The Takahashi decision: the Supreme Court ends California’s fishing ban

Vol. 26, No. 24, June 12, 1948. 8 pages. View this issue

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 7 to 2 ruling in the Takahashi case filled the front page of this eight-page issue. The court held that California’s law denying commercial fishing licenses to aliens ineligible for citizenship violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Tosuke Yamasaki reported the decision, and an editorial welcomed it as a further blow to discrimination against persons of Japanese ancestry in California. Other front-page stories covered the state’s attorney general weighing a rehearing, Will Maslow’s praise for the role of the JACL, and Canada’s plan to open its West Coast to Japanese Canadians.

Also in this issue: the burials of Pfc. Fumitake Nagato and Pfc. Saburo Tanamachi at Arlington National Cemetery, with a tribute from General Jacob Devers. Several JACL chapters organized relief for Japanese American families hit by the Vanport flood, and Denver, Hawaii and Fresno held memorial services for war dead.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Supreme Court Outlaws California Fishing Ban Against Japanese Violating Constitution, by TOSUKE YAMASAKI, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 on June 7 in the Takahashi case that California’s law barring aliens ineligible for citizenship from commercial fishing violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Justices Murphy and Rutledge concurred, finding the law was born of antagonism toward persons of Japanese ancestry.
• California Will Study Takahashi Case Decision, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California’s attorney general’s office was still considering whether to seek a rehearing of the Takahashi decision striking down the state’s alien fishing restriction. Deputy Attorney General Ralph Scott said the question would be decided after the court decision is studied.
• Nisei Wins New Trial in Fight to Retain Home, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Fresno Superior Court granted Jack Ikawa, a West Fresno jeweler, a new trial in injunction proceedings brought by neighbors seeking to block him from occupying his house. The ruling followed a recent Supreme Court decision holding that racial restrictions on property cannot be enforced in the courts.
• 300 Japanese American Flood Refugees Given Temporary Relief, Housing in Portland, page 2. Some 300 Japanese American evacuees of the Vanport City flood received temporary housing and relief in Portland, with donations totaling $6,699 and services coordinated by the Portland JACL and Red Cross. The Portland JACL was processing families and distributing food and clothing at its branch office.
• Supreme Court Outlaws State Ban on Japanese Fishermen, page 4. The continued opinion of the court held that California could not use federal immigration and naturalization power to justify excluding aliens ineligible for citizenship from commercial fishing. Justices Reed and Jackson dissented, arguing the state had authority over its fisheries.

Military & Veterans

• Canada Will Open West Coast to Japanese Canadians Next April, Declares Official, page 1. Canadian minister Humphrey Mitchell announced that wartime restrictions barring persons of Japanese ancestry from protected areas west of the Cascades will end March 31, 1949. He said the number of Japanese Canadians expected to return to the coastal area would be small due to the dispersal policy.
• Memorial Plaque to 374 Nisei Buddhist War Dead Dedicated in Hawaii, page 2. A memorial plaque honoring 374 soldiers of Buddhist faith from Hawaii who died in World War II was unveiled at ceremonies attended by 3,000 people on Memorial Day. Military and civilian officials paid tribute, and Col. Kendall J. Fielder praised the dead.
• Reburial Rites Set for Nisei Killed in France, page 2. Staff Sgt. Abe Megumi Fuji, a Silver Star recipient who died in France in 1944, was reburied at Golden Gate National Cemetery on June 11. He had been a member of the 442nd Combat Team after volunteering for air corps service.
• Denver Honors War Dead in Memorial Service, page 2. Denver held its third annual community Memorial Day service, sponsored by the Denver JACL. Speakers included Sgt. Aoyagi, Major Isamu Ozamoto and Dr. K. K. Miyamoto.
• Impressive Rites Mark Burial of Nisei Glory Dead at Arlington, page 3. Pfc. Fumitake Nagato and Pfc. Saburo Tanamachi were buried at Arlington National Cemetery on June 4 in the first such burials of soldiers of Japanese ancestry there. Military and civilian leaders attended, and the rites were regarded as a tribute to all 33,000 Nisei who served in World War II.
• Little Chance Seen in Congress for Deportation Stay Proposal, page 3. Disagreement between House and Senate conferees on H.R. 3566 made its passage before Congress adjourns unlikely. The bill’s provision broadening deportation relief to Japanese aliens was agreed upon by both chambers, but the dispute over a separate procedural amendment stalled it.
• Nisei Win Honors at Dental School, page 3. Three Nisei graduates of the University of Kansas City school of dentistry received honor awards at a May 28 banquet. Robert Akaye, Harry Ishida and Henry Nagahira were recognized for membership, honors and prizes.
• Funeral Rites Set in Fresno for War Hero, page 3. The United Veterans of Fresno will conduct a military funeral on June 12 for Joe Fujimoto, the first Nisei veteran to return to Fresno for burial. He was killed in France in November 1944 while serving with the 442nd Combat Team.
• Pacific Citizen Honors Nisei Soldiers at Arlington Ceremony, by TOSUKE YAMASAKI, page 5. General Jacob Devers praised Nisei soldiers in a tribute broadcast nationally by Mutual Broadcasting during the Arlington burial rites. Rev. Andrew Kuroda delivered a eulogy in Japanese to the Issei parents, emphasizing the loyalty and sacrifice of the Nisei.

