Peace, Vietnam and a bill to repeal the Emergency Detention Act

Vol. 71, No. 14, October 2, 1970. 6 pages. View this issue

Peace was the subject of the front-page column by National President Raymond Uno, who asked why people have searched for it for centuries and still cannot secure it. Vietnam ran through the issue: Sen. Dan Inouye delivered a speech calling for an end to the war, and a reader’s letter by Vaughn M. Greene answered a defense of American involvement. In Washington, the House Internal Security Committee tied 4-4 on repeal of the Emergency Detention Act (Title II), and Rep. Matsunaga vowed to fight its substitute amendments. JACL also urged a House subcommittee to back resolutions against degrading portrayals of racial, religious and ethnic groups.

Other pages carry community news: a 16-year-old from Monterey shot in San Francisco, the first Aki Matsuri at Japan Center, and a Nisei home lost in the Oakland Hills fire. Bill Hosokawa profiled Rev. Yoshitaka Tamai, and Joe Oyama wrote from Manhattan. Allen Reelman reviewed a book on Franklin Roosevelt and Pearl Harbor.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• Peace, by Raymond S. Uno, page 1. National President Raymond Uno reflects on the long human search for peace and why it remains elusive despite centuries of effort. He suggests that individuals should live each day as if it were their last and do what they can within their means to make the world better.
• ‘Melting Pot’ now folklore, by Sal De Blasi, page 1. Sal De Blasi argues that the myth of America as a melting pot has been discredited as ethnic groups increasingly assert their identities. He reports on a sociology conference where participants declared the melting pot dead.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Bill Hosokawa profiles Rev. Yoshitaka Tamai, who retired after 40 years of service to the Denver Buddhist church. He notes the transition of leadership to Rev. Noboru Tsunoda and reflects on Buddhism adapting to English in America.
• Vietnam Issue, by Vaughn M. Greene, page 6. Letter writer Vaughn Greene responds to a previous letter defending American involvement in Vietnam, arguing that growing public opposition reflects better research into the war. He contends the war serves to open Asia to the Asian Development Bank.
• JACL Elections, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A letter argues that the JACL National Council must be made more representative, noting that Chicago convention attendance skewed urban and that the Executive Committee is accumulating power. The writer calls for all chapters to be able to send delegates.
• Manhattan Echoes, by Joe Oyama, page 6. Joe Oyama reflects on a Japanese American history committee meeting, observing the absence of smoking, and describes a friend’s pond affected by suburban development. He also recounts an ecology researcher’s work testing river pollution.

National

• Anti-defamation resolutions up for House vote, JACL in favor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL urged a House subcommittee to approve resolutions that would eliminate motion pictures, television and radio programs degrading racial, religious, and ethnic groups. The organization also asked that publishers of textbooks and printed media be required to portray minority groups fairly.
• Nixon receives Japan ambassador, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ambassador Nobuhiko Ushiba presented his credentials at a White House ceremony last week. President Nixon told him that the United States and Japan cannot expect their relations to proceed without difficulty.
• House Committee defers Title II repeal, reports amendments, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Internal Security Committee tied 4-4 on repeal of the Emergency Detention Act (Title II) and instead reported substitute amendments by Chairman Ichord and Rep. Ashbrook. Rep. Matsunaga vowed to fight the recommendation and push for the Senate-passed repeal bill.
• House postpones vote on import quota legislation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. House action on controversial import quota legislation was postponed until after the November elections. The bill would impose mandatory quotas on shoes and textiles and freeze existing oil import quotas.
• Missing Japanese student never left for Texas, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fumiko Nanjo, reported missing four weeks earlier after failing to appear at Cisco Junior College in Texas, was found staying with friends in Los Angeles. Police reported the discovery.

Community

• Monterey youth shot in back after S.F. Chinatown argument, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lawrence Takashi Miyata, a 16-year-old Nisei from Monterey, died after being shot by a member of a Chinese gang in San Francisco’s North Beach area following an argument. Police are searching for the shooter.
• Fall comes to Japan Center, by P.C. Staff, page 1. San Francisco’s Japan Center hosts its first Aki Matsuri, a three-day folk festival with taiko performances, martial arts demonstrations, and a street dance. Cooking demonstrations and art exhibits complete the program.
• West L.A. women back fight of Asian actors, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Actor Mako spoke to the West Los Angeles JACL Auxiliary about equal employment opportunities for artists and the use of Orientals for Oriental roles. The group voted to donate $1,000 to the Brotherhood of Artists.
• Hotel fire victims sue for $47 million in damages, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Twenty-nine people injured in the September 13 Ponce Square hotel fire in Los Angeles filed a $47 million suit against the hotel’s owners and operators. The Issei-operated hotel fire claimed 19 lives.
• Summer seminar at youth facility proves worthwhile, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A seminar sponsored by the JACS Asian Involvement office was held at the Youth Training School in Ontario, California for wards of Asian ancestry. Cultural performances and discussions on education, drug abuse, and racial awareness were featured.
• Nisei home lost in Oakland Hills fire, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A brush fire destroyed 57 homes in the Oakland-Berkeley hills, including the home of investment executive Jerry T. Nomura. The fire moved so quickly that nothing could be saved from the house.
• Metro Pot Puss fold, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Italian American groups gathered at a conference where participants lamented that ethnic groups are increasingly rejecting assimilation. Attendees called for a nationwide organization to unify Italian American voices.

JACL

• Mainland Nisei organized to help reelection of Hawaii Rep. Matsunaga, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A volunteer committee called Sparky’s Friends has been organized in Washington, D.C. to solicit contributions for Congressman Spark Matsunaga’s reelection campaign. Mike Masaoka chairs the committee, which hopes to replicate the financial support it gave in past elections.
• JARP to initiate sociological and historical survey of East Coast Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Japanese American Research Project will conduct a historical and sociological study of East Coast Japanese and Nisei, whose experiences differed from those on the Pacific Coast. An organizing committee is raising funds and will collect personal and organizational records.

Military & Veterans

• Power behind campus unrest told in Berkeley, by Richard Hayashi, page 1. Berkeley Daily Gazette managing editor Mike Culbert addressed a North California MIS Veterans Association dinner on the radical forces behind campus unrest. He described the history of the revolutionary movement centered at UC Berkeley.
• End the Vietnam War, by Sen. Dan Inouye, page 5. Senator Dan Inouye delivered a speech condemning the Vietnam War, recounting his own combat experience and the brutality of war. He criticized compensation disparities for Vietnamese civilian casualties and called for an end to the war.

Arts & Entertainment

• San Franciscans preview ‘Matsuri’, film relating to Nikkei experiences, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Filmmaker Takayoshi Ohno previewed Matsuri: The Time We Will Never Be Able to Rub Out, a film on the Japanese American experience blending historical footage and commentary. Ohno, who came to the US three years earlier, combines Japanese festival imagery with evacuation history.
• Book review: FDR and Pearl Harbor, by Allen Reelman, page 5. Reviewer Allen Reelman examines Pearl Harbor Revisited, which recounts Franklin Roosevelt’s policies leading up to the attack. He finds the author’s good-versus-bad framing weakens an otherwise well-written account.

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