Redress at $25,000: JACL’s proposal and the debate it started

Vol. 87, No. 10, September 15, 1978. 12 pages. View this issue

Redress was the main subject of this 12-page issue. JACL delegates had adopted a proposal at the Salt Lake City convention seeking $25,000 for each person affected by the World War II incarceration (often called internment). President Clifford Uyeda defended the figure in his column, Ken Hayashi described the convention vote, and Bill Hosokawa questioned how the campaign was being run. Letters from Charles T. Kato and Harold H. Onishi answered Senator S.I. Hayakawa’s remarks on the subject. The front page led with the guilty verdict against Curtis Tam in the Golden Dragon Restaurant shooting in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where Paul Wada, a Berkeley law student, was among the dead.

Also inside: a plaque for Tule Lake set for dedication on June 2, 1979, and a demolition contract for Little Tokyo. Akira Kubota’s two-part study looked at Nikkei voting power in Gardena. The paper remembered Esther Hagiwara, the Midwest office secretary of 22 years, with a eulogy by Shig Wakamatsu.

What’s in this issue

National

• Youth found guilty in S.F. Chinatown restaurant shooting, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Curtis Tam, 18, was found guilty of five counts of second-degree murder for his role in the 1977 Golden Dragon Restaurant massacre in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Paul Wada, a Berkeley law student and Japanese American, was among those killed, and Tam faces a maximum sentence of 35 years.
• Filipino American woman fills city council vacancy, by Eira Nagaoka, page 1. H. Dolores Sibonga, a Filipino American, was sworn in to fill a Seattle City Council vacancy until a November election. Her appointment followed an extensive Asian American lobbying effort.
• Work-related Nikkei voting power continued, by Akira Kubota, page 3. The article continues analysis of Fukai’s Gardena campaign, crediting his sophisticated organization, fundraising, and grassroots youth network. It concludes that being Japanese American remains a slight but surmountable handicap in California elections.
• Item per Weber challenges Industry affirmative action plan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Organization of Chinese Americans urged minorities to unite against a reverse discrimination suit by Brian Weber against Kaiser Aluminum and the United Steelworkers. The case challenges a training program that used a one-for-one minority and white admission ratio.
• 500 students from China due in U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 3. Peking has decided to send at least 10,000 students abroad, with about 500 expected at American colleges in the coming year. Educators are concerned about how to teach students who may have little English.
• Attitudes of Our Youth, by The Japan Times, page 5. A Japanese government survey compares youth attitudes in Japan with ten other nations and finds Japanese youth among the least satisfied with society. Most say they would use voting rights rather than illegal measures to change things.
• Midwest interim director appointed, by P.C. Staff, page 8. William Yoshino of the Chicago chapter agreed to serve as interim Midwest regional director after Esther Hagiwara’s death and a reorganization. A permanent director is expected by early October.

Commentary

• Political scientist assesses Nikkei voting power in Gardena, by Akira Kubota, page 1. Councilman Mas Fukai’s 1978 reelection in Gardena, California, is analyzed to show how a Japanese American candidate won a majority despite a Japanese American electorate of only about 34%. The author concludes that ethnicity remains a factor in California politics, though it is a modest handicap.
• $25,000, by Clifford I. Uyeda, page 2. JACL President Clifford Uyeda defends the proposed $25,000 redress payment per person by comparing it with property losses and interest that the government never repaid. He argues that Japanese Americans effectively paid for their own incarceration.
• Triumphant Registry, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. This editorial honors JACL members who died in the past 30 months, beginning with Masao Satow and including Esther Hagiwara. It frames their lives as a lasting legacy for the Japanese American community.
• Hayakawa’s Wisdom, by The Oregonian, page 4. The Oregonian praises Senator S.I. Hayakawa for his independent stance and argues that redress is unnecessary because wartime removal was understandable under the circumstances. The editorial suggests that all races now benefit from greater respect for human rights.
• JACL Stood Up to be Counted, by Ken Hayashi, page 4. JACL delegates unanimously adopted a redress proposal at the 1978 Salt Lake City convention seeking $25,000 for each person affected by wartime evacuation and incarceration. The proposal includes a trust foundation and a fundraising campaign to pursue it.
• Redress—Yes, by Charles T. Kato, page 4. Charles Kato argues that many non-Japanese Americans sympathize with redress and that Issei and Sansei deserve support. He criticizes critics who dismiss the claim as unnecessary.
• Retirement bill, by George K. Oga, page 4. George Oga argues that an 18-year age limit in Senate Bill 224 for civil service retirement credit for camp time is unfair. He notes that people age 16 and over worked in camps and were legally employed at that age.
• Hayakawa’s remarks on redress, by Harold H. Onishi, page 4. JACL Pacific Northwest District Governor Harold Onishi argues that the media distorted Hayakawa’s views and that redress is a matter of acknowledging government error. He insists that racism still exists and that justice should be sought.
• Home from Japan, by Herbert V. Nicholson, page 4. Rev. Herbert Nicholson reports on his month-long trip to Japan, including visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and gifts to atomic bomb survivors. He describes warm receptions from officials and patients.
• ‘Junk food’, by P.C. Reader, page 4. A reader argues that Japanese diet, heavy in meat and junk food, explains high rates of cancer and heart disease. The letter recommends natural foods, exercise, and health magazines.
• Music and generations, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Columnist Bill Marutani reflects humorously on his teenage daughter’s music and dance, comparing it with his Issei parents’ tastes. He ponders what the next generation will invent.
• ‘Redress’ Campaign, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa criticizes the JACL redress campaign for poor planning and a weak public relations start, notably after Senator Hayakawa’s public opposition. He argues that the campaign will require sophisticated lobbying to succeed in Congress.
• Convention Musings, by Dr. Kaz Mayeda, page 8. Dr. Kaz Mayeda reflects on his return to the JACL convention after seventeen years, describing initial misgivings about dues, redress, and the constitution. He concludes that the youth program and redress leadership convinced him the organization is on the right path.
• Valiant Odyssey nearly sold out, by P.C. Staff, page 10. Rev. Herbert Nicholson’s book Valiant Odyssey, containing his oral history and camp work, is nearly sold out. The author was visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki on a goodwill mission.

