Citizen voices in U.S.-Japan relations, and the redress proposals

Vol. 85, No. 24, December 9, 1977. 8 pages. View this issue

Calls for citizen involvement in U.S.-Japan relations led the news. At the Intermountain District Council conference in Ogden, Ted Matsushima reported, JACL leaders including National President James Murakami urged Japanese American input in government policymaking and backed the U.S.-Japan Friendship Act. On page 4, the JACL National Reparation Committee’s series on redress reached Part Six, summarizing six proposals for payments to Japanese Americans removed and held during World War II. Thomas Tang’s swearing-in to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and a profile of Los Angeles police lieutenant James Sakoda were also on the front page.

This eight-page issue also carries columns by Bill Hosokawa on racial classification and Sachi Seko on setting new goals, and Harry K. Honda’s reply on the future of Alcatraz Island. A Buddhist inmate’s six-year lawsuit in Texas, a green onion strike in Phoenix, and Hanae Mori’s fashion showing at the new Japanese Embassy in Washington round out the pages.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Friendship Act interest mounting, by By TED MATSUSHIMA, page 1. Leaders at the Intermountain District Council conference in Ogden urged greater citizen participation in improving U.S.-Japan relations. They argued that Japanese American input in government policymaking is needed to advance the U.S.-Japan Friendship Act.

National

• Coverage of Chinatown shooting rated sensational, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Asians in Mass Media criticized San Francisco and national press coverage of the Labor Day Chinatown restaurant shootings as sensational and poorly informed. The group found the Los Angeles Times provided the best overall coverage.
• Carter choice for U.S. appellate court sits as its 2nd Asian American, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Phoenix lawyer Thomas Tang was sworn in to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, becoming the second Asian American to sit on the federal appellate bench. He called his appointment a step forward for human rights and equal treatment.

Military & Veterans

• Sansei police officer cited nation’s best, by By PAT TASHIMA, page 1. Los Angeles police lieutenant James Sakoda received the national J. Edgar Hoover Gold Medal Award from the VFW for outstanding law enforcement service. His career and the significance of his honor for aspiring Asian American officers are profiled.
• Share Your History: Reverend Hiro Higuchi, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Reverend Hiro Higuchi, a former 442nd chaplain, began a do-it-yourself church building project in Waipahu at age 70. The article recounts his earlier volunteer community building projects in Hawaii.

Community

• Green onion growers speaking out, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Growers in Phoenix accuse the Maricopa County Organizing Project of harassing pickers and violating a restraining order during an ongoing green onion strike. Pickers seek a 14-cent increase per dozen bunches, while growers say such raises would put them out of business.
• Three Nikkei victims of gunfire; one by freak shot, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three Nikkei were shot in separate California incidents, two fatally, including Masao Kimura of Fresno and Eiko Takeshita of San Francisco. A third, Soji Sakai, was seriously wounded by a stray bullet during target practice at a golf course.
• Yamamoto named Agri-Production Man of the Year, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kiyoshi Yamamoto of Turlock was honored as Agri-Production Man of the Year by the local chamber of commerce for his contributions to agriculture and the community. He leads several growers and civic organizations.
• Mori meets with San Diego Asians, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Young Asian Americans met with Assemblyman Floyd Mori in San Diego to discuss health services, undergraduate admissions, and the Bakke case. The meeting was coordinated by David Takashima.
• Buddhist victory in Texas, by Jorjanna Price (Houston Post), reprinted from BCA, page 6. A federal consent order requires Texas prisons to provide Buddhist services and literature after inmate Fred Cruz pursued a six-year lawsuit. The case began when Cruz was punished for receiving Buddhist materials.
• Filipino Y secretary and Nikkei pastor reunited, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Rev. Jonathan Fujita and Domingo Bascara reunited in Tokyo after 34 years. Bascara credited Fujita with influencing his successful appeal for the 1953 pardon of Japanese war criminals.

Commentary

• Making Over Alcatraz, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. Editor Harry Honda responds to a KCBS editorial on the future of Alcatraz Island and reports on proposals for a world ecology center and Asian Pacific monument. He notes Park Service hearings and suggests the island could honor Asian American immigrant history.
• Military History, by TS. Shiraki, page 4. A letter writer compares American and German military policies on desertion and surrender. The writer argues the American Army rewards deserters and prisoners rather than executing them.
• Perverted Linguistics, page 4. The columnist reminisces about Hiroshima-dialect Japanese and Issei corruptions of English. He recounts humorous misunderstandings during a trip to Japan involving a hotel sign, a bidet, and a sandwich.
• In Search of a New Goal, by Sachi Seko, page 5. The columnist visits a vacant neighbor’s house, recalling the family dog Brandy’s door-opening habits. She reflects on planning for the future, aging, dependence on children, and the desire for new goals.
• Dilemma of Race, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa contrasts South Africa’s apartheid treatment of Chinese residents with the racial classification problems in the United States. He argues racial categories create tangled and contradictory policy results.

Incarceration & Redress

• JACL National Reparation Committee: Six Proposals, Part Six, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The article summarizes six proposals submitted to JACL for redress payments to Japanese Americans evacuated and interned during World War II. The plans differ in beneficiaries, payment methods, and use of unclaimed funds.

Arts & Entertainment

• Japanese Embassy fashion showing by Hanae Mori, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Designer Hanae Mori unveiled her collection at the new Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The event was described as a splendid housewarming for the embassy’s official opening.

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