Emigration to the United States, Canada and other overseas lands of refugees stranded in Japan has now been halted as a result of the tense situation in the Pacific, according to advices received here today by the HIAS-ICA Emigretion Association.
Jewish refugees from Poland and Germany who have been marooned in Japan hoping to find their way to various overseas countries will now have to seek passage by proceeding first to Shanghai, the cabled messages said.
There are today about 1,500 Jewish refugees in Japan the majority of them Polish citizens. Approximately 1,100 of them have actual emigration possibilities. More than 500 of them have the necessary documents entitling them to visas, while some 500 had applied for Palestine immigration certificates. The Polish consulate in Tokyo was especially active during the last few weeks in securing Canadian visas for Jewish refugees from Poland.
The fate of the refugees stranded in Japan remains unknown now that they cannot proceed to the countries of their destination. A recent report stated that the Japanese government intends to intern all refugees for the duration of the war, or to send them to Shanghai where over 20,000 Jewish refugees are now living under very difficult conditions.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
