Yen claims, a fair housing fight and the Loving case

Vol. 64, No. 15, April 14, 1967. 6 pages. View this issue

The U.S. Supreme Court was at the center of this six-page issue. In an 8-0 decision, it ruled that about 4,100 Issei and Nisei depositors of the prewar Yokohama Specie Bank could recover their vested yen despite the statute of limitations. William M. Marutani, JACL National Legal Counsel, argued before the Court against Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws in the Loving case. Mike Masaoka’s column placed Marutani’s appearance among earlier Supreme Court cases involving Japanese Americans. Jerry Enomoto wrote against a California bill to repeal the Rumford Fair Housing Act, while a state commission proposed revisions to it.

Also inside: Allan Beekman on Hawaii’s Commission on Subversive Activities and the Sokagakkai, and Harry Honda’s review of Allan Bosworth’s America’s Concentration Camps, with a roundup of reviews from 28 publications. Bill Hosokawa, Kumeo Yoshinari and Kageyuki Kajiyama appear as columnists and writers, and chapter news covers the Pacific Southwest District Council convention and a Placer County picnic.

What’s in this issue

National

• Statute of Limitations No Bar to Claimants, U.S. Supreme Court Rules in 8-0 Decision, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that about 4,100 Issei and Nisei depositors of the prewar Yokohama Specie Bank may recover their vested yen deposits despite the statute of limitations. The Washington JACL Office suggested the claimants may be repaid at the prewar exchange rate rather than the postwar rate.
• Housing Act Overhaul Proposed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A 14-member California commission recommended revisions to the Rumford Fair Housing Act, including administration by a new Department of Equal Housing Opportunities. The proposal would also eliminate court-ordered restraints on accused owners pending outcome of proceedings.

Military & Veterans

• Marutani Appears in U.S. Supreme Court Hearing on Antimiscegenation (Loving) Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. William M. Marutani, JACL National Legal Counsel, presented oral arguments before the Supreme Court as amicus curiae against Virginia’s anti-miscegenation laws. Court observers noted that Chief Justice Warren referred approvingly to his brief and arguments.
• Japanese Brazilian Kachigumi Movement Story, by Kageyuki Kajiyama, page 5. Writer Kageyuki Kajiyama investigates the Brazilian kachigumi movement, whose members falsely believed Japan won World War II. He traces its origins to a Jewish millionaire who sold Japanese military scrip and the violent rivalries that followed.

Community

• PSWDC Convention Not Charging Registration Fee, by Frances Kitagawa, page 1. The Venice-Culver JACL, hosts of the 1967 Pacific Southwest District Council convention, will waive the convention registration fee to encourage attendance. Only admission fees for the 1000 Club dinner-dance, banquet, and Sunday luncheon will be charged.
• San Gabriel Valley JACL to Be Formed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A second organizational meeting for a San Gabriel Valley JACL chapter is scheduled in West Covina. The chapter is expected to petition for reactivation through the Pacific Southwest District Council, sponsored by Pasadena JACL.
• Placer County Picnic Anticipating 5,000, by Homer Takahashi, page 3. The Placer County JACL community picnic and homecoming is expected to draw 5,000 people at Recreation Park near Penryn. Committees have been organized for grounds, prizes, programs, and games.

Commentary

• Housing Act Repeal, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. National JACL President Jerry Enomoto criticizes a proposed California Senate bill to repeal the Rumford Fair Housing Act and the support for it by Senator Hugh Burns. He argues that the state should remain a leader in human rights rather than abandon fair housing protections.
• Nisei and Supreme Court, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Mike Masaoka recounts that William Marutani became the first Japanese American to argue a civil rights case before the Supreme Court. He reviews earlier Supreme Court cases involving Japanese Americans, from the Ozawa and Toyota cases to the Korematsu and Oyama decisions.
• Another World, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Hosokawa reflects on a play, The World of Sholem Aleichem, depicting a Jewish boy’s struggle against quotas for high school admission in Czarist Russia. He argues that Nisei should broaden their perspective beyond the Evacuation and work for justice for all discriminated groups.
• A Year in England Passes, by Kumeo Yoshinari, page 4. Yoshinari reflects on a year living in England, describing the mild climate, British agriculture, historical landmarks, and American cultural influence. He also observes subtle racial discrimination against darker ethnic groups in Britain.
• One Man, One Vote, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The editorial warns that a constitutional convention called to overturn the Supreme Court’s one-man, one-vote reapportionment decision could alter the Constitution. It argues that the principle of equal voting power should be preserved.
• Join Up, by George Hasegawa, page 6. In a letter, St. Louis JACL president George Hasegawa urges Nisei to join the JACL and actively preserve Japanese customs for their children. He argues that participation makes these traditions meaningful and shareable with other Americans.
• Hard to Be a Hero, by Cherry Tsutsumida, page 6. Tsutsumida responds to a war hero’s remarks criticizing Nisei intermarriage, arguing that choosing a spouse is a personal matter separate from preserving cultural heritage. She suggests war heroes are often unfairly expected to act as oracles on social issues.

Incarceration & Redress

• Supreme Court Favors Late Yen Claimants, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court reversed lower courts and held that prewar Yokohama Specie Bank depositors may recover their vested yen accounts. Attorney General Thomas Lynch praised the decision as closing one of the last injustices against Japanese Americans in WWII.
• Mike Masaoka’s Rebuttal, by Harry Honda, page 3. Harry Honda reviews Allan Bosworth’s book America’s Concentration Camps, noting its critique of the Evacuation and the McCarran Act’s preventive detention provisions. He points out that the Supreme Court upheld the Evacuation and that the McCarran Act may have offered some procedural safeguards.
• Bosworth Book Reviews, by P.C. Staff, page 3. This compilation presents excerpts from 28 newspapers and periodicals reviewing Allan Bosworth’s America’s Concentration Camps. Reviewers generally praise the book as a documented account of the injustice done to Japanese Americans during World War II.

In-Depth

• Sokagakkai Subversive Charge Recoils on Commission, by Allan Beekman, page 1. Hawaii’s Commission on Subversive Activities devoted much of its report to criticizing the Sokagakkai religious group, prompting a bill to abolish the commission. The article traces the group’s origins in Japan and its growth in America and Hawaii.

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