1948: The Kawakita treason trial and the push for the Judd bill

Vol. 27, No. 3, July 17, 1948. 8 pages. View this issue

The Judd naturalization bill and the Los Angeles treason trial of Tomoya Kawakita ran through this eight-page issue. Tosuke Yamasaki reported that Representative Judd pledged to bring the bill back in the 81st Congress, while front-page news said a special session of Congress might leave it without action. Government witnesses, mostly former American prisoners of war, testified about beatings, and an editorial looked ahead to the defense’s argument. Larry Tajiri wrote on how JACL civil rights legislation kept Japanese American issues out of party politics, and Lawrence Nakatsuka reported the first Nisei filing for a Hawaii legislative seat.

Other pages cover a book review by G.T. comparing Canada’s wartime treatment of Japanese Canadians with the American record, and Bill Hosokawa’s profile of Andy Shiga, a conscientious objector who took part in army ration experiments. Sports pages follow Hawaiian Nisei headed to the Olympics in London, and Johnny Naumu’s pro football contract.

What’s in this issue

Community

• First Nisei Files for Hawaii Legislature as Isles’ Political Races Slow to Get Under Way, by By LAWRENCE NAKATSUKA, page 1. Joe Takao Yamauchi, a Hilo-born World War II veteran and tax consultant, became the first Nisei to file for a territorial legislative office in the 1948 Hawaii campaign as a Republican candidate for the east Hawaii house seat. Political observers note the slow pace of filings but expect more Nisei candidates to enter the race.
• Nisei Attorneys Will Attend Meeting on Evacuee Claims, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A special meeting in San Francisco was called to hear Mike Masaoka’s report on evacuee claims procedures and forms for filing losses. Attorneys and interested parties were invited to consider the suggestions for expediting the claims process.
• Final Rites Held for Victim of Vanport City Flood Disaster, by P.C. Staff, page 2. More than 500 people attended funeral rites at the Nichiren church in Portland for Mrs. Izumi Oyama, who died in the Vanport flood. Condolences arrived from across the United States and Japan.
• Andy Shiga, Nisei Guinea Pig, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa profiles Andy Shiga, a Nisei conscientious objector who served as a guinea pig in army emergency ration and bedrest experiments. Shiga now works as a counsellor and manual arts teacher at a Denver boarding school.
• Nisei Designer of Furniture, by P.C. Staff, page 5. George Nakashima, a Nisei architect turned furniture maker, is profiled in Science Illustrated for his solid-wood craftsmanship and use of traditional Japanese joinery and tools. The article describes his approach to working with unseasoned walnut and cherry.
• Former Ambassador Speaks for Japan Relief in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Kensuke Horinouchi, former Japanese ambassador to the United States, visited Hawaii while touring on behalf of LARA relief for Japan. He was headed home after attending a Moral Rearmament conference in Los Angeles.

JACL

• Joe Masaoka, Ikeda to Tour Coast Cities, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Joe Grant Masaoka and Kihei Ikeda scheduled a tour of California cities and Reno to brief local communities on the JACL ADC program and the news from Washington. The itinerary runs through late July with stops in multiple chapters.
• Judd Naturalization Bill Will Be Pushed in Next Congress, by Tosuke Yamasaki, page 3. Although the Judd immigration and naturalization bill was not acted on by the House committee, Representative Judd pledged to reintroduce it in the 81st Congress. The article reviews the legislative history and the work of the Committee for Equality in Naturalization and Robert Cullum.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Soldier Hero Honored in Sacramento, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pfc. Torao Hayashi, killed in action in France during the rescue of the lost battalion, was reburied with military honors at East Lawn cemetery in Sacramento. Friends and fellow soldiers served as pallbearers and a firing squad formed the honor guard.
• Honolulu Nisei Veterans Give Plays on Italy, Defeated Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The 442nd Veterans club and Club 100 in Honolulu staged theater productions, with the 442nd presenting a war play about a combat squad in Italy. The 100th’s Japanese-language play Omoide drew limited Issei attendance before closing.
• Plan Reburial Rites For Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Final reburial rites were being arranged in Selma, California, for Pfc. Masashi Araki, whose remains were returned from Italy. The body was expected to arrive the following week.

Incarceration & Redress

• Witnesses Accuse Kawakita Of Brutal Acts as Los Angeles Treason Trial in Fourth Week, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Government witnesses, mostly former American POWs at Oeyama, testified to beatings and abuses allegedly committed by Tomoya Kawakita. Prosecutors also agreed to drop two of the fifteen overt acts charged against him.

Arts & Entertainment

• Matsumoto’s Entry Wins in Model Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George Matsumoto, 19, placed first in the cabin class of a powered model plane event at the Northern California championship in San Francisco. His win was reported as a notable achievement in the competition.

National

• Predict Japanese Canadians Will Win Right to Vote in British Columbia Next Year, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Canadians of Japanese origin are expected to gain the provincial vote when the British Columbia legislature takes up the issue in 1949. The federal House of Commons already extended the federal franchise to them, overriding provincial restrictions.
• American Food Gifts Relieve Quake Victims, by P.C. Staff, page 3. LARA reported that American food and clothing gifts, many from Japanese Americans, were distributed to victims of the Fukui earthquake in Japan. Additional supplies were requested as milk stocks ran low.

Commentary

• CARE Services for Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the opening of CARE package service to Japan as a quick and guaranteed way for Nisei and Issei to aid relatives. It notes the program’s success in Europe and its potential to build goodwill.
• The Japanese Canadians, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the House of Commons for granting federal voting rights to Japanese Canadians and hopes travel restrictions will also end. It recalls the lasting psychological damage caused by wartime evacuation and discrimination.
• Kawakita on Trial, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial previews the defense’s expected treason-jurisdiction argument and observes that the trial has drawn more press attention than the service of 33,000 Japanese American soldiers. It notes Judge Mathes’s efforts to keep the trial from becoming a vehicle for prejudice.
• Beyond Political Partisanship, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri argues that JACL civil rights legislation has kept Japanese American issues out of partisan politics, winning support across party lines. He discusses platform omissions, Native Sons opposition, and the broad appeal of equality in naturalization.
• The La Violette Book: Note Differences in Treatment Of Evacuee Groups in United States, Canada During War, by G.T., page 5. This book review examines Forrest La Violette’s study of the Canadian Japanese evacuation, contrasting its harsher treatment and government hostility with the American WRA experience. The reviewer highlights the psychological toll of internment and Canada’s lack of a civil rights tradition.

Sports

• Olympics, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Two Hawaiian Nisei swimmers who served with the 442nd were assigned to cover the Olympic Games in London for Hawaiian newspapers. Their reporting role follows the failure of Hawaii’s Nisei swimmers to make the U.S. team.
• Naumu to Dons, by P.C. Staff, page 7. USC player Johnny Naumu signed a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American Football Conference. He will join Herman Wedemeyer on the team after a standout college career.
• Three Nisei Win Places on Olympic Team, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Three Hawaiian Nisei weightlifters qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and sailed for the London Games. Emeric Ishikawa, Richard Tomita, and Hana Sakata were the only Nisei to earn berths.
• Roy Higa Declared Blameless As State Holds Investigation Into Ring Death of Opponent, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Following the death of Joe Berje after a Stockton bout with Honolulu Nisei boxer Shigemasa Higa, state officials cleared Higa of blame. Berje collapsed after an eighth-round technical knockout and died the next morning.

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