Redress commission signed, plus the Shogun debate

Vol. 91, No. 7, September 19, 1980. 8 pages. View this issue

The Pacific Citizen reported on the newly signed commission bill to examine the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans, with activists in Seattle asking whether redress would include individual payments. Ron Ikejiri thanked the volunteers behind the bill, now Public Law 96-317, and Bill Marutani wrote on safeguarding any future redress fund. K. Patrick Okura’s convention keynote looked back on JACL’s 50 years. The front page also carried a Gardena housing project approved by HUD and a report on the first National Asian-Pacific American Women’s Conference.

NBC’s Shogun drew several pieces: Betsy Sato’s review, John Saito on a JACL preview screening and the disclaimer talks with NBC, and a Cleveland follow-up series. On page 4, Dr. Clifford Uyeda set out his goals as PC Board Chair, and Bill Hosokawa wrote about JACL funding a weekly paper. Page 8 covered reunions of Japanese Canadians in Toronto and of former Vancouver, Washington residents.

What’s in this issue

National

• Gardena JCI Gardens Plan for 700 Units Wins HUD Approval, page 1. The HUD Dept. approved a $4,348,150 loan for a 100-unit senior citizen and handicapped housing project in Gardena led by Valentine Wada. The project is west of the JCI, with William T. (Wimpy) Hiroto as JCI executive director overseeing plans.
• Asian-Pacific American Women on the Move, page 1. Four hundred Asian-Pacific American women met in Washington for the first National Asian-Pacific American Women’s Conference, beginning efforts to build a nationwide network and win equity in employment and education. Delegates discussed issues including language barriers, licensing of foreign-educated nurses, affirmative action, and stereotypes of Asian women.
• Pekin High Changes Nickname from ‘Chinks’ to ‘Dragons’, page 1. Pekin High School administrators decided on Sept. 4 to change their athletic teams’ nickname from ‘Chinks’ to ‘Dragons’ after objections from the Organization of Chinese Americans and JACL. The football stadium still bore the old nickname, though the nearby Peoria Journal Star had already stopped using it.
• Mineta Lone Nikkei Cited in Book: ‘Changing of the Guard’, page 1. David S. Broder’s book ‘Changing of the Guard: Power and Leadership in America’ discusses a new generation of political leaders, citing Rep. Norman Mineta as the only Asian American mentioned. Broder suggests Mineta’s contemporaries regard him as a future Speaker of the House.
• Taul Watanabe Quits State Post, page 8. Taul Watanabe, recuperating from three operations for bladder cancer, resigned Sept. 8 from Washington’s State Personnel Board for health reasons. He remained a member of the University of Washington Board of Regents, a post he did not resign from.

Incarceration & Redress

• Japanese POW and WRA Camp Experiences Similar, page 1. Cleveland JACLers Sadie Yamane and May Ichida appeared on WKYC’s Dave Patterson Show to compare life in WW2 American concentration camps with Julia Wortman’s experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in the Philippines. Yamane was surprised to learn that experiences in a Japanese POW camp and WRA relocation centers shared many similarities.
• Should There Be Redress for Internment? Yes, Say Activists, page 1. Seattle Times reporters interviewed JACL redress chair John Tateishi and local Seattle JACLers about the newly signed commission bill examining WW2 incarceration of Japanese Americans. Activists like Chuck Kato and Shosuke Sasaki expressed concern the commission might not recommend individual monetary payments, with Kato saying Seattle would support an individual lawsuit if the commission fails to recommend compensation.

Arts & Entertainment

• ‘Shogun’: A Clavell Cop-out, Says Cincinnatian, by Betsy Sato, page 1. Betsy Sato reviews James Clavell’s ‘Shogun’, the 12-hour NBC mini-series based on the best-selling novel, praising its on-location filming in Japan but criticizing Clavell for skewing historical authenticity. As a Japanese historian, Sato is disturbed by Clavell’s choice to alter history rather than present it accurately.
• ‘Hito Hata’ Support Event Draws Crowd, page 1. Over 100 people gathered at Rio Hondo College in Whittier to hear comedian Pat Morita and filmmaker Bob Nakamura discuss ‘Hito Hata’, a Visual Communications production set for a benefit premiere Oct. 26 at the Ahmanson Theater. The event was sponsored by Selanoco JACL.
• ‘Shogun’ Follow-up: Japan’s Secret Weapon, page 6. Cleveland’s WKYC-Channel 3 produced a five-part series titled ‘Japan’s Secret Weapon’ as a follow-up to ‘Shogun’, exploring how Japan became a modern industrial power. The series was reported by Ed Miller and cameraman Bill Geddie and aired following the Shogun broadcasts.