JACL

• Role of JACL in Test Cases Hailed by Maslow, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Will Maslow, executive secretary of the American Jewish Congress, congratulated the JACL on its victory in the Takahashi test case. The American Jewish Congress had also entered a brief in the case.

Community

• Chicago Group Raises Funds for Vanport Flood Victims, page 2. The Japanese American Council of Chicago formed a three-man committee to raise funds for 104 Japanese American families left homeless by the Vanport flood. Appeals were planned through churches and member organizations.
• New York JACL Plans Dance to Aid Flood Victims, page 2. The New York JACL chapter scheduled a Flood Relief dance on June 19 at the McBurney YMCA, with proceeds going to the Portland JACL to aid flood victims. Board members also planned to solicit donations from New York’s Japanese American community.
• Stockton JACL Gives $100 for Flood Aid, page 2. The Stockton JACL cabinet voted a $100 contribution to aid Japanese American victims of the Vanport flood. The cabinet also urged community organizations to contribute to relief efforts.
• Santa Maria Aids Vanport Victims, page 2. The Santa Maria Valley JACL planned to raise $200 for Japanese Americans stricken by the May 30 Vanport flood. The fund would be raised through donations collected by the local Buddhist and Union churches.
• Monterey Chapter Sponsors Picnic, page 2. About 850 persons from the Monterey Peninsula attended a JACL-sponsored picnic at Deer Flat park on May 28. Hideo Ai Ito served as general chairman and the event was judged a success.
• Shina Kozai Will Represent New York in Queen Contest, page 3. Shina Kozai was selected from seven finalists as New York’s contestant in the national JACL queen contest this September. A native New Yorker, she had studied at Waseda International Institute in Tokyo and returned to New York in 1946.
• Issei Are Urged to Apply for Citizenship, page 3. Saburo Tani, chairman of the Denver JACL social service committee, urged all Issei to apply for first citizenship papers at a May 23 meeting. He explained the naturalization procedures in detail.

Commentary

• The Takahashi Case Decision, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the Supreme Court’s Takahashi decision as a further blow to discrimination against persons of Japanese ancestry in California, following the Oyama land law ruling. It urges California to repeal its alien land act and other laws that discriminate on the basis of race and ancestry.
• A Hero’s Home Town, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial recalls the 1944 anti-Japanese rally at Brawley, California, and notes that Pfc. Fumitake Nagato, a Brawley high school graduate killed in France, was honored with page-one coverage in the local Imperial Valley Press. It presents his burial at Arlington as evidence that reason and goodwill had returned to the valley.

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