CWRIC hearings in Alaska and Chicago: testimony on wartime removal

Vol. 93, No. 14, October 2, 1981. 8 pages. View this issue

The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians took testimony in Alaska and Chicago, and the Pacific Citizen gave those hearings most of its front and inside pages. In Anchorage, Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands, Aleuts and Japanese Americans such as William Kimura and Vasha Golodoff described forced relocation, lost property and deaths during the war. At the Chicago hearings, Peter Imamura reported on the wartime seizure of Japanese Latin Americans, with accounts from Elsa Kudo and Seiichi Higashide, and other witnesses spoke of the Evacuation and the camps, including Manzanar.

On the opinion pages, Senator S.I. Hayakawa argued against redress payments, while Aki Yoshimura and Ron Wakabayashi wrote in reply, and Bill Marutani described his visit to Dutch Harbor. Elsewhere in the issue: a ruling that the U.S.-Japan friendship treaty does not exempt Japanese companies from American civil rights laws, plans for a first Heart Mountain reunion, a Day of local news from JACL chapters, and Reedley’s state baseball title.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Issei Saga and Pride of Aleuts Recalled at CWRIC Alaska Hearings, page 1. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians held hearings in Anchorage, Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands, hearing testimony from Aleuts and Japanese Americans about forced relocation during WWII. Witnesses like William Kimura and Vasha Golodoff described internment, lost property, and deaths caused by poor conditions during the war.}’s era.”},{“section”:”Incarceration & Redress”,”headline”:”placeholder”,”byline”:””,”page”:1,”has_photo”:false,”summary”:”placeholder.”}]} <– ignore, correcting below
• U.S. Kidnap of Japanese Peruvians Told at Chicago CWRIC Hearings, by Peter Imamura, page 1. At Chicago CWRIC hearings, witnesses and scholars described how the U.S. government abducted thousands of Japanese Latin Americans, particularly Peruvians, and interned them in American camps like Crystal City. Testimony included personal accounts from Elsa Kudo and Seiichi Higashide about forced labor, lost citizenship status, and family separation.
• Alaska Continued: Pioneer Issei and Aleut Histories Detailed, page 2. Additional testimony detailed the lives of Issei pioneers in Alaska, including Frank Yasuda, Harry Kawabe, and Fhoke Kaimori, who built businesses and communities before being swept up in the Evacuation. Researcher Ron Inouye called for CWRIC to fund further research and a permanent exhibit on the Alaska Native and Japanese American wartime experience.
• Chicago Hearings Continued: Community Analysis Section Scrutinized, page 2. Controversy arose over whether the WRA’s Community Analysis Section spied on internees, with professor Peter Suzuki alleging intelligence-gathering while former staffer Rachel Sady denied such intent. Commissioner Marutani expressed surprise learning he had been studied as a ‘guinea pig’ while interned.
• Sad Recollections of Evacuation Shared at Chicago Hearings, page 2. Numerous witnesses recounted painful personal stories of the Evacuation, including Tom Watanabe’s loss of his wife and twin children at Manzanar, and accounts of discrimination, illness, and family separation. Educators and camp internees also testified about the psychological and educational toll on children in the camps.
• Evacuation Continued: Kitazawa and Cooley Recall Wartime Internment and Aftermath, page 8. George Kitazawa recounted his experiences at Santa Anita Assembly Center and Manzanar, describing both the hardships and unexpected support he received from colleagues after returning East. Thomas Cooley added details about the exploitation of Japanese American farmland sales during internment and the inadequate postwar claims process.

National

• Friendship Treaty No Crutch to Skirt U.S. Civil Rights Laws, page 1. A U.S. District Judge ruled that the 1953 U.S.-Japan friendship treaty does not exempt Japanese corporations like Canon USA from U.S. civil rights laws. The ruling came in a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Canon sales manager who claimed he was fired for not being Japanese.
• 24 Camps for Boat People in Japan Now Overcrowded, page 8. Twenty-four temporary camps for Vietnamese refugees in Japan are seriously overcrowded due to a recent surge in ‘boat people’ arrivals, exceeding capacity by hundreds. Japan raised its resettlement quota but most refugees seek resettlement in the U.S. rather than Japan, complicating the situation as U.S. refugee policy shifts.