Community

• Tule Lake’s plaque to be placed June 2, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A California Historical Landmark plaque marking the former Tule Lake center will be dedicated June 2, 1979, after a dispute over the term concentration camp was resolved. The monument will stand on state land facing Castle Rock, a landmark familiar to the roughly 10,000 people interned there.
• BBC-TV to film series on new Japan for L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 2. The British Broadcasting Corporation and the Los Angeles Community Colleges are producing a ten-part series on contemporary Japan. The series is expected to premiere simultaneously in the US and Britain in 1979.
• Little Tokyo renewal work moves east, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Community Redevelopment Agency awarded a demolition contract to clear three warehouses in Little Tokyo for a $1.5 million light industrial facility. Construction is expected to begin in early 1979.
• Solano County installation, by Harry Hatasaka, page 2. Solano County JACL, the organization’s newest chapter at No. 105, installed its officers at a May ceremony in Fairfield. National President Jim Murakami and NC-WNDC Governor Chuck Kubokawa attended the event.
• Pearl Harbor site to be improved, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Navy awarded a $4.1 million contract to S & M Sakamoto, Inc. to build shoreside facilities for the USS Arizona Memorial. The project will include a new boat dock, museum, theaters and visitor lobby.
• Japan population growth rate drops, by P.C. Staff, page 12. Japan’s population growth rate has declined, with economists estimating the August 1978 population at about 114.96 million. The population is aging, with the elderly share rising to 8.4 percent.

Obituaries

• Midwest’s Esther Hagiwara dies, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Esther Emiko Hagiwara, Midwest JACL Office secretary for 22 years, died Sept. 2 at age 58. Her service, marked by devotion to the organization, is recalled alongside her earlier work with the Olivet Institute and her internment at Minidoka.
• In Every Sense: Ms. JACL, by Shig Wakamatsu, page 2. Former National JACL President Shig Wakamatsu delivered this eulogy for Esther Hagiwara, praising her gentle nature and decades of service to the Midwest office. He recounts her loyalty to JACL and her quiet courage in the face of declining health.

Military & Veterans

• Hagiwara, page 9. Historical background of the Evacuation Order describes the military orders issued by General DeWitt and the pressures from California that led to mass detention. It explains how exclusion and detention affected Japanese Americans and their property.
• Japan’s Attitudes: Japanese Canadian Museum and Ainu collection, by P.C. Staff, page 11. A museum in Abashiri, Hokkaido opened to preserve the culture of the Ainu, Gilyak and Oroke peoples. The founder, Daahenneini Gendaanu, was a former Imperial army recruit whose culture is threatened as elders die.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei writers in UCLA Asian Education Journal, by P.C. Staff, page 10. The latest issue of the UCLA Amerasia Journal includes articles by Nisei experts on Asian American education and studies programs. Topics include a national survey of Asian American studies, bilingual materials, and Japanese language schools in Hawaii.
• Citizen 13660 to be reissued, by P.C. Staff, page 10. Arno Press will reissue Mine Okubo’s Citizen 13660 with a new introduction and additional recollections. The book was the first account of Evacuation and camp life written by someone who was there.
• Bookshelf: East West Flavors II, by Harry Honda, page 10. The West Los Angeles JACL Auxiliary has published a sequel cookbook, East-West Flavors II, with new recipes and menu suggestions. The review praises its organization and dessert section.
• A Sansei in Tokyo: Collapse, by Janet Yasuda, page 11. A Sansei writer describes Tokyo as a land of contrasts where modern hyper-speed life coexists with traditional values. She reflects on how she copes with these tensions.

Sports

• Sansei golfer bows in 3-day playoffs, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Tracy Nakasaki lost a three-way playoff in the Junior Golf State championships, becoming the first Sansei junior golfer to place first in the state meet. He finished second after an extra-hole loss.

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