Charter flights to Japan, Emperor Hirohito’s U.S. visit and JACL’s future

Vol. 81, No. 9, August 29, 1975. 6 pages. View this issue

The JACL National Travel Committee announced 11 charter flights to Japan for 1976, leaving from cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland and Cincinnati. Members must hold current memberships to qualify under Civil Aeronautics Board rules. Also on the front page: Emperor Hirohito’s October U.S. tour, now set to include Disneyland, and the Nisei scientist Minoru Koide, who will welcome him at UC San Diego. A preview of the California Tri-District Conference asked whether JACL should stay an all-inclusive organization, a question raised by Mike Masaoka.

Inside are columns by David Ushio on private foundations, Harry K. Honda on a reparations survey, Bill Marutani, Edison T. Uno and Henry Mori, whose piece on a visit to the former Poston camp called for a monument. Readers also wrote about the choice of John Dean as conference speaker. News briefs cover Nisei Week Queen Dulcie Ogi, a Japanese-language gravestone returned to its grave in Salt Lake County, and a Centerville Gakuen reunion.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• JACL National Travel Program: 11 Charter Flights to Japan Planned for 1976, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National JACL Travel Committee announced a program of 11 charter flights to Japan for 1976 from cities including San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland and Cincinnati. Members must have current memberships at least six months before departure to qualify under Civil Aeronautics Board regulations.
• JACL Weak Points Viewed at Tri-District Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The California Tri-District Conference in Anaheim will address whether JACL should remain an all-inclusive organization, as raised by former Washington JACL representative Mike Masaoka. Masaoka proposed either a Nisei-only JACL or a federated structure with autonomous district councils.
• PSW Preps for 2-Step Member Recruitment, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pacific Southwest JACL district director Craig Shimabukuro outlined a 1976 membership recruitment plan at the PSWDC quarterly session. The plan includes a four-phase campaign from October through May with a 70 percent renewal goal.

Community

• Disneyland Added to Emperor’s U.S. Tour, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Emperor Hirohito will visit Disneyland in Anaheim during his October U.S. visit, according to a report from Tokyo. Conservative elements in Japan reportedly opposed the visit as beneath the dignity of the Emperor.
• Nisei Marine Scholar at Scripps Anticipates Emperor’s Visit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Minoru Koide, a Nisei staff member at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, will welcome the Emperor of Japan during his visit to UC San Diego. Koide previously visited the Emperor’s laboratory in Japan in 1953 and researches the effects of radioactivity on aquatic life.
• Torres Bill Proposes California Asian Panel, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Assemblyman Art Torres introduced a bill to create an 11-member Commission on Asian and Pacific Island American Affairs. A similar Senate bill was defeated earlier this year.
• Appeals Panel Upholds Petaluma Low Growth Ordinance, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld Petaluma’s growth control ordinance restricting new housing units to 500 per year. The court reversed an earlier district court decision that had found the ordinance unconstitutional.
• Crosby Fund Gives $1,000 to Monterey Gakuen, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Bing Crosby Youth Fund donated $1,000 to the Monterey Peninsula JACL for its Japanese Language School. The donation was made during the gakuen graduation dinner.
• Murray Sprung Receives 25 Years of Service Recognition, by P.C. Staff, page 4. New York JACL presented attorney Murray Sprung with a scroll honoring 25 years of dedicated service to National JACL and the New York chapter. He was named Member of the Year and has long served on district and national councils.
• Aloha from Hawaii, by Richard Gims, page 5. This Hawaii column reports on state budget surpluses, rising overseas phone rates, and political developments including potential Senate candidates. It also notes appointments and sports news including the opening of Aloha Stadium.
• Poston As It Looked in 1969, by Henry Mori, page 5. Henry Mori recounts a visit by Edwin Hiroto’s family to the former Poston WRA center in Arizona, finding only two adobe buildings still standing. The article calls for a monument to commemorate the camp’s history.
• Mysterious Headstone Finally Returned to Grave, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A Japanese-language gravestone held by the Salt Lake County sheriff for nearly three years was returned to its original grave site with help from the local Buddhist church and JACL. Rev. Hirofumi Watanabe translated the inscription identifying Minokichi Watanabe, who died in 1911.
• Centerville Gakuen Reunion Planned, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A dinner honoring Taka Hayashi, who taught at Centerville Gakuen, and a reunion of the prewar Japanese community of Washington Township will be held in Oakland on Sept. 20. Details are available from listed organizers.