Community

• George Doizaki Pledges $100,000 to JACCC, page 1. Los Angeles businessman George J. Doizaki pledged $100,000 to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center to help pay off the building’s mortgage. The donation adds to his previous contributions and is part of ongoing fundraising efforts for the center’s theater and martial arts facility.
• Harry Fujita Achieves ‘Top of the Table’ Insurance Honors, page 3. Harry M. Fujita became the first Nisei to achieve ‘Top of the Table’ membership among the world’s life insurance agents, following 30 years in the industry. He was honored with a state resolution from Assemblyman Thomas Hannigan for his professional and civic contributions.
• First Heart Mountain Reunion Planned, page 3. Former internees of the Heart Mountain Relocation Center are organizing the camp’s first reunion, to be held April 2-3, 1982, at the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles. The event will include a banquet, dance, and auxiliary reunions for various high school classes and work departments from the camp.
• KQED Update Program and JA Exhibit Set, page 5. KQED-9’s ‘Update: Japanese American Internment’ program, produced by Jane Muramoto, will air in early October featuring host Belva Davis with guests including ACLU attorney and Dr. Clifford Uyeda. Separately, an exhibit on the Japanese American experience in California will be displayed at Loyola Marymount University’s library through October.
• Former Utahns Return for Gala Reunion in Salt Lake City, by Tomoko Yano, page 6. Nearly 200 Utahns and former Utahns gathered in Salt Lake City for a nostalgic reunion featuring a brunch and photo retrospective by Margaret Okubo. Mrs. Mary Sutow of Houston traveled the farthest to attend the reunion.
• Portland JACL Publishes Phone Book, page 6. The Portland JACL chapter published a telephone directory for the Japanese community covering the tri-county and Vancouver areas, the first such directory since 1977. The directory includes a chapter roster and business/church listings, with plans to update it every two to three years.
• East L.A. JACL to Fete Imperial Valley Issei at Retirement Home Event, page 6. The second annual Imperial Valley JACL golf tournament and award dinner will be held November 14 at Barbara Worth Country Club in Holtville, California. The event draws former Imperial Valley residents and families for golfing, touring, and a buffet dinner.
• Lodi Dedicates Japanese Community Hall, a 20-Year Dream, page 6. Lodi’s new Japanese Community Hall was dedicated before 350 guests, marking the culmination of a 20-year community effort led by Lodi JACL. Speeches were given by JACL President Kub Daijogo and Mayor Jim McCarty, with recognition given to donors and volunteers who contributed to the building project.
• Sakura Kai-EBJA Auction to Feature Asian-American Artists, page 6. The fifth annual Sakura Kai-East Bay Japanese for Action art exhibit and auction will showcase works from numerous Asian American artists at the El Cerrito Community Center. Proceeds support social services and recreational programs for Japanese-speaking elderly in the East Bay area.
• Parlier Buddhists to Mark 50th Year, page 8. Parlier Buddhist Church will celebrate its 50th anniversary on October 24 with a Chigo procession and banquet at the Reedley Community Center. Bishop Seigen Yamaoka will preside over the event alongside former resident ministers and current church leaders.
• UC Berkeley Women Alumnae Club Reunion Set for Campus, page 8. The UC Berkeley Japanese Women Alumnae Club is holding a champagne-cheese reunion to honor founders of its scholarship fund and award recipients. Since 1960, the club has awarded 21 scholarships and 13 fellowships funded by the sale of the Japanese Women Students Dormitory.
• Wendy Yoshimura ‘Off Parole’ Now, page 8. Author Lee Ruttle’s story on Wendy Yoshimura is being considered by a publisher amid renewed interest following a book on Patricia Hearst. Yoshimura is reported to be continuing work at a Juice Bar and teaching art in Japantown after coming off parole.
• Retirement Group Changes Its Name, page 8. The San Francisco group formerly known as the Committee for Pre-Retirement has renamed itself Nisei and Retirement, launching its 1981-82 program with a session on ‘Nisei and the Legal System’. Attorneys from Nihonmachi Legal Outreach discussed how cultural values like ‘haji’ and ‘shikataganai’ have kept many Nisei from exercising their legal rights.
• Visual Communications Moves Into JACCC, page 8. Visual Communications, a pioneering Asian Pacific American media organization, relocated its offices to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles. The new office is open for regular business hours at the center’s Room 309.

