A Day of Remembrance at Camp Harmony, and a British ruling on a slur

Vol. 87, No. 17, November 3, 1978. 12 pages. View this issue

A planned Day of Remembrance in Seattle led the news. On Nov. 25, Japanese American families would re-enact the 1942 bus ride to the Puyallup Fairgrounds, the assembly center renamed Camp Harmony, in an event organized by the National JACL redress committee and set to be covered by ABC-TV’s ’20/20′. Redress also ran through the letters page, with readers writing from Brazil and elsewhere, and through Bill Hosokawa’s column on thank-you letters about the Heart Mountain Camp Memorial Park. Britain’s Press Council ruled that ‘Jap’ is an acceptable abbreviation, and an editorial by H.H. asked why not ‘Nikkei’ instead.

Elsewhere, Sen. S.I. Hayakawa questioned bilingual education, and Konosuke Matsushita gave $500,000 to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center fund drive. Stockton teacher Elizabeth Humbargar was honored with a Japanese decoration, and Clifford Uyeda wrote on the value of disagreement. Chapter news from Dayton to Washington, D.C. fills the middle pages.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Bus-ride to Camp Harmony to be re-enacted for TV, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seattle-area Japanese Americans are planning a Day of Remembrance re-enactment on Nov. 25 of the 1942 bus-ride from Seattle to the Puyallup Fairgrounds assembly center, dubbed Camp Harmony. The event, organized by the National JACL redress committee and emceed by Dr. Minoru Masuda, will be covered by ABC-TV’s ’20/20′ and is attracting participants from California.
• Gist of Giri & Gimu, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa shares an update from Mary Ruth Blackburn, who helped build the Heart Mountain Camp Memorial Park, describing the outpouring of thank-you letters she received from former internees across the country. He reflects on how the Japanese concepts of giri and gimu (duty and obligation) remain alive in the appreciative responses.

National

• British Press Council Rules ‘Jap’ Not an Insult, Sparks Controversy, page 1. Britain’s Press Council ruled that ‘Jap’ is an acceptable abbreviation for ‘Japanese’ rather than a racial insult, rejecting a complaint from a British reader on behalf of Japanese residents. The decision drew criticism from Japanese officials, the Japan Times, and a retired British diplomat who called the ruling offensive to Japan-Britain relations.
• Chol Soo Lee Trial Set Oct. 30, page 2. Chol Soo Lee, charged with killing a white inmate at Deuel Vocational Institution, was scheduled to go on trial Oct. 30, overshadowed by efforts from the California Korean community. A habeas corpus hearing was set for Oct. 27 regarding his 1973 murder conviction, which defenders say involved withheld prosecution evidence.
• Another JACLer in Bid for Congress, page 2. Longtime Stockton JACL member Norman David Shumway, a county supervisor, is leading polls against Rep. John J. McFall in a race overshadowed by McFall’s Koreagate scandal involving undisclosed cash gifts from Tongsun Park. Shumway, a former Mormon missionary in Japan, has strong ties to Japanese American community interests.
• Curb Campaigns in Little Tokyo, page 8. Republican lieutenant governor candidate Mike Curb met Japanese American supporters in Little Tokyo and expressed skepticism about JACL’s redress program, saying he would consult Sen. Hayakawa before deciding. He also discussed his views on bilingual education, foreign investment, and undocumented workers.
• Hawaii Dental Board Accused of Favoring Asian Applicants, page 8. A newspaper column questioned the racial composition of the Hawaii Dental Board after noting six of seven members appeared to be of Asian ancestry. The board includes President Edward Maehara and other Oahu members of Asian descent.
• Missing Sansei Found Dead in Mexico, page 9. The body of Jo Ann Asakawa, a 31-year-old San Diego real estate agent, was found near Tijuana after she was apparently kidnapped and murdered. FBI agents joined San Diego police in investigating the slaying, with a $500 reward offered for information.
• Dollar Down to New Low in Japan, page 12. The U.S. dollar closed at a postwar low of ¥178.50 on Oct. 25 following President Carter’s anti-inflation message. The yen had been decontrolled and revalued from its fixed rate in December 1971.
• Historic Japan-China Pact Signed, page 12. China and Japan signed a peace and friendship treaty in Tokyo on Oct. 23, with foreign ministers Sunao Sonoda and Huang Hua affixing their signatures using calligraphy brushes. The 10-year treaty commits both countries to avoid war and settle disputes peacefully.

