Reparations debate, Robert Takasugi’s swearing-in and a JACL convention report

Vol. 83, No. 3, July 16, 1976. 4 pages. View this issue

The reparations question ran through this four-page issue. Coverage of the National JACL Council session described delegates debating the Seattle Plan, evacuation claims and individual payments, and adopting a motion to establish a National JACL Reparations Committee. Also on the front page, Robert Takasugi was sworn in as a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles, and Kazue Suyeishi of Los Angeles traveled to Japan to seek aid for U.S. atomic bomb survivors. A national committee was formed to honor the late Masao W. Satow.

On page two, Bill Hosokawa wrote about his impressions of Seoul. Frank Chuman, Clifford I. Uyeda and Mary N. Karasawa wrote about Wendy Yoshimura’s case and Michi Weglyn’s book Years of Infamy. Page three covers Charles Kubokawa’s convention afterthoughts, Frank Chuman’s new book The Bamboo People, the Pacific Citizen budget, Idaho disaster relief and two discrimination cases.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Dental coverage may be offered, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL-Blue Shield administrative committee is studying dental coverage options, with reports heard from the California Dental Service and other groups still to come. The committee also corrected errors in the updated major medical booklet sent to subscribers.
• Tentative plans to honor the late Masao W. Satow, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A national committee was formed to honor the memory of Masao W. Satow, longtime JACL director who died March 3, 1976. The National Council adopted a resolution to rename the JACL Headquarters the Masao W. Satow Building, and a memorial committee was organized.
• Biennium Afterthoughts, by Charles Kubokawa, page 3. Kubokawa reflects on the 1976 National Convention, criticizing the repeated waiving of constitutional rules and excessive paperwork. He calls for stronger membership participation and cooperation to strengthen JACL.
• Frank Chuman’s The Bamboo People published, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL-Japanese American Research Project released Frank Chuman’s book The Bamboo People, a legislative and legal history of Japanese Americans. Delegates voted to encourage chapters to promote and distribute the book.
• Pacific Citizen report on board and budget, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The PC Board reported on its inability to fulfill a convention request for a separate publication due to lack of guidelines. The coming biennium PC budget is set at $165,000, with a proposal to raise the subscription rate to $5.

National

• Robert Takasugi sworn in as federal judge, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Robert Takasugi, a Nisei who was relocated during World War II, was sworn in as a U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles. He credited his family and friends and spoke about the importance of U.S.-Japan relations.
• National Council Narrative continued: Reparations discussion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Delegates debated the reparations proposals, including the Seattle Plan, with concerns raised about individual payments, trust funds, and whether non-evacuees should be included. The council adopted a motion to establish a National JACL Reparations Committee.

Obituaries

• William Yamauchi, 66, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lifelong JACLer W. William Yamauchi died June 22 in Montebello, California. He was the first Inter-Mountain member elected to the National JACL Board in 1946 and had served as Salt Lake JACL president.

Community

• Harano heads uptown Chicago commission, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ross Harano was installed as president of the Uptown Chicago Commission on May 16, becoming the first Nikkei to chair the community organization. The commission includes 50 block clubs with nearly 5,000 members in an area with Chicago’s largest concentration of Asian Americans.
• Idaho disaster relief call for help, by George Inagaki, page 3. Inagaki calls on JACL members to contribute to disaster relief for Japanese American families hurt by the Teton Dam break in Idaho. He argues JACL owes a debt to the Intermountain District for its past support during World War II.
• Sex bias charged at Sumitomo Bank, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Former employees of Sumitomo Bank of California filed a class action suit in federal court alleging sex discrimination at all levels of employment. The plaintiffs seek injunctive relief, back pay, and individual relief.

Incarceration & Redress

• 2nd day highlights: Hibakusha, Reparations, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The second day of the National JACL Council session covered reports from the Committee of Atomic Bomb Survivors and H.R. 8152 to aid Hibakusha in the U.S. It also addressed the reparations bill, with extensive discussion of the Seattle Plan, evacuation claims, and community input.
• U.S. A-bomb survivors seek aid from Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Kazue Suyeishi of Los Angeles, of the Committee of Atomic Bomb Survivors in the U.S.A., traveled to Japan to appeal for relief from the Japanese government and anti-nuclear groups. She was exposed to the Hiroshima bombing as a child and has worked to help an estimated 1,000 U.S. A-bomb victims obtain medical assistance.

Commentary

• The Korean People, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Hosokawa describes his impressions of Seoul, noting the similarities in appearance between Korean and Japanese Americans alongside striking cultural differences in shopping and language. He also recounts an evening at a kisaeng house and a conversation with former consul general Teshikazu Maeda.
• Wendy Yoshimura’s Case, by Frank Chuman, page 2. The writer praises the Pacific Citizen for its continuing coverage of Wendy Yoshimura’s trials. He argues her case reflects an assault on the American conscience.
• Years of Infamy, by Clifford I. Uyeda, page 2. Uyeda praises Michi Weglyn’s book Years of Infamy for its thorough documentation of the Evacuation. He argues that Americans can no longer claim ignorance of the injustice.
• Nisei: the Quiet Americans should be distributed to officials, by Mary N. Karasawa, page 2. Karasawa urges JACL to purchase copies of Michi Weglyn’s Years of Infamy and distribute them to members of Congress and government officials, as was done with Bill Hosokawa’s Nisei book in 1969. She argues the book is valuable to the Japanese American cause during the Bicentennial year.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei woman guard at Folsom prison says promotion denied due to bias, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Joyce Igi Zink, a Nisei corrections officer, alleges sex and racial discrimination after being denied a promotion to sergeant following an oral examination. Her case is scheduled for a personnel review board hearing in late July.

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