Descendant of last native leader of Alaska island demands Japanese reparations for 1942 invasion

Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The great-granddaughter of the last Alaska Native chief of a remote island in the Bering Sea believes Japan should pay more restitution for what its soldiers did to the residents of Attu Island during World War II. Japan invaded the most westerly of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and took 41 residents as prisoners of war. During internment in Japan, 22 Attu residents died from starvation and other ailments, including Helana Pagano’s great-grandfather. Survivors were offered about $12,000 compensation at the time. But Pagano said Japan never compensated the families for the deaths of prisoners or for the loss of land and damage to Attuan culture. Japanese officials say a 1951 treaty settled all compensation claims.