Iva Ikuko Toguri D'Aquino (July 4, 1916 – September 26, 2006) was an
American who participated in
English-language propaganda broadcast transmitted by
Radio Tokyo to
Allied soldiers in the
South Pacific during
World War II on
The Zero Hour radio show. Toguri called herself "
Orphan Ann," but she quickly became identified with the name "
Tokyo Rose", a name that was coined by Allied soldiers and that predated her broadcasts. After the Japanese defeat, Toguri was detained for a year by the
United States military before being released for lack of evidence.
Department of Justice officials agreed that her broadcasts were "innocuous". But when Toguri tried to return to the US, a popular uproar ensued, prompting the
Federal Bureau of Investigation to renew its investigation of Toguri's wartime activities. She was subsequently charged by the
United States Attorney's Office with eight counts of
treason. Her 1949 trial resulted in a conviction on one count, making her the seventh American to be convicted on that charge, for which she spent more than six years out of a ten-year sentence in prison.
Journalistic and governmental investigators years later pieced together the history of irregularities with the indictment, trial, and conviction, including the allegation that key witnesses had perjured themselves at the various stages of their testimonies. Toguri received a pardon in 1977 from
U.S. President Gerald Ford.