Nishikawa and Perez: two Supreme Court rulings on citizenship

Vol. 46, No. 14, April 4, 1958. 8 pages. View this issue

Two Supreme Court decisions on nationality led the April 4, 1958 issue. In the Nishikawa case, the Court held that the government must prove a Nisei’s service in the Japanese Army was voluntary before citizenship could be taken away. In the Perez case, it upheld Congress’s power to strip citizenship for voting in a foreign election. The paper looked at what both could mean for Nisei stranded in Japan, and reported that Rep. Gordon McDonough’s intervention won a passport for Yoshiko Takahashi. Mike Masaoka and JACL also protested a plan to return vested property to Germans but not Japanese owners.

A second front-page thread was the word ‘Jap’ in school textbooks. Ronald Yokota described how the Pocatello JACL and a Sansei student got a publisher to drop it from an eighth-grade text. Elsewhere, Larry S. Tajiri wrote about Miyoshi Umeki’s Academy Award, and the paper covered chapter queens, a new Sacramento subdivision and the Helen Momita Memorial Flagpole in Calipatria.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Supreme Court rules on nationality, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court decided two nationality cases affecting Japanese Americans, including the Nishikawa case that restored citizenship to a Nisei who lost it through Japanese Army service. The ruling may ease the passport barriers faced by Nisei stranded in Japan, though its broader reach remains to be seen.

Community

• Sansei tells of ‘Jap’ in another textbook, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A second textbook used in Idaho public schools was found to contain the word ‘Jap,’ prompting its publisher to agree to remove it. JACL is campaigning to eliminate the derogatory term from school books and public media.
• Flagpole dedication set for June 14, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Construction of the 184-foot Helen Momita Memorial Flagpole in Calipatria is moving forward, with 120 feet already acquired through public contributions. A formal dedication is planned for Flag Day.
• Nisei company formed to develop million dollar 260-acre Sacramento subdivision, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A Nisei-led firm, Meadowville Land Inc., purchased 260 acres in Sacramento County for a planned 1,100-home subdivision. Ground-breaking is expected in June, with homes priced from $12,600.
• Wada, 18, Snake River High queen chosen, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Katherine Keiko Wada was chosen Miss Pocatello JACL at a coronation ball in Blackfoot. She will represent the chapter in the national queen contest.
• Nancy Ikeda is ‘Miss Yellowstone’, by Mary Hikida, page 6. Nancy Ikeda was crowned Miss Yellowstone JACL at a banquet in Rexburg, Idaho. She will compete in the Miss National JACL contest.
• Pocatello sansei helps rid textbook using derogatory term, by Ronald Yokota, page 7. After the Pocatello JACL protested the word ‘Jap’ in an eighth-grade textbook, the publisher agreed to remove it from future printings. The rapid resolution was credited to the governor’s office and local school officials.

National

• New payment plan of vested property hit, by JACL News Service, page 1. JACL will protest an Administration proposal that would return wartime vested property only to Germans, arguing Japanese owners deserve equal treatment. Mike Masaoka said war claims and vested property should not be conflated.
• Perez, Nishikawa cases applicable to persons of Japanese ancestry, by JACL News Service, page 1. The Supreme Court upheld Congress’s power to strip citizenship for voting in foreign elections in the Perez case, while ruling in Nishikawa that the government must prove military service was voluntary. The decisions bear directly on Nisei in Japan and those who served in Japanese forces.
• Congressman intervenes in Nisei seeking passport in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The State Department agreed to issue a passport to Yoshiko Takahashi after Rep. Gordon McDonough intervened on her behalf. Her husband’s application to reestablish citizenship is also being processed.

Commentary

• Letter: Venice-Culver JACL and the pool hall-beer parlor, by Dr. Tak Shishino, page 2. Dr. Tak Shishino defends the Venice-Culver chapter’s cooperation with local churches, schools and businesses in opposing a proposed pool hall-beer parlor. He argues the chapter’s community involvement is appropriate.
• A Japanese Tea Garden, by Milwaukee Journal, page 3. Reprinted from the Milwaukee Journal, this editorial marks the return of San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden to Japanese American hands. It recalls the wartime incarceration of the Hagiwara family and the broader injustice done to Nisei.
• From Hokkaido to Hollywood, by Larry S. Tajiri, page 3. Miyoshi Umeki won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in Sayonara, a path that took her from an Army club in Sapporo to Hollywood. The piece also notes Sessue Hayakawa’s supporting role in Bridge on the River Kwai.

Obituaries

• Mr. and Mrs. Kotaro Suto of Miami naturalized, by Harry Honda, page 3. Kotaro and Masa Suto, longtime Miami Beach residents, became American citizens in a January 1958 ceremony. Kotaro Suto, a gardener, was known for beautifying the city for decades.

JACL

• Women folk in the chapters, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Several JACL chapters are led by women presidents this year, and the National JACL’s 1000 Club and membership efforts continue to grow. The column also reports on preparations for the National Convention queen selection and convention booklet.
• Dinuba’s Hiroshi Mayeda cited for community work, by Jim Hatakeda, page 5. Hiroshi Mayeda received the Japanese American Creed Award for his decades of JACL and community service in Tulare County. He has served as chapter and district leader and is active in local civic groups.

Military & Veterans

• Clement Bridenhagen and Denver Lutheran program on Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Denver Messiah Lutheran women’s group, with Mile-Hi JACL assistance, presented a family night program introducing Japanese culture. Speakers included Japanese academics and a panel on postwar Japan.

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