Community

• JACCC Gets $500,000 Gift From Matsushita, page 1. Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric, donated $500,000 to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Fund Drive in Los Angeles, the largest individual contribution to the project. The gift follows his participation as Grand Marshal of the 1976 Nisei Week Festival Parade and supports construction of the JACCC building expected to top off by Christmas.
• Nikkei Parent’s Complaint Justified, Apologies Made, page 1. A Belmont, Ca. fifth-grade teacher was suspended for a day after a Japanese American parent complained his teaching methods demeaned ethnic groups; an investigation found the complaint justified. School officials met with JACL representatives and pledged ongoing supervision and consultant training for the teacher by Dr. Jessie Kobayashi.
• Bilingual Summer Institute Planned, page 2. A summer institute on advanced study in education research for Asian Americans will be held at the Asian American Bilingual Center in Berkeley, Ca. Interested parties can contact Dr. Sau-Lim Tsang for more information.
• Transit Director Seeks At-Large Post, page 2. Roy Nakadegawa, A/C Transit board member representing Ward I, is challenging an appointed at-large director on the Nov. 7 ballot. The Nisei civil engineer criticizes the board’s selection process as based on friendship rather than merit.
• Reception Slated at Temple Nov. 25, page 6. Stockton JACL will hold a community reception honoring Elizabeth Humbargar on Saturday, Nov. 25 at the local Buddhist Temple, followed by dinner. Tickets are $10 with reservations requested by Nov. 13.
• Chapter Pulse: Dayton, page 7. Dayton JACL will host a joint Cincinnati-Dayton JACL installation dinner Dec. 2 at Alex’s Continental Inn in Miamisburg, featuring Bill Hosokawa, Denver Post editorial page editor, as guest speaker. Tickets are $8.75 per person.
• Chapter Pulse: Eden Township, page 7. Eden Township JACL and Eden Asian American Youths will hold a joint installation dinner Nov. 4 at Francesco’s Restaurant in Oakland, featuring author Lee Ruttle as guest speaker and singer Yukiko Sakakura performing. Assemblyman S. Floyd Mori will install new officers.
• Chapter Pulse: Marin County, page 7. Marin County JACL is sponsoring disco dance lessons starting Nov. 5 per member request, with the chapter board meeting Nov. 6 at Bank of Marin. The installation dinner-dance is set for Dec. 8 at Deep Park Villa featuring Jim Whitzell’s Trio.
• Chapter Pulse: Monterey Peninsula, page 7. Monterey Peninsula JACL is campaigning to bring San Francisco’s Japanese-language Channel 20 TV programming to the Monterey area via cable, coordinating with the cable company, JACL, FCC, and Congressman Panetta’s office. The chapter hopes service will begin by January 1979.
• Chapter Pulse: St. Louis, page 7. St. Louis JACL newsletter editor Anna Peterson has accepted a new position as executive director at the International Institute. The chapter’s installation dinner is set for Jan. 20 at the Clayton Inn, with a Christmas party planned for Dec. 16.
• Chapter Pulse: Salinas Valley, page 7. Salinas Valley JACL board supports community efforts to establish Salinas as a sister city with Kushikino, Kagoshima-ken, Japan. The board was also informed that Hartnell College’s Japanese agricultural students plan to landscape a garden around a new campus structure.
• Chapter Pulse: Washington, D.C., page 7. Washington, D.C. JACL’s Aki-no-Ichi bazaar, nearly cancelled due to venue issues, was successfully held Sept. 16 at the National Presbyterian Church with strong membership participation. Volunteers prepared chirashi, sushi, udon, and served over 250 pounds of chicken and beef teriyaki.
• Japan Food Corp. Adopts New Name, page 8. Japan Food Corp. has renamed itself JFC International Inc., announced by president Kazuaki Kuwada. The company, an importer and distributor of Asian food products for over 30 years, operates nine distribution centers across the U.S.
• Mental Health Task Force Formed in Hawaii, page 8. An ethno-cultural task force has been formed by Hawaii’s Mental Health Division to represent various ethnic groups including Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Filipinos. Masaru Oshiro chairs the group, which addresses mental health needs specific to Hawaii’s diverse communities.
• Gov. Brown Signs Bannai Bills, page 9. Two bills authored by Assemblyman Paul Bannai (R-Gardena) were signed by Gov. Edmund Brown Jr., becoming effective Jan. 1, 1979. AB 2846 requires insurers to report loss and expense experience, while AB 2984 extends compliance deadlines for fire protection laws affecting high-rise structures.
• ‘Weller Court’ Winning Name, page 9. East West Development Corp. selected ‘Weller Court’ as the name for a new shopping mall adjacent to the New Otani Hotel in Los Angeles, combining elements from contest winners’ submissions. Groundbreaking is scheduled for later in the month.
• Uwajimaya Opens $1¾-Million Annex, page 11. Seattle’s Uwajimaya Japanese supermarket, celebrating its 50th anniversary, held an open house Oct. 8 for its new $1.75 million addition designed by architect Tom Kubota. The complex, regarded as the largest Asian retailer in the western U.S., is led by longtime JACLer Tomio Moriguchi.
• West L.A. to Host Nikkei Methodists, page 11. West Los Angeles United Methodist Church will host the third annual convocation of the Southern California Japanese American Caucus of the United Methodist Churches on Nov. 11. Dr. Richard Cain of the Claremont School of Theology will serve as keynote speaker for the eight-church caucus.

