Citizenship, civil rights and Elmer Yamamoto’s death

Vol. 44, No. 26, June 28, 1957. 8 pages. View this issue

The question of whether a native-born citizen can lose citizenship dominated this eight-page issue. The Supreme Court ordered new arguments next term in a case involving Mitsugi Nishikawa, and an editorial explained why it mattered to Nisei stranded in Japan. The Senate voted 45-39 to place the civil rights bill on its calendar, as JACL had urged, and Mike Masaoka and Masao Satow marked the fifth anniversary of the Walter-McCarran Act. The issue also reported the deaths of two JACL leaders on June 20: attorney Elmer Yamamoto, a Pacific Citizen board member, and Harry Itaya of French Camp. Henry Mori remembered Yamamoto in his Los Angeles column.

Elsewhere, Congress sent a bill with $2,424,119.77 for evacuation claims to the President, and Morio Leo Fukuto became the first Nisei deputy district attorney in Los Angeles. Bill Hosokawa, Tomotsu Murayama and Larry Tajiri wrote columns, and the sports pages previewed the sixth annual JACL Nisei Relays.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

  • Supreme Court rule for strandees due, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court ordered new arguments next term on whether native-born citizens may lose citizenship through expatriation acts prescribed by Congress. The editorial notes the significance for Nisei stranded in Japan and JACL’s interest in the case.
  • From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Hosokawa writes that U.S. troop withdrawal from Japan will soon reduce civilian government jobs held by Nisei there. He credits Nisei personnel with a yeoman service during the occupation and notes AP Nisei newsman Shinobu Higashi’s work covering Prime Minister Kishi’s visit.
  • Tokyo Topics: Nisei dentists visit Japan, by Tomotsu Murayama, page 2. Murayama reports on Nisei dentists attending an international conference in Japan, a first for so many Nisei professionals. He encourages more Nisei professionals to attend international meetings in Japan.
  • Filipino sentiment toward Japan improves, by Tomotsu Murayama, page 2. Murayama describes improved Filipino attitudes toward Japanese since his visit four years earlier, citing salvage work, church rebuilding, and the peace treaty. He notes Japan’s historical community in Manila and his hope that the two nations remain friends.
  • Very Truly Yours: Lesson minority groups should have on July 4, by Harry K. Honda, page 5. Honda uses the Fourth of July and a cartoon by Pete Hironaka to reflect on Jefferson’s ideals of equal rights. He argues that minority groups should remember that majority consent is not always right.
  • Washington Newsletter: Premier Kishi’s mission, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Masaoka assesses Prime Minister Kishi’s two-week U.S. visit as a beginning in resolving key irritants in Japan-U.S. relations. He highlights the joint communique and Kishi’s pledge that Japan will remain on the free-world side.
  • Fifth anniversary of Walter-McCarran Act, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Masaoka marks the fifth anniversary of the Walter-McCarran Act, which allowed more than 30,000 resident aliens of Japanese ancestry to naturalize. He calls it the greatest legislation in American history for persons of Japanese ancestry.

National

  • Administration civil rights bill on Senate calendar; fight looms, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate voted 45-39 to bypass the Judiciary Committee and place the House-passed civil rights bill directly on the calendar. JACL had urged the bypass, and debate over jury trials for contempt cases dominated the House discussion.
  • Supreme Court asks for new arguments in expatriation case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court ordered new arguments next term on whether native-born citizens may lose citizenship for acts prescribed by Congress, including a case involving Mitsugi Nishikawa. JACL has supported clarification of citizenship status in past cases.
  • JACL protests use of vested property to fund veterans’ education, by P.C. Staff, page 2. JACL told a House subcommittee it opposed legislation diverting vested wartime property to educate children of disabled veterans. The organization instead urged full return of the sequestered property for five stated reasons.
  • Nisei judge warns against over-stress of racial groupings, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Associate Justice Masaji Marumoto of Hawaii praised young Japanese American veterans for speeding racial integration. He warned against overemphasis on ethnic groupings that suggest divisions that need not exist.
  • National Director’s Report: Fifth anniversary, by Masao Satow, page 4. Satow marks the fifth anniversary of the Issei naturalization law and reviews California legislation including a relocation center civil service tenure bill and old-age benefit changes. He also notes JACL membership growth to about 15,500.
  • Civil rights bill fight in Senate, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Senate’s 45-39 vote placed the civil rights bill on the calendar after nearly ten hours of debate. The JACL hopes liberal Democrats will join in passing meaningful civil rights legislation at the final vote.

Obituaries

  • Two active CLers die same day: Elmer Yamamoto and Harry Itaya June 20, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorney Elmer Yamamoto of Los Angeles, a Pacific Citizen board member, and Harry Itaya of French Camp, a JACL elder, both died June 20. Tributes describe their long service to JACL and their communities.

