Citizenship restored for stranded Nisei, and six weeks to the JACL convention

Vol. 39, No. 4, July 23, 1954. 8 pages. View this issue

President Eisenhower signed the JACL-sponsored bill that lets Nisei who lost citizenship by voting in Japan’s postwar elections regain it by taking naturalization and anti-communist oaths. The State Department estimated about 2,000 stranded Nisei were affected. Mike Masaoka, the Washington JACL representative, also reviewed the status of JACL’s other bills, and Masaoka urged the House to return Japanese vested property on the same terms as German property. With six weeks to go before the national convention, Janet Fukuda of Orange County was crowned Miss National JACL of 1954 in Pasadena.

Elsewhere in this eight-page issue: Roy Nishikawa wrote about the queen contest, Bill Hosokawa recalled a Nisei orator caught in Japan during the war, and Larry Tajiri followed Carl Sato’s run for the Arizona state house. Chapter news covered Issei citizenship banquets in Livingston and San Francisco, a Cleveland picnic that drew close to 700, and the 1000 Club’s push toward its goal.

What’s in this issue

National

• Eisenhower Signs Stranded Voting Bill for Nisei in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Eisenhower signed the JACL-sponsored bill allowing Nisei who lost citizenship by voting in postwar Japan elections to regain it through simple naturalization oaths. State Department estimates place about 2,000 stranded Nisei in Japan as affected by the law.
• Urge Return of Japanese, German Vested Property on Equal Basis, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka urged the House to amend a resolution on returning German vested property to include Japanese vested property. He argued equal treatment of both former enemy nations serves U.S. interests in Asia and Europe.

Community

• Janet Fukuda Acclaimed as Miss National JACL of 1954, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Janet Fukuda, 19, of Orange County was crowned Miss National JACL of 1954 at a pre-convention rally in Pasadena, with Mary Enomoto and Janet Okimoto as attendants. The selection came after a last-minute entry and a week of rapid campaigning.
• Nisei Jet Pilot Ray Ito Killed in Korea Crash, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Second Lt. Ray Ito, 23, of Chino was killed during a tactical training mission over South Korea when his F-86 disappeared from radar after a rain shower. He had graduated from Chaffey College and commissioned at Bryan AFB in 1953.
• 19 Strong in PSWDC, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Fernando JACL chapter, recently reactivated, was formally accepted into the Pacific Southwest District Council, which now has 19 chapters. The district also discussed convention issues at its pre-convention meeting in Pasadena.
• First Hawaiian Nisei Enters Annapolis, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Irving Ken Goto, 17, of Halawa Heights, Hawaii, has been accepted for appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He is believed to be the first person of Japanese ancestry from Hawaii appointed there.
• Henry Gosho Sworn In as First Nisei Staff Officer in Foreign Service, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Henry Hiroharu Gosho was sworn in as the first Nisei staff officer in the U.S. Foreign Service and assigned to the American Embassy in Tokyo. A decorated veteran of Merrill’s Marauders, he previously worked in State Department and Voice of America roles.
• Sansei Girl Wins Role in Dateline Tokyo, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Five-year-old Karen Yamamoto of Los Angeles was selected from about 200 Sansei children for a role in Mickey Rooney’s Tokyo Dateline television series. Filming in Tokyo is scheduled for late August.
• Townsend Harris Post Installs Shizuo Namba, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Shizuo Namba was installed as commander of the Townsend Harris American Legion Post in San Francisco. The brief notice reports the installation.
• Senate Committee OKs Dirksen Bill on Vested Property, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a Dirksen bill returning seized German and Japanese property to their former owners. Its floor prospects were uncertain amid the rush toward adjournment.
• Chicago Corner, by Smoky Sakurada, page 4. Chicago JACL announces a September 25 concert by pianist Lily Miki and names convention delegates and alternates. Chapter picnic plans and community notes are also reported.
• Denver JACL Compiling Data on Discriminatory Acts, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Denver JACL is helping compile data on discrimination in public housing and public accommodations as part of a citywide human relations survey. The chapter asks residents to report incidents to its office.
• 700 at Cleveland Picnic, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Close to 700 people attended the seventh annual Japanese community picnic at Wiegand’s Lake in Cleveland on July 4. Numerous volunteers were credited with its success.
• Nisei Dentist and Community Notes Roundup, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Chapter news from Detroit, Marysville, Omaha, Mile-Hi, Albuquerque, East Los Angeles, and Sequoia JACL chapters is summarized, including picnics, convention delegates, and nominations. Events on the calendar are also listed.
• San Francisco Issei Citizens to Be Honored at July 29 Fete, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The San Francisco JACL will honor about 275 naturalized Issei citizens at a banquet on July 29 at the Mart Club. Lt. Gov. Harold J. Powers is to be the main speaker.
• Scene from the Golden Gate: Livingston Issei Honored, by Haruo Ishimaru, page 5. Ishimaru reports on a Livingston-Merced JACL banquet honoring 31 new Issei citizens. He quotes the tribute to the pioneer Issei of Livingston and lists the honorees and guests.
• Thousand Club Notes, by Harold Gordon, page 5. The 1000 Club is approaching its goal of 1,000 members by convention time, with close to 900 joined since its founding. The column explains the club’s original purpose of relieving National Headquarters’ financial strain.
• NCWNDC Pre-Convention Rally Speaker: Dr. Nishikawa, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Dr. Roy Nishikawa, national JACL treasurer and convention general chairman, will be the main speaker at the NCWNDC meeting in Monterey on August 1. The meeting will also launch a golf tournament at Pebble Beach.
• 31 Issei Honored at Livingston-Merced Fete, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Thirty-one new Issei citizens were honored by the Livingston-Merced JACL at Eiland Hall on July 14. Juichi Hashimoto spoke on behalf of the new citizens about his long struggle for citizenship.
• Veteran Groups Sprouting Throughout Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Ex-military veteran organizations are reportedly reemerging across Japan, recruiting for the new self-defense forces and opposing communism. They also seek release of war criminals held at Sugamo prison.
• Los Angeles Naturalization Officers Set to Clear Backlog of Applications, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Local Immigration and Naturalization officials met with Tats Kushida to speed up processing of pending naturalization petitions. A special day in late August is planned to swear in Issei and other alien petitioners.
• Nisei Jockey Boots Home Four Winners, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Apprentice jockey George Taniguchi rode four winners at Hollywood Park on July 16, his best day in racing. The win strengthened his second-place standing among riders.

