1907 – United States and Japan Sign the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” Allowing Japanese “Picture Brides” to Immigrate

“In 1907, amidst the anti-Japanese pressures in California, President
Theodore Roosevelt and the Government of Japan reached an agreement
stopping issuance of passports to Japanese laborers but continuing
issuing passports to laborers who had been in the U.S. previously and
also to parents, wives, relatives of those already in the U.S.

This essentially eliminated new Japanese laborers but thousands of
wives (picture brides) came over. The purpose of this ‘Gentlemen’s
Agreement’ was to stop Japanese immigration but it did not have the
desired effect as thousands of ‘picture brides’ continued to arrive. It
was euphemistically called ‘The Gentlemen’s Agreement.’ A halt to all
Japanese immigration was achieved by law in 1924.”