Commentary

• Contrary Views, by Clifford Uyeda, page 2. National JACL President Clifford Uyeda reflects on the value of disagreement and criticism, arguing that opposing perspectives strengthen one’s own views. He urges Japanese Americans to overcome cultural aversion to shame and criticism and to stand firm for their convictions despite backlash.
• The Best Time of the Year, by Barry Saiki, page 3. Writing from Tokyo, columnist Barry Saiki describes October as a beautiful time to visit Japan and recounts visits from Tad Hirota and his own family. He highlights the arrival of Elizabeth Humbargar, a Stockton teacher being honored for over fifty years of service to Nisei and foreign students.
• Why Not ‘Nikkei’?, by H.H., page 4. An editorial response to the British Press Council’s ruling that ‘Jap’ is an acceptable abbreviation, arguing that JACL’s longstanding protests against the term likely influenced Japan’s strong reaction. The editorial suggests adopting ‘Nikkei’ as an alternative English term since the language readily absorbs foreign words.
• Will Bilingualism Push Political Separatism?, by Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, page 4. Senator S.I. Hayakawa, writing from Senate floor remarks, questions the expanding definition and funding of bilingual education, tracing its history from the 1830s to current federal legislation with $400 million in proposed annual funding. He warns that maintaining a second culture through bilingual education could foster political separatism akin to the Quebec movement.
• Letters: Redress, by Tom H. Parks, page 4. A reader recalls witnessing as a child the aftermath of a Japanese American grocery couple’s forced evacuation in 1942, which led to their business’s collapse and the husband’s eventual suicide. He expresses support for reparations given the unfairness suffered by loyal Americans.
• Letters: Response to Hayakawa, by Dennis A. Roland, page 4. A reader contrasts Karl Nobuyuki’s sympathetic article with Senator Hayakawa’s perceived insensitivity to Japanese American WWII internment victims. The writer, a Caucasian, expresses support for redress and recommends Hayakawa read ‘Years of Infamy’.
• Letters: Support From Brazil, by Jorge Ueda, page 4. A Japanese Brazilian Nisei writer expresses moral support for JACL’s redress campaign, calling the proposed $25,000 per evacuee a symbolic amount for recognizing wartime injustice. He notes the bravery of Nisei soldiers during WWII as evidence loyal citizens deserve restitution.
• Letters: Niihau Incident, by Allan Beekman, page 4. A Honolulu writer responds to a prior LA Times article on the Niihau Incident, noting discrepancies in accounts from participants’ relatives. He plans further research by contacting the downed pilot’s commander and additional sources.
• Letters: Western Novel, by Dale Pierce, page 4. An Arizona JACLer announces publication of his novel ‘The Wind Blows Death,’ about a physically and emotionally scarred Western gunman seeking revenge. He notes the Pacific Citizen’s frequent coverage of books by Japanese American authors.
• Letters: Credit Union, by Mas Inoshita, Sam Okuma, page 4. Arizona JACL Credit Union officers note that a prior Pacific Citizen article on JACL credit unions omitted their organization, which has $300,000 in assets and no delinquent loans. They affirm that JACL credit unions are valuable to members.
• From Happy Valley: About a Cake and Cordiality, by Sachi Seko, page 5. Columnist Sachi Seko recounts annual visits to an Ogden Christian Church bazaar and reflects on hospitality shown by Buddhist church members who supported the event despite differing faiths. She contrasts this warmth with JACL’s reputation for being cliquish toward newcomers.
• Moshi Moshi: Lotus Pond, by Jin Konomi, page 9. Columnist Jin Konomi recalls childhood memories of a lotus pond near the old Fukuoka Castle moat in Japan, describing the seasonal beauty of lotus blossoms and the harvesting of lotus roots by local workers. He reflects nostalgically on a vacant lot and pond long since gone but vivid in memory.

