Tosumi thought she could return to the United States. However, all this is just her beautiful fantasy, and she is arrested because, her identity is "Tokyo Rose".
Tosu Yuko never dreamed that her uneventful life had undergone a major transformation because she had been a radio anchor.
01
Born on July 4, 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA, to be the eldest of the four children, to be clever and clever, especially in terms of eloquence.
In 1941, Tosumi's aunt in Japan fell ill, and because her mother was unwell, she went to Japan alone at the age of 25 to visit her aunt.
After spending some time in Japan and preparing to return to the United States, the Pacific War suddenly broke out. Tosu Ikuko could only stay in Japan, when it was winter, the cold wind was biting, and the weather was unusually cold.
Due to the war, Japan implemented the material "supply card" system, Tosu Ikuko because she is a U.S. citizen, so she is not eligible to get this card, for a whole year, Tosu Ikuko is overstretched, poor, she has been cornered, ran out of food.
At this time, the Japanese radio station "Zero O'Clock" column wanted to find a female announcer, Toguri Ikuko understands English, the voice is sweet and affinity, the Japanese government found her and asked her to be a broadcast host.
Therefore, in order to survive, Tosu Ikuko officially joined the "Zero O'Clock Time" program group in November 1943.
02
So what does Tosuga play in the show?
In the show, Tosu Ikuko rarely mentions the brutal war, but tells humorous jokes, sports events, and city life.
She called herself "Orphan Annie" on the show, affectionately referred to the American soldiers as "Orphan Brothers", and at the end of the broadcast, she said in a mischievous and funny tone: "I am your dearest enemy Annie!" ”
Soon, Tosu Ikuko's euphemistic broadcast quickly won the favor of American soldiers, who nicknamed her "Tokyo Rose".
On a lonely island in the Pacific, the only thing that the blood-fighting American soldiers can relieve is a radio, and every time they hear a program hosted by "Tokyo Rose" in fluent English, they will be as excited as children.
The show is mainly broadcast late at night, in addition to broadcasting news, interspersed with American country music and folk songs, and in the middle of the night, it is a time of homesickness.
Listening to the gentle and pure American voice of Tosu Ikuko, gradually, these American officers and soldiers began to feel uneasy, their thoughts surging and they became more and more unguarded and lonely.
In fact, in the early days of the war, Tokyo Radio mainly publicized Japan's war information, but with the defeat of the Japanese army in the later period, the Japanese authorities hoped that through such broadcasts, the combat effectiveness of american soldiers would be destroyed and their psychological defense line would be crushed.
However, when Tosuko appeared in Zero O'Clock, her witty hosting style and pleasant American tone moved all American soldiers who listened to the radio. No one pays attention to whether the news she broadcasts is false, most people just want to close their eyes and enjoy listening to her beautiful voice.
03
In August 1945, the war ended with Japan's unconditional surrender, but Tosu Ikuko's doom had just begun.
After the war, American journalists most wanted to interview the Japanese emperor and the "Tokyo Rose".
When an American reporter interviewed Tosumi, she recorded 17 pages of text, and Tosumi acknowledged that the "Tokyo Rose" was her.
Perhaps, for Tosumi, acknowledging herself as a "Tokyo Rose" doesn't feel like a big deal, who knows the days that follow, and the title pushes her into the bottomless abyss of fate.
A few days later, the newspaper front page published her interviewed article, which attracted the attention of many people, and since then, Tosawa Ikuko has been frequently invited to participate in events in various places as a "celebrity", and every time she goes to a place, it will cause a sensation.
But soon after, she was arrested.
There are two theories about the reason for her arrest:
First, because Tosu Ikuko refused to renounce her American citizenship during the war, the Japanese authorities arrested her for "treason."
Second, the U.S. authorities arrested her on the grounds that she was an American but helped the Japanese broadcast a psychological attack on American soldiers.
For whatever reason, Tosuya was held in a Japanese prison for a year and was not released until a year later.
After her release from prison, Tosumi eagerly applied to the U.S. consulate to return to the United States, but this wish was like a dream that she could not reach.
In fact, whether during world war II or after the war, the United States has already set off a high wave of anti-Japanese, many Japanese in the United States, suffered unfair treatment, many people were driven away from their homes and ordered to be imprisoned in a remote camp.
When the news of Sumiko's desire to return to China reached the United States, many people and celebrities strongly condemned her and demanded that the government severely punish the "traitor."
In September 1948, Tosu Ikuko was extradited back to China, and although she returned to the United States, she was not free.
04
Tosu Ikuko appears in court again, and she firmly refuses to admit that she has committed treason, believing that she is just a small announcer who knows nothing about war.
Tosumi's lawyer, Wayne Collins, collected the tapes of the broadcast at the time and defended her with all his might.
But all this was in vain, and in October 1949, Tosumi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for treason and automatically lost her U.S. citizenship.
Tosu Ikuko was imprisoned for more than six years and was released in 1955 for her good performance. But fate once again ruthlessly abandoned her, and when she got out of prison, she was given an expulsion order and became a stateless person.
For more than 20 years, thanks to the tireless efforts of the son of Tosuma Ikuko's defense lawyer Wayne Collins, she finally received a pardon until 1977, when she was 61 years old and had entered her old age.
Although the American citizenship came too late and too late, Tosumi was overjoyed, she said: "Only pardon is the only evidence of my innocence, because I will always be innocent." ”
In fact, she can feel innocent, but treason is appropriate for her, and treason in order to survive should also be punished.