Pacific Movement of the Eastern World

The Pacific Movement of the Eastern World (PMEW) was a 1930s North American based pro-Japanese movement of African Americans which promoted the idea that Japan was the champion of all non-white peoples.

The Japanese ultra-nationalist Black Dragon Society was an influence upon the PMEW. The Black Dragon Society was a paramilitary organization, with close ties to Japan, which viewed the United States as Japan's enemy in World War II. The organization was frequently taken advantage of by one of its founders, Ashima Takis, who ultimately was arrested for embezzling funds from the group.

The Pacific Movement of the Eastern World was founded in Chicago around 1932 by Satokata Takahashiin. Takahashiin reportedly recruited Ashima Takis and his Chinese companion, Moy Liang, into the leadership of the organization. The organization preached worldwide unity of colored races under the leadership of Japan. When its president Ashima Takis moved to St. Louis in 1933, membership took off.

Takis soon associated himself with Burt Cornish and Walter Lee Peeples of the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and claimed that the New York City branch of the organisation was affiliated with Japan. Cornish and Peeples soon set up a (PMEW) branch in St. Louis with the help of Moy Liang, an immaculately dressed Chinese man with a patrician demeanor.

Adopting a banner composed of Black, Yellow and Brown, the organization began to grow in the poor African American community in Missouri. FBI reports claimed that there were four Japanese men agitating in the area at that time. The frequent open air meetings were marked by anti-white sentiments, particularly regarding the historical use of African Americans in wars by the United States, followed by refusing to let them share in the spoils of war.

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