Stranded Nisei and the Tokyo test cases on citizenship

Vol. 25, No. 12, September 27, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

Test cases in Japanese courts led the news, as American-born people of Japanese ancestry stranded in Japan sought to settle their citizenship status. Washington officials were waiting on the outcome, and the front page said only a small number of strandees had been able to return to the United States. Other front-page stories followed the reactivation of the 3rd Battalion of the 442nd in Hawaii, Second Lt. Harry Konishi’s stand at an outpost near Trieste, and a Los Angeles committee against restrictive housing covenants.

Elsewhere in the eight pages, Peruvians of Japanese ancestry held at Crystal City, Texas, were the subject of two reports from attorney Wayne Collins. Koji Ariyoshi began a new column, and Bill Hosokawa wrote on home canning and wedding costs. Editorials covered race covenants, Mayor LaGuardia and Hawaiian statehood. Sam Ishikawa became JACL Eastern regional director.

What’s in this issue

National

• Tokyo Test Cases to Clarify Citizenship of Stranded Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Test cases in Japanese courts seek to define the citizenship status of stranded American-born Japanese Americans. Washington officials are working to clarify policy as several thousand stranded Nisei await outcomes.
• New Committee Will Stress Need for Naturalization Change, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The newly organized Committee for Equality in Naturalization seeks legislation to remove racial restrictions from naturalization law. Robert Cullum was named executive secretary.
• First Japanese Brides of Nisei Veterans Arrive in U.S. Under GI Brides Act Amendment, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two Nisei veterans arrived in San Francisco with their Japanese brides under the recent amendment to the GI Brides Act. The couples met in Shanghai, where the veterans had remained as civilian army workers.
• Alien Oregon Barber Law Ruled Invalid by Court, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that a state law barring aliens of Japanese ancestry from barbering is invalid under the 14th Amendment. The case was brought by a Filipino national.

Military & Veterans

• Third Battalion of 442nd Unit Reactivated in Hawaii Rites, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The 3rd Battalion of the 442nd Combat Team was reactivated in ceremonies at Fort Shafter as a Hawaii reserve unit. Its officers include veterans of the 442nd and 100th Battalion, and it is open to all races.
• Konishi Refuses to Yield Outpost Near Trieste, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Second Lt. Harry Konishi of Platteville, Colo., refused an ultimatum to withdraw from an American outpost near Trieste. His stand made him a national figure.
• Nisei Accepted for Navy Aviation Corps, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Yoshio Nasu is training as an aviation mechanic at Lake Shore Naval Air Field in New Orleans. He is believed to be among the first Japanese ancestry men accepted for naval aviation training.
• U.S.-Born Japanese Faces Charges in War Crimes Trial, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Eiichi Noda, a San Francisco-born Nisei, pleaded innocent to charges of participating in the killing of three Americans and other war crimes. He was accused of beating prisoners in Mukden, Manchuria.
• 442nd Veteran Faces Hawaii Murder Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Harry T. Matsumoto, a 442nd veteran, and Henry W. H. Wong were indicted for second-degree murder in the death of William Baker in Honolulu. Police said the men confessed after an altercation.
• Nisei Amputee Wins Jitterbug Prize at Dance, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Hideo Higa, a former 442nd member injured in Europe, won first prize in a jitterbug contest sponsored by Disabled American Veterans. George Makai, another 442nd veteran, took second place.
• Students Graduate From Army Language School, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Students graduated from the Army Language School at Presidio of Monterey, many of them of Japanese ancestry. The graduates will serve with the Army of Occupation in Japan.
• Nisei Lake Sergeant Story Behind Nisei Sgt. York Happens Again and Again, by Koji Ariyoshi, page 5. Koji Ariyoshi recounts how a Kibei sergeant was punished on a troopship for a minor offense and later captured Japanese troops in Burma. He argues that wartime injustices toward Nisei could recur.

