SALT LAKE CITY— Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday signed S.B. 58, Day of Remembrance Observing the Incarceration of Japanese Americans During World War II.
This bill was sponsored by State Sen. Jani Iwamoto, with Rep. Karen Kwan as floor sponsor, and received unanimous support from the House and Senate.
S.B. 58 designates Feb. 19 as an annual Day of Remembrance observing the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. It will be 80 years this Saturday, Feb. 19, since President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, two-thirds of whom were American citizens.
“Day of Remembrance allows us to vow to remember and recommit to safeguarding the civil rights of ALL Americans,” said Iwamoto. “What happened to Japanese Americans is relevant today — especially today — and must never, ever, be forgotten.”