Hosokawa’s JACL history, the Wakamatsu tribute and IBM case fallout

Vol. 95, No. 4, July 23, 1982. 12 pages. View this issue

The front page of this issue turned to Bill Hosokawa’s new book, “JACL in Quest of Justice,” in a piece by Harry Honda on the Denver Post’s praise for it. Alongside it ran news of the JACL Tribute to Shig Wakamatsu, with Noboru Honda named toastmaster for the Aug. 11 awards luncheon at the National JACL Convention. The Pacific Citizen also reported on the IBM sting case involving Hitachi and Mitsubishi employees, including the dropped charges against Tomizoh Kimura and the ethnic attacks in U.S. trade journals. A Ninth Circuit ruling on INS factory raids was covered as well.

Inside are columns by Bill Hosokawa on the book “Go for Broke” about the 100th Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and by Sachi Seko on Yoshiko Uchida’s memoir “Desert Exile.” Senator Daniel K. Inouye’s speech at the veterans reunion, JACL scholarship winners, and a new Tule Lake book also appeared.

What’s in this issue

JACL

  • ‘JACL Story’ Viewed as Aid for New Americans, by Harry Honda, page 1. Denver Post editor William Hornby devoted his July 11 Sunday column to praising Bill Hosokawa’s new book ‘JACL in Quest of Justice,’ calling it an organizational history that parallels the struggles of other immigrant groups seeking acceptance in America. Hornby notes the book raises questions relevant to new immigrant groups whose own JACLs are yet to be organized.
  • Tribute to Wakamatsu Effort Succeeds, Says Committee Chair, page 1. Contributions to the JACL Tribute to Shig Wakamatsu have slowed but the campaign chaired by Jack Nakagawa has been deemed a success, with a net balance of over $10,000 as of July 6. Noboru Honda of Chicago will serve as toastmaster at the Aug. 11 awards luncheon ceremonies honoring Wakamatsu at the National JACL Convention.
  • Chicago Scholarships Fete 25th Year, page 6. Nearly 100 people attended a luncheon celebrating the 25th anniversary of Chicago JACL Chapter Scholarships and Awards, featuring speeches by chapter president Jane Kaihatsu and former recipient Joyce Hieshima. Ten scholarship recipients were honored at the Heiwa Terrace event.
  • SF JACL Awards $1,000 Scholarships, page 6. Robert Hazemoto of Lowell High School and Karl Ochi of George Washington High School were named winners of $1,000 San Francisco JACL scholarships for 1982. Both achieved high academic honors and plan to attend prestigious universities, with San Francisco JACL increasing its scholarship amounts from $500 to $1,000 each.
  • Congratulations, 1982 JACL Scholarship Winners, page 7. Multiple JACL scholarship winners are profiled including recipients of the Sumitomo Bank, Col. Walter Tsukamoto Memorial, Majiu Uyesugi Memorial, and other named scholarships. Winners include National Merit Finalists heading to top universities including Stanford, Yale, MIT, and Dartmouth.
  • Tale of Two Men from One City: Togo Tanaka and Minoru Yasui, page 9. The article contrasts the post-incarceration paths of Togo Tanaka, who became a successful businessman with little public redress activism, and Minoru Yasui, who became a prominent redress advocate and human rights commissioner in Denver. Both men experienced wartime arrest and incarceration but took vastly different approaches to addressing that history publicly.
  • 1982 Convention Corner: The 341 Early Birds, page 9. Convention Registrar May Doi reported close to 350 people have pre-registered as ‘early birds’ for the National JACL Convention in Gardena, representing an interesting mix of attendees from around the country. The list is being published to encourage local participation given limited seating at special events.

Sports

  • Nisei Enters Softball Hall of Fame, page 1. Nancy Ito of Westminster, California was enshrined in the National Softball Hall of Fame on June 26, becoming the first Nisei to enter any hall of fame. Ito played softball for 25 years with the Orange Lionettes, participating in 18 national championships and later became a trainer at Goldenwest College and Cal Poly Pomona.

National

  • U.S. Appellate Court Rules INS Raids Violate Constitutional Rights, page 1. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that immigration raids on garment district factories searching for illegal aliens violated workers’ constitutional rights, in a case involving 1977 raids. The court found that INS factory surveys involved unconstitutional seizures through indiscriminate questioning of workers without individualized suspicion.
  • Charges Against Mitsubishi Worker Dropped in IBM Case, page 1. The Justice Department dropped charges against Mitsubishi Electric technician Tomizoh Kimura, who was arrested with 13 others in an alleged conspiracy to obtain IBM trade secrets, after concluding evidence was insufficient. Hitachi officials said they would not recommend their nine summoned employees appear in federal court at San Jose in the ongoing IBM sting case.
  • Noguchi Case Costly for County, page 3. Legal fee hearings for suspended Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi were expected to begin, with the county already incurring nearly $110,000 in legal fees. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn called the costs outrageous and the case could eventually cost the county close to $1 million if appealed.
  • Asian/Pacific Bar Assns. Criticize Changes to Immigration, page 3. Asian/Pacific bar associations representing over 800 attorneys in California joined to oppose provisions of the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill pending before Congress. The groups objected to elimination of family reunification preferences, employer sanctions, compulsory work permits, and local enforcement of immigration laws.

