Northrop bias suit, two new Nikkei judges and a Manzanar pilgrimage

Vol. 86, No. 15, April 21, 1978. 12 pages. View this issue

A class action complaint against Northrop Corp.’s Ventura Division led this 12-page issue. Alice Nehira and Jo Ann Shimizu charged the company with discriminatory promotion and employment practices, and the case was passed on to the Dept. of Labor. Also on the front page, Judges Kathryn Doi Todd and Robert Higa were sworn in to the Los Angeles municipal court by Calif. Supreme Court chief justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. Judge Bill Marutani was backed for a U.S. District Court seat in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Inside, buses were chartered for the Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 22. The editorial set Richard Nixon’s Huston Plan beside the wartime Bendetsen Plan. Columns by William Marutani, Bill Hosokawa, Sachi Seko and Jin Konomi cover family customs in JACL, a first airport encounter with a newcomer, remembering a friend, and the sounds of Japanese. Ron Yoshino reported on the Spring 1978 National Board meeting.

What’s in this issue

National

• Nisei women in Northrop bias suit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two women, Alice Nehira and Jo Ann Shimizu, filed a class action complaint with the Dept. of Defense alleging discriminatory promotion and employment practices at Northrop Corp.’s Ventura Division. The complaint was forwarded to the Dept. of Labor, and PSW Governor Paul Tsuneishi has supported the complainants.
• Marutani backed for U.S. bench, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Judge Bill Marutani was selected among seven candidates recommended to the Justice Dept. for a U.S. District Court vacancy in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia JACL urged his appointment in letters to the President, the Attorney General, and Sen. Schweiker.
• Ex-Japanese POW to plead forgiveness for A-bomb, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Retired clergyman Rev. Herbert V. Nicholson helped fund a trip for former Japanese POW survivor Dennis Roland to attend atomic bomb memorial services in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both men called for an international ban on nuclear warfare and urged support from Japanese Americans.

Incarceration & Redress

• Calif. chief justice swears in two Nikkei municipal judges, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Judges Kathryn Doi Todd and Robert Higa were inducted into the Los Angeles municipal court before about 100 guests, with Calif. Supreme Court chief justice Rose Elizabeth Bird administering the oath. Japanese American Bar Assn. president Ernest Hiroshige stressed the judiciary’s duty to uphold constitutional principles in light of the wartime incarceration.

Community

• Locke may be turned into historical ‘living park’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Legislation to appropriate state funds to restore Locke, the only rural town in the U.S. built and occupied by Chinese, passed a California Assembly committee. The plan would have state, local, and federal agencies gradually purchase and preserve the town while letting elderly residents remain.
• Tokyo woman shows gratitude for postwar help by one Yankee, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Tokyo woman sent money through former Japanese officer Rokuro Tomibe to Fr. Robert Sheridan to thank an American who had been kind to her in postwar Tokyo. Tomibe, who had run the Baguio civilian POW camp, had earlier been reunited with American survivors in San Francisco.

Military & Veterans

• Pilgrimage buses for Manzanar set, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three buses have been chartered for the Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 22 from several Los Angeles-area departure points. The Los Angeles City Council also approved $1,080 to bus members of the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center to the Inyo County campsite.

Commentary

• Huston vs. Bendetsen, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial contrasts Richard Nixon’s claim in his forthcoming memoirs that authorizing wiretaps and break-ins was legal under the Huston Plan with the wartime Bendetsen Plan that led to the forced removal of Japanese Americans. It notes that the Supreme Court’s Korematsu ruling still stands as a warning about racial discrimination justified by national interest.
• East Wind: Hot Baths and Burnt Rice, by William Marutani, page 4. Marutani examines the male-oriented priorities of Japanese family customs, such as bathing and eating order, and asks whether similar attitudes persist within JACL. He challenges the organization to elect women to top national leadership positions.
• Cultural imbalance, by Nobuyuki Nakajima, page 4. Nakajima argues that the U.S. trade imbalance with Japan reflects a failure to understand Japanese language and culture. He notes that Japanese schools have long taught English while American colleges offer weak Asian studies programs.
• Ancestral heritage, by Ken Egusa, page 4. Egusa responds to Clifford Uyeda’s earlier letter, criticizing the approach of distancing Japanese Americans from Japanese nationals. He argues that ancestral heritage contributes meaningfully to cultural viability.
• Bakke Case, by Douglas Kendall, page 4. Kendall discusses the Bakke case and the tension between affirmative action, loyalty, and merit. He argues that preferential treatment must be balanced against the merit system.
• Oscar, the free spirit, by Sachi Seko, page 5. Seko reflects on the death of longtime friend Oscar Inouye, describing their decades of letter writing and his declining health. She recalls his intellect, love of music and literature, and free spirit.
• The First Encounter, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa recounts helping a young Chinese woman, Mrs. Chang, navigate Los Angeles International Airport and arrange her connection to Dallas. He reflects on how his own immigrant parents faced similar challenges.
• Ramen—or Lamen?, by Jin Konomi, page 5. Konomi discusses the confusion between r and l sounds in Japanese, arguing that the Japanese language does not simply lack the l sound. He explains how Japanese phonemes cover a range of alveolar sounds.
• Speaking Out!, by Ron Yoshino, page 8. Yoshino reports on the Spring 1978 National Board meeting, praising National staff and Harry Honda’s contributions. He questions the role of youth representatives on the board and urges stronger Midwest leadership in national office.

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