JACL

• New Title Announced for Nikkei Talent Registry, page 2. JACL Headquarters is preparing forms to compile the JACL-Japanese American Resource Registry (JARR), previously called the Nikkei Talent Registry, intended as a reference for government and business seeking Japanese American candidates. Eastern District Governor Seiko Wakabayashi chairs the project, with a Jan. 31, 1979 deadline for the first printing.
• IDC’s Nov. 11 Agenda Released, page 6. The Intermountain District Council’s fourth quarterly session will be held Saturday, Nov. 11 at Tapadera Inn in Ontario, Oregon, hosted by Snake River Valley JACL. The agenda includes reports on the National Convention, redress efforts, and youth council activities.
• Credit Union Declares 7%, page 6. The National JACL Credit Union’s board of directors declared a 7% per annum dividend for the third quarter of 1978 at its September meeting. The credit union now has more than $3.5 million in assets and continues to grow in services to members.

Obituaries

• Rev. Juko Nakashima, 86, page 2. Rev. Juko Nakashima, co-founder of K. Nakashima Nursery in San Leandro, died Oct. 6 after a long illness. After her husband’s death in 1949 she returned to Japan to study Buddhism and became one of the few Issei women ordained as a Buddhist priest.
• James S. Ogata, 61, page 2. Chicago cameraman and store owner James S. Ogata died Oct. 13 while on vacation in Venice, Italy after suffering a stroke. The Kauai-born photographer was known for a famous crash photo at the Indianapolis 500 and owned Triangle Camera, which had just celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Military & Veterans

• Bilingualism at Its Best: Fred H. Nitta, 1903-1978, page 2. Fred H. Nitta, longtime Watsonville community leader and insurance businessman, died Oct. 10 at age 75. Born in Hiroshima, he served as a court interpreter for Issei residents, was interned at Poston during WWII, then worked as a translator for the War Department in Washington, D.C.

Sports

• Physician Wins Ohye Air Race, page 2. Dr. Philip Reames, a Long Beach physician who has competed in every Henry Ohye Air Trophy Race since 1954, won the professional division of the 1978 race despite foggy conditions at Long Beach Municipal Airport. Miki Tanimura, a Gardena educator, was recognized as the first Nisei woman participant.
• Culver City Sansei Skier Slotted for Winter Olympics for Deaf, page 11. Ken Murashige, a 29-year-old deaf Sansei from Culver City, has been selected to represent the U.S. at the Ninth World Winter Games for the Deaf in Meribel, France, Jan. 21-27. The nation’s top deaf skier must raise $1,800 by Dec. 1 for training and travel expenses, with the Hughes/Culver City Employees Association leading fundraising efforts.

In-Depth

• Educator Receives Accolades for Helping… 50 Years, by Joan Ulrich (Stockton Record), page 3. Elizabeth Humbargar, a retired Stockton teacher who taught English for 44 years and supported Japanese American students during WWII internment, received Japan’s Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class, in a Tokyo ceremony. She is believed to be only the second American woman so honored by the Japanese government.
• Who Dropped A-Bomb? Some Nagasaki Children Don’t Know, page 12. A survey by the Nagasaki Prefecture Teachers Union found that one in ten junior high school students could not correctly identify which country dropped the atomic bombs on Japan. The survey, conducted around the 33rd anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing, revealed declining awareness of wartime history among youth.

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