Community

  • Canadian Nikkei Protest ‘Jap’ Label, by George Imai, page 1. The Japanese Canadian Bar and Professional Association and the Toronto Japanese Canadian Citizens Association protested Eaton’s use of a ‘Jungle Jap’ label on shopping bags in their Signature Shops. The groups expressed hope that Eaton’s will quickly withdraw the offensive label and not use it again.
  • JA Presbyterian Churches Send ‘Tsuru’ Peace Message to U.N., page 1. Representatives of 18 Japanese Presbyterian churches presented the newly elected Moderator of the United Presbyterian Church with 18,000 paper cranes formed into two trees as a peace symbol. The presentation included the story of Sadako, a Hiroshima bombing victim who folded cranes before her death in 1956, inspiring a tradition of folding cranes for peace.
  • Blacks, Asians Fighting Crime in S.F.’s Hunters Point Area, page 2. Southeast Asian refugee families in San Francisco’s Hunters Point housing projects have been targets of robbery and violence, with half of 25 families surveyed reporting attacks since November. Officials said the issue is not racial but criminal elements preying on vulnerable residents, including elderly black residents who have also been victimized.
  • JACCC Main Gallery Named for Doizaki, page 2. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center Board voted to name its Main Gallery the George J. Doizaki Gallery in memory of the late JACCC president who died May 8. Doizaki served as JACCC president for eight terms and led construction of the cultural complex in Little Tokyo before his death.
  • Gyo Fujikawa Designs 3rd U.S. Stamp, page 2. California-born Nisei artist Gyo Fujikawa designed her third U.S. postage stamp, the 20-cent International Peace Garden commemorative issued June 30 at the U.S.-Canadian border. The stamp commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 2,300-acre garden spanning both countries.
  • J.A. Historical Society Formed in So. Cal., page 2. A new Japanese American Historical Society of Southern California will hold a meeting July 30 featuring a slide show on prewar Nisei Week celebrations from 1934. The nonprofit group aims to accumulate and preserve Japanese American history, with membership dues ranging from $5 to $25.
  • Peking Duck Controversy Settled, page 3. Governor Edmund Brown Jr. signed an emergency measure exempting Chinese-style roast duck from health code fines, settling a dispute between Chinatown restaurant operators and county health inspectors. The centuries-old method of hanging duck at room temperature can now continue legally in California.
  • Suspected Church Arsonist Booked, page 3. A 47-year-old handyman with a history of mental problems was booked in connection with a series of fires that destroyed the Gardena Buddhist Church and damaged others in the area over two years. John Alden Stieber pleaded not guilty to charges of setting 11 church fires, reportedly telling police he did so ‘for religious reasons.’
  • Matsui Keynotes Parkview’s 70th Yr., page 10. The Parkview Presbyterian Church of Sacramento will celebrate its 70th anniversary at a banquet on Sept. 4, featuring Rep. Robert Matsui as keynote speaker.