Military & Veterans

• Army ROTC Special Effort to Sign Up Nikkei for College Scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Army ROTC program is seeking Nikkei and other students for college scholarships covering tuition, textbooks and fees. Fort Lewis received 124 applications from Asian Americans in the latest cycle, with 23 awarded four-year scholarships.
• Nisei Week Queen and Court Crowned, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Dulcie Ogi was crowned Nisei Week Queen at the coronation ball at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, representing the South Bay chapter. Her court includes representatives from several Southern California JACL chapters.

Commentary

• Mineo Katagiri Named Head Minister in Northern California, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rev. Mineo Katagiri, a former Seattle and New York JACLer, was elected conference minister of the Northern California Conference of the United Church of Christ. He heads a conference of 120 churches with 30,000 members.
• A Look at Private Foundations, by David Ushio, page 2. Ushio discusses a report by U.S. Human Resources Corp. finding that private foundations provide little support to minority groups, with Asian Americans receiving only a small share of funds. He endorses the report’s recommendations for greater foundation responsiveness to minority interests.
• Grassroot Opinions of Reparations, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. The Pacific Citizen editor presents a survey form from E.O. 9066 Inc. seeking community opinion on reparations for Japanese Americans detained during World War II. The questionnaire asks who should be eligible and how payments should be distributed.
• Tri-District Confab Letter, by Donna Dermansly, page 2. A Gardena Valley JACL member objects to JACL’s selection of John Dean as keynote speaker for the Tri-District Conference, citing Dean’s role in the Nixon administration. The editor responds that Dean’s perspective on reparations would be of special interest.
• Concentration Camps, by Mark D. Peters, page 2. A reader objects to describing American WWII relocation centers as concentration camps, arguing this distorts history. He says the comparison confuses young people about the Holocaust.
• School Children Viewed as Pawns, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A reprinted Japan America Society editorial criticizes environmental campaigns that mobilize schoolchildren, citing a Japanese American child harassed as a whale killer. The editorial argues children should not be used as tools in political or public relations campaigns.
• East Wind: A Rose by Any Other Name, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Columnist Bill Marutani reflects on the nicknames people use among childhood acquaintances and how names change over time. The column uses personal anecdotes to explore identity and familiarity.
• Minority One: When Money Talks, by Edison T. Uno, page 6. Uno praises the Japanese American community’s fundraising for the JACL headquarters building and urges similar support for the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Oakland. He notes AALDEF has litigated employment discrimination cases and provides legal education and immigration counseling.
• Japan Walks Out (Book Review), by Allan Beekman, page 6. Beekman reviews a book on the League of Nations, describing how Japan, Germany and Italy withdrew after aggression and the League’s eventual failure. He questions whether the author’s pessimism about international cooperation is justified.

National

• JACL Condemns Official’s Comments on Voting Rights Act, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL called comments by San Francisco deputy registrar Frank Quinn about the Voting Rights Act insensitive and offensive. Quinn said enforcement would be disastrous and refused to estimate the cost of multilingual election materials.

Obituaries

• Ralph Merritt Plaque Finally Presented After 13 Years, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A 1962 JACL certificate of appreciation for Ralph P. Merritt, Manzanar project administrator, was presented 13 years late at a Redlands Rotary luncheon. James Urata spoke on the Japanese American evacuation experience while accepting on behalf of the late Merritt’s family.

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