Reverse bias claims at Japanese firms, and Judge Marutani’s primary win

Vol. 84, No. 22, June 10, 1977. 8 pages. View this issue

American employees of Japanese companies in the United States said promotion paths were blocked because they were not Japanese citizens. Nathanial Nash’s report, which the front page carried, quoted company officials who defended the practice and employment agencies who disagreed. Judge William M. Marutani also made the front page, winning the Philadelphia Democratic primary for a full ten-year term with 90,188 votes. The news pages added Chief Justice Earl Warren’s memoirs, which admitted wrongdoing in his part in the World War II incarceration (often called internment), and Sen. Daniel Inouye’s bill to aid Filipino veterans.

The Pacific Citizen itself was moving, and the issue told readers about its interim offices on East 1st Street in Los Angeles. Commentary filled pages 4 and 5, with Bill Hosokawa on the price of a bowl of noodles, Bill Marutani on class reunions, Sachi Seko on a graduation car, and Wayne Horiuchi on meetings in Washington. Page 6 named the new Miss East L.A. JACL.

What’s in this issue

National

• Americans Charge Reverse Bias Against Japanese Firms in U.S., by Nathanial Nash, page 1. American employees of Japanese companies in the United States allege that promotion paths are blocked because they are not Japanese citizens, prompting several lawsuits. Company officials defend the practice as necessary for conducting business with Japan.
• Judge Marutani Polls 90,000 Votes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Judge William M. Marutani led the Philadelphia Democratic primary for a full ten-year term on the Court of Common Pleas, winning the party nomination with 90,188 votes. A campaign by the Asian American community and volunteers across the East helped secure the victory.
• Census Questionnaire Questioned, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Union of Pan Asian Communities of San Diego County objects to proposed 1980 Census categories that would classify Asians and Pacific Islanders together. UPAC argues the change would undermine data needed for community social programs and urges members to request separate ethnic listings.

Community

• PC Office at Interim Site, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Citizen relocated its offices from the Sun Building to rooms at 355 E. 1st St. in Los Angeles. The interim site will be used until a permanent move to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in late 1978.
• JACL Office Being Moved June 10 to Old Nishi Bldg., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Community Redevelopment Agency relocated JACL and Pacific Citizen tenants from the Sun Building to temporary sites in Little Tokyo. An agreement was reached allowing the interim occupancy until a permanent move to the JACCC.

Military & Veterans

• Inouye Bill to Aid Filipino Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Daniel Inouye urged the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to approve SB 129, which would recognize Filipino WW2 veterans whose names were stricken from U.S. Army records in 1948. He said as many as 125,000 Filipino veterans may have been wrongfully denied benefits.
• Miss East L.A. JACL Chosen, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Susan Etsuko Takei was crowned Miss East Los Angeles JACL at the Emerald Ball held May 29 in Santa Monica. She will represent the East Los Angeles area in the 1977 Nisei Week queen contest.

Incarceration & Redress

• Warren Memoirs: ‘It Was Wrong’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chief Justice Earl Warren’s autobiography admits wrongdoing in his role as California attorney general in leading to the WWII internment of Japanese Americans. The admission follows years of efforts by Edison Uno to secure a public retraction.

Arts & Entertainment

• Expatriate Woodcut Artist Decorated by Emperor of Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Woodcut artist Un’ichi Hiratsuka received the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class, from the Emperor of Japan in Washington, D.C. His work revived traditional woodblock printing as a contemporary art form.

Obituaries

• Dr. H. James Hara, Issei Medic, Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. H. James Hara, 87, a native of Okayama and longtime Los Angeles physician and otolaryngologist, died May 28 in Yucaipa. His career included wartime service at Hinsdale Sanitarium and decades of community and JACL involvement.

Commentary

• Students in Japan Grow Up Ignorant of World War II Era, by Gunner Olsborg, page 4. A former ship officer recounts his experience leaving the Philippines just before Pearl Harbor and questions whether the attack was truly unannounced. He argues that economic pressures and political motives shaped the path to war.
• Wendy Yoshimura, by Hashime Saito, page 4. The writer responds to Nobuyuki Nakajima, arguing that many Japanese Americans contributed to Wendy Yoshimura’s defense fund despite their public silence. He concludes her lawyers can secure justice and that her future depends on her own choices.
• On Looking Back at Class Reunions, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Marutani reflects on revisiting former places and attending college class reunions, finding nostalgia mixed with disappointment. He advises readers not to revisit past places and to avoid bringing spouses unprepared for reunion conversations.
• Affluent Arabians, by Frank Fukazawa, page 4. A PC correspondent describes Jidda, Saudi Arabia, where sudden oil wealth has transformed the desert nation into a land of construction, luxury goods and congestion. He notes the contrast between modern affluence and the enduring pride and hospitality of Arabian traditions.
• A Car for Graduation, by Sachi Seko, page 5. The writer recounts how her husband Ern refused to buy their son a car at graduation, insisting he earn one himself out of principle. She reflects on the Nisei tradition of gifting cars and how the family handled it.
• Eight Times as Much, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa compares the price of a bowl of noodles in Denver today with prices during the Depression in Seattle, finding it has risen roughly eightfold. He weighs this against income and minimum wage increases to assess his personal economy.
• Three Key ‘Carter People’, by Wayne Horiuchi, page 5. Horiuchi reports on Washington meetings with HEW Secretary Califano, White House aide Midge Costanza, and INS Commissioner Leonel Castillo about civil rights and Asian American representation. He notes commitments on the Bakke case, a White House staff appointment, and an Asian immigration advisory committee.

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