Legislation establishing Fred Korematsu Day was first signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California on September 23, 2010,[1] after passing unanimously in both the State Assembly and Senate.
[5][6] In January 2023, the fight for a national Fred Korematsu Day continued with a resolution to establish a national Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution introduced in the United States Congress led by Representatives Mark Takano and Jill Tokuda in the U.S. House and Senators Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth in the Senate.
The states of Hawaii[9] (2013), Virginia[10] (2015), Florida[11] (2016), Arizona[12] (2021), Michigan[13] (2023) and New Jersey[14] (2023), as well as New York City[15] (2018), have recognized Fred Korematsu Day in perpetuity by legislation.
Fred Korematsu Day was also celebrated in Illinois in 2014,[16] but it is not clear whether then-governor Pat Quinn's proclamation extended past the year.
[17] Google recognized Fred Korematsu Day in 2017 with a Google Doodle by artist Sophie Diao, featuring a patriotic portrait of Korematsu wearing his Presidential Medal of Freedom, a scene of the internment camps to his back, surrounded by cherry blossoms, flowers that have come to be symbols of peace and friendship between the US and Japan.