Tokyo Rose

Basic information

Iva Toguri D'Aquino was the woman who is identified with being Tokyo Rose, the woman who broadcast propaganda from Japan during the second world war. She was charged with treason after the war and was in prison for six years, yet there was abundant evidence that she was not the only female broadcaster at the time. Unpopular opinion, basically, is what led to her eventual conviction.

She was born in Los Angeles in 1916 and was visiting relatives in Japan when the war started. There was no way for her to leave Japan and return to the US, so she was stuck there. Practicality demanded that she find a job, and she was hired by Tokyo radio for a show geared towards Allied troops called "Zero Hour."

She used the name "Orphan Ann" during the show, and broadcast comedy skits and introduced the news. After the war she was investigated, but it was determine that there wasn't enough evidence to warrant prosecution. A public outcry in the US later led to her being arrested, though, tried, found guilty, and she was in prison for six years. She eventually was pardoned of her "crime," and she died in September of 2006 at the age of 90.

Books about her

The Hunt for "Tokyo Rose" (Russell Warren Howe)

Tokyo Rose: Orphan of the Pacific (Masayo Duus)

Photos

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