Robert J Lavezzi

Japanese Espionage Operations in The United States Robert J Lavezzi

As World War II savaged Europe, both the United States and Japan knew they would eventually be drawn into the conflict. In readiness, Japanese intelligence launched a complex campaign of intelligence gathering and propaganda.

Between 1934 and 1943, Japanese naval officers and diplomats worked with Issei and Nisei residents, journalists, former members of the US military, and Japanese criminal organizations, stealing classified documents, evaluating military defenses, and targeting US citizens with pro-Japan articles and pamphlets. Japanese-run hotels along the West Coast offered safe havens for agents and forwarded information gleaned from newspapers and trade journals by anonymous sympathizers.

In Hawaii, a German SD officer, posing as a student of Japanese culture, was to provide information about warship activity at Pearl Harbor, after the war began. In Los Angeles, a former butler to Charlie Chaplin recruited an agent to steal US Navy war plans and tactical procedures for Japanese Intelligence.

Author Robert J. Lavezzi examines the effect Japan's intelligence campaign had on US national security and Japan's evolving strategic policies. Based on FBI and U. S. Navy Intelligence files, Japanese Espionage Operations in the United States reveals how Japan's armed forces and political leadership were influenced by the information their agents gathered in the fateful days leading up to December 7, 1941.