Commentary

• Friendship Treaty Ruling and Asian Self-Intimidation Editorial Excerpt, page 3. A reprinted editorial discusses how Asian Americans’ cultural tendency toward reticence and deference may limit political power and visibility compared to other minority groups. It argues that breaking from self-intimidation could help Asian Pacific communities gain greater opportunity in American society.
• Loyalty and Accommodation: Reflecting on JACL Leadership During WWII, page 4. This editorial column defends JACL’s wartime leadership decisions, including Mike Masaoka’s choices, arguing they were pragmatic responses to an impossible situation rather than moral failures. It contends blame belongs with the government that imposed incarceration, not the victims who sought to survive it.
• Quit Posturing, Hayakawa, by Aki Yoshimura, page 4. In a letter responding to Senator S.I. Hayakawa’s column opposing redress payments, the author argues Hayakawa cannot understand the Nisei wartime experience since he was not interned. The letter asserts that monetary redress is a legitimate request and criticizes Hayakawa’s invocation of the Pledge of Allegiance as self-righteous.
• Letterbox: Nisei GIs at Hoff General Hospital, by Jimmie Kanaya, page 4. A retired Army colonel recalls serving in the Medical Detachment with other Japanese American soldiers at Hoff General Hospital in early 1942, including being asked to translate Japanese characters on recovered artillery shrapnel. He notes plans for a reunion of Hoff Hospital Nisei veterans alongside the upcoming Nisei Veterans Reunion in Los Angeles.
• What Price Honor: $25,000, by Sen. S.I. Hayakawa, page 4. Senator Hayakawa argues against monetary redress for Japanese Americans interned during WWII, contending the relocation, while unjust, was understandable given wartime hysteria and that WRA head Dillon Myer worked to make conditions tolerable. He warns that redress demands could provoke backlash against Japanese Americans amid U.S.-Japan economic competition.
• An Opportunity to Name a Book, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa discusses the challenge of titling the forthcoming JACL history book commissioned by the Mas and Chiz Satow Memorial Committee, noting candidates like ‘The Gentle Rebels’ and ‘JACL: In Quest of Justice’. He invites readers to submit their own title suggestions by October 15, 1981, with the winner receiving an autographed copy.
• Musubi: Redress Process Has Given Nisei Dignity, by Ron Wakabayashi, page 5. National JACL director Ron Wakabayashi argues the CWRIC hearing process, despite criticisms, has allowed Nisei to establish their dignity through truthful testimony rather than insulting them. He calls for continued focus on the U.S. government’s failure to protect Japanese Americans’ constitutional rights rather than internal community blame.
• East Wind: Dutch Harbor, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Commissioner Bill Marutani recounts his visit to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, site of a 1942 Japanese bombing attack, describing the frontier town’s wartime remnants and the warmth of the Aleut people he met there. He reflects on the lasting impact of the visit and his reluctance to return.

JACL

• Regular CWRIC Scheduled Hearings Over; Wrap-Up Session Planned, page 3. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians concluded its announced hearing schedule across the West Coast, Alaska, and Chicago, with a wrap-up session planned for Washington D.C. and a possible hearing in New York. The commission, allocated $1 million, has yet to meet as a full nine-member panel.
• JACL National Board and Staff Meeting Set for Oct. 9-11, page 3. The JACL National Board and Staff will meet in San Francisco to review FY 1982 budget and membership plans along with updates on FY 1981 programs. National President Jim Tsujimura will preside with national director Ron Wakabayashi assisting.
• NYCC Meeting Addresses Youth Program Communication Issues, by Ron Taji, page 5. The National Youth Council met to address communication problems within JACL’s youth program, deciding to establish a national newsletter and youth directory. The council also discussed potential projects including a national hostel program and a career/job opportunities committee for youth.

In-Depth

• Pittsburgh Professor Fought Efforts to Stem Evacuation, page 3. Thomas Cooley, a former Justice Department official and later University of Pittsburgh law professor, recounted his efforts during WWII to oppose the Japanese American evacuation policy, including investigating and disproving allegations of radio communications with enemy ships. He also described resistance from FBI Director Hoover and Attorney General Biddle, who were overruled by the Secretary of War.

Arts & Entertainment

• Bookshelf: Jade, Vol. 4 Spotlights Asian American Writer Bill Lowe, by H.H., page 6. The latest issue of JADE magazine features an interview with Arizona Daily Star Pulitzer Prize reporter Bill Lowe, revealing his background as a Chinese American writer raised in Pasadena. The issue also covers the history of the Yamato Colony in Florida with vintage photographs.

Sports

• Reedley Wins Class A Baseball Title, page 8. Reedley JACL defended its Nisei Class A State Baseball Tournament championship in Lodi with three straight wins over Labor Day weekend, defeating San Fernando Aces 5-3 in the final. John Yoshiwara of San Fernando won the batting title while Reedley’s Bob Kiyomoto earned tournament MVP.

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