A Major Property-Rights Issue Involving U.S. Citizens

More than 100 years ago, landowners emigrated from Japan to Hawai‘i and the U.S. mainland. Their descendants became U.S. citizens, while the land remained in Japan.

Using primary official records from both countries, JHLRC has confirmed the connection between Japanese land records and U.S. family lines for 13 families.

Today, land associated with these families lies within the boundaries of Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni (MCAS Iwakuni).

JHLRC identifies U.S.-citizen heirs and selects qualified attorneys to represent them.

The heirs intend to sue the Government of Japan. JHLRC will continue to support them until their property rights are legally restored.

View Across the Pacific
at SIMA Studios

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni contains land
still registered under private names,
raising issues related to the property rights of U.S. citizens.

Within the area used as Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, certain parcels remain registered in private names in Japan’s land records.

Using Japanese and U.S. public records, we are verifying the connections between these land records and Japanese immigrant families in Hawaii and elsewhere in the United States.
Contact Us About
Supporting the Project
Learn About the Project
Background

What's New

News

View News
2026-07-15

The Japan-U.S. Heirs and Land Records Center Has Launched Its Official Website.

2026-07-14

We Held a Project Planning Meeting

Fact & History
A Major Property-Rights Issue for U.S. Citizens

This is not simply a Japanese American issue.

It is a major property-rights issue involving U.S. citizens.

More than a century ago, landowners from Iwakuni emigrated to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland.

Their children and grandchildren were born in the United States and became U.S. citizens.

The land remained in Japan, and inheritance continued across generations.

Now, 81 years after the end of World War II, inherited land involving the property rights of U.S. citizens is currently being used within Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni (MCAS Iwakuni).

The issue remains unresolved.

JHLRC identifies U.S.-citizen heirs.

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JHLRC connects Japanese and U.S. public records.

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JHLRC selects counsel.

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U.S.-citizen heirs pursue litigation against the Government of Japan.

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JHLRC supports the heirs through the legal process until their property rights are legally restored.

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32家族

About us
What JHLRC Does

JHLRC investigates and documents the historical ownership of land connected to Japanese immigrant families.

Among the families under investigation, several had multiple family members who were incarcerated in Japanese American internment camps in the United States during World War II.

JHLRC has examined Japanese land registration records and family registers alongside U.S. public records and confirmed the lines of inheritance connecting the original landowners in Japan to their present-day heirs who are U.S. citizens.

We provide heirs who are unaware of their ancestral land in Japan with information about the land and their property rights.

We also support inheritance registration procedures, select legal counsel, and assist heirs in pursuing legal claims against the Government of Japan.

JHLRC will continue to support the heirs until their rightful property rights are restored.

View Organization

Comparison
Connecting Japanese and U.S. Public Records to Present-Day Heirs

[Japanese Records]
Land registry / historical land ledgers / family registers
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[Connecting the Land and the Family]
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[U.S. Records]
Census / Passenger Lists / Draft Registration / Birth, Marriage and Death Records
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Present-day U.S.-citizen descendants and potential heirs

JHLRC cross-checks Japanese and U.S. public records to document the chain connecting privately registered land in Japan to present-day U.S.-citizen descendants and potential heirs.

This documentary chain can be reviewed by families, qualified professionals, and the press.

Fundraising
Support and Donations

Find U.S.-Citizen Heirs and Deliver the Evidence

Obtain public records
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Trace the family connection
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Translate and organize the evidence
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Identify U.S.-citizen heirs
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Deliver verified evidence to U.S.-citizen heirs

Help us identify U.S.-citizen heirs and deliver verified evidence.

Charitable donations support public-record acquisition, family and heir research, Japan-U.S. record matching, translation, evidence organization, and the delivery of verified evidence to U.S.-citizen heirs.

These charitable funds are kept separate from individual inheritance-registration costs, individual legal representation, litigation, settlement, compensation claims, and distributions to heirs.

Main Uses of Funds

  • Researching, obtaining, and organizing Japanese and U.S. records
  • Translating documents and preparing comparison charts and explanatory materials
  • Preparing materials for professional review and press use
  • Preparing explanatory materials for U.S.-citizen heirs and their families
  • Website updates, public information materials, and administrative operations
Contact Us About Supporting This Work

For Press Only
Press-Only Page

This password-protected page is provided so that members of the press can verify the facts through organized Japanese and U.S. public records.

The materials include Japanese land registers, former land ledgers, family registry records, and U.S. records such as census records, draft registration records, and records connected to the wartime incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry in the United States during World War II.

This project is not based on claims alone. It is a record-based project that allows members of the press to verify the connection between the land records and Japanese immigrant families in Hawaiʻi and the United States.

FAMILY-BY-FAMILY JAPANESE AND U.S. PUBLIC RECORDS

Japanese Records：Land Registers, Former Land Ledgers, Family Registers, and Removed Family Registers

U.S. Records：Census, Immigration and Passenger Records, Draft Registration, Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, among others

Password access is required.

View Family Records Index

CONTACT

We are here to answer your questions and respond to your inquiries promptly and professionally.
No matter how small your question may be, please feel free to contact us.

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