Background Information
Iva Toguri, also known as "Tokyo Rose", was a WWII radio broadcaster that used to promote Japanese propaganda against the United States and the other countries that were part of the Allied forces.
Early Life
Born on July 4, 1916, born in Los Angeles, California, Iva Toguri was daughter of Jun and Fumi Toguri. Her parents were both Japanese immigrants that were both owners of a small business. Her father wanted his family to be as Americanized as possible so he discouraged his children from learning to speak or write Japanese, and even forbade his children to use chopsticks. She lived an average life of "the typical middle-American experience", she was popular in school, attended church, became a Girl Scout, played on the high school tennis team, took piano lessons, and enjoyed hiking. She went to study zoology in the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) were she graduated in 1941.
Arriving in Japan
In 1941, Iva Toguri's parents sent her on a trip to Japan to visit and take care of her sick aunt. Iva Toguri has never been abroad before and after a few days became homesick and wanted to get a ship back home back home. Her reasons of not wanting to stay longer in Japan was because she "could not speak the language, found people to be rude, and disliked the food (especially rice)", according to what she said in interviews. When she traveled she did not have a passport (but the U.S. State Department gave her a certificate of identification that allowed her to travel. She left the United States for Japan on July 5, 194). When she was going to take a ship back on December 2nd due to her not having a passport she wasn't able to get a ship back to the United States.