JACL

  • George Togasaki returns to Japan, ends ICU tour, by P.C. Staff, page 1. George Togasaki ended his six-month U.S. fund-raising tour for International Christian University and returned to Japan. He is chairman of the ICU board and was elected a Japan Rotary district chairman.

Community

  • First Nisei hired as deputy district attorney, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Morio Leo Fukuto was sworn in as a Los Angeles deputy district attorney, the first Nisei appointed as a county prosecutor. His education and prior legal experience are summarized.
  • Gakuen dissolved, scholarship set up, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Elk Grove gakuen board dissolved the language school and used the sale proceeds to create two $200 annual scholarships for Elk Grove Union High School graduates. Attorney Henry Taketa helped establish the trust.
  • Kikkoman sales group files corporation papers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kikkoman International, a joint venture of Pacific Trading Co. and Noda Shoyu Co., filed incorporation papers in Sacramento with $100,000 capitalization. Its purpose is marketing and distributing the soy sauce.
  • Nisei Week interest sparked by girls seeking queen title, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three candidates have been named for the 1957 Nisei Week queen title from Venice-Culver, East Los Angeles, and Gardena Valley. Nisei Week runs August 17-25 in Little Tokyo.
  • Public information meeting for Long Beach renunciants planned, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A public information meeting for renunciants seeking government review of wartime renunciation via Form N-576 is planned for Long Beach in July. Frank Chuman and Fred Okrand will attend the meeting.
  • Two-year trip in Europe for Don Hisaka, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Architect Don Hisaka, associated with Minoru Yamasaki, received a Fulbright scholarship and a Wheelwright travel scholarship for a year in Europe. He previously studied under Walter Gropius at Harvard.
  • Marysville JACLers proud of manner two members spread good name, by Dan Nishita, page 4. Akiji Yoshimura and Isao Tokunaga of Marysville JACL have been praised for representing Japanese Americans to the wider community. Yoshimura speaks at civic clubs, while Tokunaga manages the chapter’s baseball team.
  • Eden CL setting readied for July 14 picnic, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Eden Township JACL will hold its annual community picnic July 14 at Castle Rock Park in Walnut Creek. Proceeds are the chapter’s main source of funds for expenses and national quotas.
  • Marysville JACL baseball squad gets community support, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Marysville JACL’s baseball team, managed by Isao Tokunaga, has received support from local businessmen and farmers for uniforms and equipment. The team’s players range in age from 16 to 30.
  • Los Angeles Newsletter: attorney Yamamoto, by Henry Mori, page 7. Henry Mori remembers Elmer Yamamoto, a pioneer Japanese American attorney who died suddenly June 20. He describes Yamamoto’s JACL and Maryknoll leadership and the Shonien fund drive.
  • Chicago Corner: Holiday for Year raffle, by Smoky H. Sakurada, page 7. Chicago JACL is selling tickets for the Holiday for Year contest, with the winner receiving $100 weekly for a year. Delivery stations have been set up across the city.
  • JACL seeks clarification of new California old-age pension to aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 8. California amendments to the old-age pension bill were passed before adjournment, and JACL is seeking clarification of their effect. The amended bill extends benefits to aliens resident since 1932 but adds conditions.
  • Ex-Marine of Mexican descent feted on This Is Your Life, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Guy Gabaldon, an ex-Marine who grew up with Nisei in East Los Angeles, was honored on the TV show This Is Your Life. The Nakano twins appeared as the first surprise guests and recalled his time with Nisei youths.

Military & Veterans

  • Congress sends evacuation claims pay bill to White House, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Congress completed action on a supplemental appropriations bill including $2,424,119.77 for evacuation claims awards and sent it to the President. Payments to 1,648 evacuees are expected by the end of summer.
  • Nisei voted commander of Oregon Purple Hearts, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sagie Sess, a state Tax Commission employee, was elected state commander of the Oregon Military Order of the Purple Heart at its June 16 convention. He had served as senior vice commander for the past year.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Vagaries: Producer Sam Engel, by Larry Tajiri, page 3. Producer Sam Engel says Hollywood should tell the human story of the 1942 mass evacuation and plans to revisit the script of Home Again. Engel recounts how his household supported a Nisei family through evacuation and return.
  • NBC spectacular on Japan entertainment, by Larry Tajiri, page 3. NBC plans a 90-minute TV show on Japanese entertainment, filmed in Japan by producer Steve Parker and featuring Nisei singer Jimmy Shigeta. Parker also has several film projects in development.

Sports

  • Nisei Relays preview: 100 athletes signed for L.A. meet, by George Yoshinaga, page 6. The sixth annual JACL Nisei Relays at Rancho Cienega this Sunday will feature over 100 athletes in open and junior divisions. Columnist George Yoshinaga discusses the team competition and record marks.
  • Seattle netter beaten for junior men’s title, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Art Kono lost to Garfield High teammate Geordie Martin in a three-hour battle for the city junior men’s championship. Kono had earlier won the Chamber of Commerce junior title.

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