At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack,
Japanese Americans numbered approximately
125,000 on the mainland in the United States and
200,000 in Hawaii, then a U.S. territory.
Some were first-generation
Japanese Americans (Issei), who had emigrated
from Japan and many
were not eligible for U.S. citizenship.
About 80,000 were second-generation (Nisei),
individuals born in the United States
who were U.S. citizens.