Commentary

• Status of JACL’s Legislative Program, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka reviews JACL’s national legislative program as Congress nears adjournment, listing four bills signed into law and one awaiting the President’s signature. He also outlines six pending bills and one expected to be defeated.
• Conservation-Good Turn, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 2. Murayama writes on American conservation efforts, citing President Eisenhower’s call for protecting natural resources and the Boy Scouts’ conservation program. He draws a contrast with conservation attitudes in Japan and presents the outdoor code.
• For Peace in the Pacific, by Harry Honda, page 2. Honda reviews a July 1954 issue of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science on America and a New Asia. He focuses on Harry Emerson Wildes’s critique of the occupation’s handling of Japan and the Communist exploitation of American weaknesses.
• Million Dollar Shopping Center, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Nakatsuka describes a $1,000,000 shopping center announced by U. Yamane, Ltd. in Honolulu amid rising unemployment concerns. He traces the Yamane family’s rise from a small coffee shop in 1901 to an eight-acre development.
• Nisei Week Column: Miss Nationa JACL, by Roy Nishikawa, page 6. Nishikawa describes the queen contest pre-judging aboard the President Wilson and the final judging at Consul-General Hogen’s home. He also praises the Pasadena chapter’s hosting of the PSWDC pre-convention rally.
• Vindicated, by William M. Roth, page 6. The president of the Council for Civic Unity thanks the Pacific Citizen for its coverage of a problem with the Veterans Administration. He says the coverage brought official vindication and protected public opinion.
• A Lost Generation, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Hosokawa recounts George Kyotow, a promising Nisei orator who was trapped in Japan during the war and later returned to America. He reflects on the Nisei who were stranded in Japan as a lost generation.
• Carl Goes Politicking, by Larry Tajiri, page 8. Tajiri reports that Carl Sato of Mesa, Arizona, is seeking the Republican nomination for the state house. He traces Sato’s civic record and the history of Nisei farmers in the Salt River Valley.

Military & Veterans

• Iwashita: Engineer, Lawyer, MI Expert and Lawyer All in One, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George K. Iwashita, general manager of General Electric’s packaged air-conditioning and water cooler business, is nominated for the Nisei of the Biennium award. The Hawaiian-born engineer and lawyer holds 36 patents and served in the 442nd and Army Intelligence.

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