Commentary

  • IBM Case Prompts Racist Attacks from Trade Journals in U.S., page 1. The IBM/FBI sting case involving Hitachi and Mitsubishi employees prompted ethnic attacks in U.S. trade publications, including a Daily Commercial News column comparing the case to Pearl Harbor and calling it a ‘sneak attack.’ Fortune magazine used the headline ‘Japscam’ for its story on the case, a term that originated in Tokyo newspapers.
  • By the Board: Convention Issues, by Henry Sakai, page 4. JACL National Board member Henry Sakai provides background on key convention issues including finances, membership trends, redress funding, and the Washington office debate for delegates to consider. He notes JACL has reduced borrowed funds from $120,000 to $47,500 and membership has dropped from a 1977 peak of 31,620 to 26,615 in 1981.
  • From Happy Valley: Newest Book at Top of the Stack, by Sachi Seko, page 4. Columnist Sachi Seko reviews Yoshiko Uchida’s new memoir ‘Desert Exile,’ praising it as more than a memoir of a gifted Nisei writer’s family experience during the WWII incarceration. Seko reflects on how the book skillfully portrays prewar family life and camp hardships while serving as a cultural bridge for younger generations.
  • East Wind: A-Yoi-yoi, Yo-ya-Sato!, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Columnist Bill Marutani describes attending an o-bon festival at the Seabrook Buddhist Church featuring Sansei taiko drummers and bon-odori dancers from the New York Bukkyo-kai. He reflects on the joy of finally experiencing this East Coast tradition after years of hoping to attend.
  • Washington Wrap-Up: Shades of Gray, by Ron Ikejiri, page 5. JACL Washington Representative Ron Ikejiri discusses the need for Asian/Pacific Americans to increase political visibility, citing Congressman Norman Mineta’s comments on the importance of political engagement. He argues JACL must develop community leaders capable of handling complex policy issues in the coming biennium.
  • Kokekokko: ‘Japanese Camps’, by George Kondo, page 6. Columnist George Kondo recounts speaking to a seventh-grade class about Japanese American internment, correcting the misnomer ‘Japanese Camps’ used by the teacher. He shares touching letters from students expressing gratitude for learning this overlooked part of American history.
  • Chief Justice Warren and the Japanese Detention Cases, by M.M. Sumida, page 8. This column examines Earl Warren’s role as California Attorney General in advocating for the WWII evacuation of Japanese Americans, arguing he was a pawn of a political and business ‘Power Bloc’ seeking to eliminate Japanese economic competition. The author contends Warren violated the 14th Amendment by acquiescing to Executive Order 9066 and Public Law 503.
  • Sumida: Warren and the Japanese Detention Cases (continued), by M.M. Sumida, page 12. This continuation piece further details how California’s political ‘Power Bloc’ and Governor Olson’s administration violated constitutional protections by acquiescing to military orders against Japanese Americans without declaring martial law. The author argues Public Law 503 created an unconstitutional choice for citizens between concentration camps or jail.

In-Depth

  • Tokyo Historian Seeks Battle of Midway Veterans, Kinsfolk, page 2. Japanese historian Hisae Sawachi is researching the human side of the Battle of Midway, trying to locate relatives of Japanese and American dead to document their lives for a Sunday Mainichi series. She hopes to visit Midway Island itself despite Navy restrictions and health problems from childhood rheumatic fever.
  • Minka En: A View from a Recliner Chair, by Jin Konomi, page 10. Columnist Jin Konomi describes Minka En, the Garden of People’s Houses museum in Kawasaki City, Japan, which preserves traditional farmhouses relocated from across the country. The column explores the history of anonymous craftsmen who built these homes and Japan’s postwar appreciation for folk architecture and crafts.

Military & Veterans

  • ‘Go For Broke’: A Motto in Book Form, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Columnist Bill Hosokawa reviews the new book ‘Go for Broke’ about the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, produced by combat veteran Chester Tanaka with 240 photographs and personal recollections. The book honors the courage and sacrifice of Nisei soldiers who fought for America while their families were incarcerated.
  • Inouye’s 6 Steps to Reduce Tensions for War, by Senator Daniel K. Inouye, page 8. In a speech at the 100/442/MIS National Veterans Reunion kickoff luncheon, Senator Daniel Inouye outlined the dangers of nuclear war and proposed six concrete steps to reduce world tensions, including establishing crisis communication networks and freezing strategic weapons at SALT II levels. Inouye emphasized that nuclear war decisions would be made by emotional humans, not computers, making ‘limited nuclear war’ a dangerous illusion.
  • Seabrook Installs Nagao for 2nd Term, page 9. The Seabrook chapter installed officers with Nagao serving a second term, with Dr. Richard Ikeda of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania serving as toastmaster. The event featured a keynote speaker discussion of chapter activities.

Obituaries

  • Rev. Hogen Fujimoto, 63, page 6. Rev. Hogen Fujimoto, rinban of the Sacramento Betsuin, died July 10 after his health began failing earlier in the year; he was to have been honored at a testimonial dinner. Born in Brawley, California and educated in Santa Barbara, Fujimoto was a founder of the Buddhist Sangha Award for Boy Scouts and is survived by his wife and two sons.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Grand Kabuki Well Received, page 10. The Grand Kabuki troupe made its debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York as part of a four-week U.S. tour sponsored by the Japan Society, featuring 77 top artists including Living National Treasures. The New York Times praised the troupe’s actors as ‘indisputably on a rarefied level’ during their July performances.

Incarceration & Redress

  • Tule Lake Comm. to Introduce New Book, page 12. The Tule Lake Committee published a new book titled ‘Kinenhi, Reflections on Tule Lake,’ containing interviews with former internees and staff members of the camp. A book party introducing the publication was held July 24 at Christ United Presbyterian Church in San Francisco.
  • ‘Survivors’ Film to Air on PBS-TV Aug. 4, page 12. The documentary film ‘Survivors,’ about Japanese American atomic bomb victims, will air on PBS stations August 4. Produced by Steven Okazaki and Frances Politeo in association with JACL, the film features interviews with Hibakusha survivors.

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