The median number of school years completed by those over 25 years of age in this group of foreign-born Japanese was 8.3, compared with 8.4 for the total population of the United States. A comparison by sex with the general population follows:

TABLE 14.-Median number of school years completed for those 25 years old and over, 1940

About 8.5 percent of the foreign-born Japanese had no schooling, 25 percent were high-school graduates, and over 4 percent were college graduates. This compares with 3.7 percent of the total United States population over 25 years of age with no schooling; 14.1 percent who graduated from high school; 4.6 percent who were college graduates.

The median number of school years completed by American citizens of Japanese descent who were over 25 was 12.2 compared with 8.3 for the foreign-born Japanese and 8.4 for the general population. This means that in 1940, more than half of all American citizens of Japanese descent had at least a high-school education. Over 8 percent of American citizens of Japanese descent (over 25) were college graduates, compared with 4.2 percent of the Japanese aliens and 4.6 percent of the general populatoin.

Comparison of median years of school completed by persons of Japanese descent and the total population of the Western States where the Japanese population was concentrated is shown:

TABLE 15.-Median school years completed, persons over 25 years of age of Japanese descent, and general population of Western States, 1940

Records kept by the War Relocation Authority disprove a common contention that American citizens of Japanese descent have received most of their education in Japan. About 75 percent, or 53,000 of the 73,000 investigated, had never been to Japan. Of the 20,000 who spent some time in Japan, 10,000 did not go to school there. In other words, about 10,000, or one-seventh, spent some time in

Japanese schools.

Religion

A survey conducted by the WRA in 1942 of 38,520 foreign-born Japanese and 72,650 American citizens of Japanese descent revealed the data shown on the following page regarding their religious preferences. It will be noted that later generations have shifted from oriental religions.

TABLE 16.—Religious preferences of American citizens of Japanese descent and foreign-born Japanese, 1942

1 Popular Shinto (not related to Emperor worship).

Modern cult based on Buddhist teachings, oriental philosophy, and Christian Science.

Crime 2

Arrests. Available criminal records do not make it possible to separate American citizens of Japanese descent from Japanese aliens. For this reason, the analysis on following pages is concerned with persons of Japanese descent, rather than with Japanese aliens. (There are no separate records for other groups ineligible to citizenship.)

According to the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the total number of arrests for violation of State laws was 2,478,062 for the period 1935-39. The average annual rate according to race is shown below. The rate of arrest for the Japanese population was the lowest of the six groups studied.

TABLE 17.-Distribution of arrests according to race, annual average 1935-39, excluding those under 15 years of age

The type and distribution of arrests of persons of Japanese descent for violation of State laws is of interest.

TABLE 18.-Number of arrests of persons of Japanese descent for violating State laws, by cause of arrest, 1935-39

2 Examination of the literature relating to persons of Japanese ancestry has failed to reveal any compre hensive analysis of crime rates. In consequence, this material is developed in some detail.

12

TAPLE 18.- Number of arrests of persons of Japanese descent for violating State laws, by cause of arrest, 1935-39-Continued

Major crimes. In the 5-year period, 1935-39, there were 1,049,922 persons who were arrested in the United States for the following major crimes: Criminal homicide; robbery; assault; burglary; larceny-theft; auto theft; embezzlement and fraud; possession of stolen property; forgery and counterfeiting; rape; arson; prostitution, commercialized vice, and other sex offenses; narcotic law violation; and illegal possession of weapons. The annual average total of these crimes was 209,984.

During this 5-year period, a total of 429 Japanese aliens and Americans of Japanese descent were arrested for these offenses. The annual average number of major crimes for these groups was 85.8.

A comparison of the major crime rate of those of Japanese descent with other segments of the population is shown in table 19.

TABLE 19.-Comparison of crime rates, for major crimes by persons of Japanese descent, native whites, foreign-born whites, negroes, average 1935-39 (excluding those under 15 years of age)

Females.-The uniform crime reports show that 178,471 females were arrested for violating State laws during the period 1935-39. The annual average number of females arrested during the period was 35,694. Only a total of 25 women of Japanese descent were arrested in this 5-year period for violating State laws. In 1938, the uniform crime reports failed to record any arrests of females of Japanese descent for violating any State laws.

In the 5-year period 1935-39, a total of 84,896 females were arrested in the United States for committing major crimes. The annual average number of arrests was 16,979. During that same period, 14 females of Japanese descent were arrested for committing major crimes. Their annual average was 2.8 arrests.

The ratio of total females arrested for major crimes to total males arrested for major crimes in the 5-year period was 8 to 100. The comparable ratio for those of Japanese descent was 3 to 100. The ratio of arrests for major crimes to total arrests was 42 to 100 for the total population; 36 to 100 for those of Japanese descent.

Causes. For the total population, the major cause of arrest during the 1935-39 period was for drunkenness, with 15 percent of all arrests for violation of State laws falling in that category. Of the serious crimes, the most common cause for arrest was larceny-theft, with 12 percent of all arrests for violation of State laws. About 20 percent of all persons of Japanese descent arrested were held for drunkenness compared with 17 percent of all whites arrested, 8 percent of all Negroes arrested, 30 percent of all Indians arrested, and 25 percent of all Mexicans arrested. The chief cause for arrest among Negroes was for larceny-theft with 14 percent arrested for that reason. About 57 percent of all Chinese arrested were held for violating narcotic laws. Most minor arrests in the Chinese population were for gambling, with 14 percent falling in that category.

A more detailed analysis follows:

TABLE 20.-Cause of arrest, whites, Negroes, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, and Mexicans, 1935–39

A complete break-down of the crime rate for various segments of the population for a typical prewar year is shown below in table 21.

TABLE 21.-Number of arrests of whites, Negroes, and persons of Japanese descent, Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 1935, rate per 100,000 of population (excluding those under 15 years of age)

TABLE 21.-Number of arrests of whites, Negroes, and persons of Japanese descent, Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 1935, rate per 100,000 of population (excluding those under 15 years of age)—Continued

While the total number of arrests for violation of State laws has increased steadily since the midthirties, the number of persons of Japanese descent arrested has declined sharply since the end of the war. Table 22 compares the white, Negro, and Japanese groups. The war period has purposely been omitted because millions were serving at that time in the armed forces.

TABLE 22.-Arrests for violation of State laws, white, Negroes, and Japanese, annual, 1934-40, 1946, and first 6 months of 1947

Commitments. Not all persons arrested are committed to prisons and reformatories. While 520,000 persons were arrested for violating State laws in 1937, the United States Census Bureau found that a total of 63,552 prisoners were received by State and Federal prisons and reformatories that year. Although 228 persons of Japanese descent were arrested for violating State laws in 1937, a total of 17 were committed to State and Federal prisons and reformatories.

Table 23 shows the commitments to State and Federal prisons and reformatories during 1937. Of a total of 63,552 commitments, 72.9 percent were white, 26.0 percent were Negroes, 0.19 percent were Chinese, and 0.027 percent were Japanese. In the total population, whites accounted for 89.8 percent of the population, Negroes for 9.8 percent, Chinese for 0.06 percent, and Japanese for 0.1 percent.

TABLE 23.-Prisoners received by State and Federal prisons and reformatories from courts, by type, commitment, sex, race, during the year 1937