Community

• Court Verdict Favors Nisei in Evacuation Suit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Santa Barbara court dismissed a claim by Carl Rieger for services in caring for the Asakura property during the war. The judge found no evidence Rieger had rendered any service.
• Nisei Minister Named Chaplain for Columbia, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Rev. Shunji Forrest Nishi of Los Angeles was named acting chaplain of Columbia University. He had been assistant to the chaplain for the past year.
• Stockton Issei Beaten to Death by Holdup Men, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Yoichi Wakamoto, 62, was murdered in Stockton on September 21, and police believe robbery was the motive. The slaying resembled the earlier beating death of 442nd veteran George Yoshioka.
• Sim Togasaki Will Go to Okinawa on Relief Mission, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sim Togasaki of San Francisco will join a five-person relief mission to Okinawa with 200 goats donated by the Brethren Service Committee. The group departs September 28.
• Towata Elected Head of Revived Alameda Chapter, by P.C. Staff, page 2. John S. Towata was elected president of the reactivated Alameda JACL chapter at its first regular meeting. Other officers and a new constitution were also adopted.
• Driver Injured as Vehicle Overturns, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Tsutomu Ohara of Saratoga escaped with cuts and bruises after his car overturned on the Williams Road bridge. He was treated by his family physician.
• Assemblyman Tells Of Fight Against Alien Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Assemblyman George D. Collins, Jr. spoke to the San Francisco JACL about the recent fight against the California Alien Land Law in the state legislature. His talk covered the legislative battle.
• Nice Place, Denver, page 2. A columnist responds to a New Jersey reader’s critique of the editorial writing in Denver’s Japanese American dailies. The piece is a humorous exchange about editorial tone.
• Agenda Set for First Midwest JACL Leadership Workshop, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Midwest District Council’s three-day Leadership Workshop in Chicago will feature national officers and experts on fund raising, membership, and public relations. Delegates are urged to attend.
• Graduate Wins Ohio Garden Club Award, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Alice Kozaki received the scholarship award of the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs after graduating summa cum laude from Ohio State University. She majored in horticulture.
• Okuchi Released After Questioning in Dyche Death, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Taro Okuchi was released after questioning in the death of his employer, Mrs. Ella Gary Dyche, who was found critically injured. Okuchi maintained she fell down the stairs.
• Three Men Jailed for Assault on Nisei Jeweler, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three men were jailed after holding up and assaulting Tsune Masuko, operator of a San Francisco jewelry shop. Masuko triggered an alarm that brought a neighbor to help.
• Japanese American Groups Endorse Denver Proposal, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Minoru Yasui presented endorsements from 15 Japanese American organizations supporting a Bill of Human Rights before the Denver charter convention. The bill would outlaw racial discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations.
• Lake Nisei Succumbs to Burn Injuries Sustained While Welding, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fumio Mizuno, treasurer of the Salt Lake JACL, died from burns after an explosion in a tank he was welding. His coworker Richard Horgas was also injured.
• Despondency Given as Reason for Suicide Attempt, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mrs. Nao Akatsu was in serious condition after a suicide attempt at her home in Sept 21, attributed to ill health. Officers found her and took her to the hospital.

Incarceration & Redress

• Form Los Angeles Committee to Support Campaign Against Restrictive Housing Covenants, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Los Angeles committee was formed to oppose restrictive housing covenants affecting non-Caucasian families. One case involves Japanese American Tsuneo Shigekuni, who faces a suit over his home.
• Peruvian Japanese Interned in U.S. Will Be Deported to Japan Unless Peru Acts, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Attorney Wayne Collins says 295 Peruvians of Japanese ancestry held at Crystal City, Texas face deportation to Japan. Collins filed a habeas corpus suit to block the action.
• Japanese Canadian Evacuee Group Continues Protest on British Columbia Exclusion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fifty-eight evacuees at a Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan hostel continue a sitdown protest against Canada’s dispersal policy. They demand the right to return to their former homes in British Columbia.
• Denies Report Peru Japanese Interned in U.S. Will Be Deported, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Attorney Wayne Collins denied a report that 295 Peruvian Japanese held in the U.S. would be deported to Japan. He said he had filed a habeas corpus suit and the government would wait for a hearing.

In-Depth

• Nisei Will Attend International Meeting on Public Health, by Esther L’Ecluse, page 2. Dr. Iwao Moriyama, a Nisei statistician in Washington, will represent the United States at a WHO meeting in Geneva on disease classification. The meeting will finalize an international list of causes of death for adoption in Paris.

Commentary

• New Columnist: Koji Ariyoshi, by Koji Ariyoshi, page 2. Koji Ariyoshi introduces his new column series for the Pacific Citizen, summarizing his background in ILWU-CIO, wartime service, and current work. He is completing a book on China.
• Local Poll on Intermarriage, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A poll of 35 New York Nisei women found many would consider marrying outside their group, unlike West Coast attitudes. The writer attributes this to a shortage of Nisei men and more cosmopolitan outlooks.
• Race Covenants, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns restrictive covenants that bar non-Caucasians from owning homes and notes recent Denver and Los Angeles efforts to oppose them. It also reports the JACL plans to enter Supreme Court tests on the practice.
• The Little Flower, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial recalls Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia’s 1944 opposition to relocating Japanese American evacuees to Brooklyn, which he later admitted was a mistake. It praises his later welcome of the 442nd veterans.
• Statehood Opposition, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines Alice Kamokila Campbell’s opposition to Hawaiian statehood and her fears about the voting power of Japanese Americans. It argues her stance is isolated against broad public support.
• Post Script: Credit Where It’s Due, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A humorous editorial presents a theory that Denver’s English-section editorial writers suffer from inferiority complexes. It borrows a psychological questionnaire to test the idea.
• Stocking the Larder, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa describes the satisfaction of home canning peaches, pickles, and tomatoes as the season ends. He notes home-canned produce costs less than half the store-bought variety.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa criticizes the extravagant wedding receptions of Issei parents and recent Nisei weddings. He suggests the money would be better spent on a home down payment.

JACL

• Masaoka Will Report to Coast District Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mike M. Masaoka will report on Washington legislative matters at the Pacific Southwest District Council meeting in Los Angeles. The council will also hold elections for its cabinet and a legal defense committee.
• Sam Ishikawa Named Eastern Regional Director, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sam Ishikawa assumed the position of JACL Eastern regional director on September 15 with offices in New York City. He was previously with the American Friends Service Committee.

Obituaries

• Tribute from the Heart, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa reports on a Seattle funeral for a humble, unassuming woman whose many mourners came in rain and simple dress. The tribute was heartfelt and sincere.

Arts & Entertainment

• Books, by M.O.T., page 6. A roundup of book news includes Bradford Smith’s forthcoming book on Japanese Americans and Carey McWilliams’s new titles. It also covers Chester Himes’s new novel and other works on discrimination.

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