Community

• Dayton to Host MDC/MDYC Meet, page 2. The Midwest District Council and Midwest District Youth Councils will hold a joint meeting session over the Oct. 3-5 weekend in Dayton, Ohio, including a banquet at Sinclair College Terrace Dining Room. Registration fee is $20 per person with a separate banquet-only price of $12.50.
• Fremont JACL Set for Grand Reunion, page 2. The Fremont JACL chapter is planning a grand reunion on Oct. 25 for all members, originally founded as part of the Alameda County JACL before being renamed Fremont JACL in 1957. June Honda and committee are making plans for the dinner event.
• Japanese Classes Mark Seventh Year in San Francisco, page 2. The Japanese Bilingual Bicultural program, offered as part of the regular school curriculum from kindergarten through seventh grade in San Francisco, is now in its seventh year. Application information can be obtained by phone.
• Cherry Tree Planted by Japanese Boy Scouts, page 7. Japanese Boy Scouts from Kobe, visiting the Pacific Northwest, ended their West Coast trip by planting a flowering cherry tree at Seattle’s International District Kobe Terrace Park on Aug. 26. The tree was a gift from Scout Executive Tetsuya Sano, who led Troop 23 from Kobe.
• Nakasone Honored with Army Medal, page 7. Minoru M. Nakasone, a member of Twin Cities JACL and resident of White Bear Lake, Minn., was presented the Army’s Meritorious Service Medal by Maj. Gen. Michael D. Healy for exceptionally meritorious conduct. Nakasone serves as Commandant of the Fifth Army Area Intelligence School at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.
• Over 700 Gather at BC Camps Reunion, page 8. More than 700 Japanese Canadians gathered in Toronto over the Aug. 30-31 weekend to recall their wartime banishment to British Columbia camps, organized by Mrs. Micki Koyanagi. Despite losses of businesses and homes during the relocation, attendees like Tak Kobayashi expressed little bitterness, noting they could not help what happened to them.
• Vancouverites Hold 38-year Reunion, page 8. Seventy former Vancouver, Washington residents held their first reunion since 1942 over the Aug. 16-17 weekend, organized by Ken Ono who now farms where a Japanese community center once stood. The reunion included a bus tour, a picnic with old photos, and a visit to Portland’s Japanese Gardens.

JACL

• Faith in Harmony Anchors Optimism, by K. Patrick Okura, page 3. K. Patrick Okura’s convention keynote address reflects on JACL’s 50-year history of leadership transitions from Issei to Nisei and now to Sansei, citing key decisions made by past presidents including Saburo Kido, Hito Okada, and others. He expresses optimism about JACL’s ability to coordinate efforts on the evacuation commission and aging programs for the coming biennium.
• Masaoka in Office Part-time, page 3. Mike Masaoka returned to his Washington office part-time in early September after recovering from a slight heart attack. He acknowledged the many get-well cards, letters, and baskets sent by well-wishers, including telegrams from the National JACL Convention.
• A Special Thank You, by Ron Ikejiri, page 4. Ron Ikejiri thanks the many volunteers and staff who contributed to the successful passage of the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians Act, now Public Law 96-317. He highlights individual contributions from Bea Nowaki Ando, Vince Yotsukura, Hisae Shima Batchelder, Susan Kamei, Ellen Keiko Hamada, Sandra Mae Hanson, and George and Betty Wakiji.

Commentary

• PC Board Chair Outlines Goals for Pacific Citizen, by Dr. Clifford Uyeda, page 4. Dr. Clifford Uyeda discusses his goals as PC Board Chair, including raising Harry Honda’s low editor salary, hiring a young assistant editor, and maintaining PC’s financial independence from National JACL control. He argues PC must remain an honest, advocacy-driven publication serving the membership rather than being run for accountants’ convenience.
• Rebuttal: The Little Matter of Evacuation, by Fred Y. Hirasuna, page 4. Fred Y. Hirasuna responds to a previous letter by Eiji Suyama, defending JACL’s citizenship requirement for full membership and its wartime actions during the Evacuation. He argues JACL has secured legislation benefiting all Japanese Americans and that too many fail to support the organization financially despite benefiting from its work.
• Retirement Info, by Florence Date’ Smith, page 4. Florence Date’ Smith, a Nisei teacher who taught in Tanforan and Topaz during WW2, describes her year-long effort to obtain federal retirement credit for her camp teaching years. She encourages other former camp teachers to pursue similar retirement credit through federal archivists.
• Summer Job Query, page 4. A reader who visited Japan over the summer writes asking whether JACL offers any summer work programs for college students in Japan. The letter seeks information on overseas job opportunities through the organization.
• The Root of All Evil, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Bill Marutani warns that any future redress reparations fund must be protected by strong administrative safeguards against greedy manipulators who could exploit the money for personal gain. He urges JACL’s current leadership to build these protective measures now before any redress fund materializes.
• An Encouraging Development, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa discusses JACL’s decision to reject an austerity budget for Pacific Citizen and instead fully fund a weekly publishing schedule, following Judge Bill Marutani’s earlier plea for increased support. He notes how vital Pacific Citizen is for Japanese Americans outside California who lack access to ethnic newspapers, citing examples from Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and New York.
• Shogun, by John Saito, page 6. John Saito recounts a JACL delegation’s preview screening of NBC’s ‘Shogun’ miniseries and their negotiations with NBC executives Jay Rodriguez and Ethel Winant over a disclaimer addressing racial content. Saito raises concerns about the show’s depiction of racism and its potential to convey troubling transfer values to viewers unfamiliar with Japan.
• Name — Individual Identity, by Nobuyuki Nakajima, page 7. Nobuyuki Nakajima reflects on a Polish-American friend who was pressured by an Army sergeant to anglicize his name, prompting a meditation on how names serve as markers of individual and ethnic identity. He questions whether a society that pressures people to abandon their names under social pressure can truly be called democratic.
• Moshi Moshi: Romaji Readable, But Kana Satisfies, by Jin Konomi, page 8. Jin Konomi discusses the merits of Romaji (romanized Japanese) versus traditional kanji-kana writing, recounting a story about a Japanese businessman who secretly typed Japanese in Romaji on trains to appear as an English writer. Konomi argues from personal experience that Romaji is not inherently difficult to read, despite common objections, and encourages younger generations to use it more widely.

In-Depth

• Cal Revisited, Part II, by Barry Saiki, page 8. Barry Saiki recounts his trip from Tokyo to California, including car rental difficulties and a drive spanning San Jose, Stockton, San Francisco for the National Convention, Monterey, San Diego, and Los Angeles. He reflects on meeting old friends in Stockton and discussing the lasting effects of wartime relocation and hopes for compensation through HR 4499.

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