Immigration bill votes, Japanese Canadian redress and an editor’s farewell

Vol. 95, No. 13, September 24, 1982. 8 pages. View this issue

The House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 to keep the second and fifth visa preference categories in the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill, after Asian American organizations lobbied against their removal. Rep. Norman Mineta praised those groups, and the vote led the front page. Also on page 1, leaders of Canada’s Japanese Canadian community were weighing a push for redress over the WWII forced relocation of 21,000 people. Gordon Kadota of the National Association of Japanese Canadians described the confiscations in the continuation on page 2.

On the opinion pages, editor Harry Honda marked his 30 years with the paper as he handed the editor’s desk to Peter Imamura. Bill Marutani wrote about his East Wind column, and Bill Hosokawa compared two Fresno Bee editorials on Japanese Americans, one from 1943 and one from 1982. Readers also wrote about the Mitsue Takahashi case and about Nisei Week queen candidates of mixed ancestry. The issue also reported on a Chinese and Korean American march in Little Tokyo over Japanese history textbooks.

What’s in this issue

National

• House Judiciary Committee Votes to Retain 5th Preference, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Judiciary Committee voted 15-12 to retain the second and fifth visa preference categories in the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill, after Asian American organizations lobbied against their elimination. Rep. Norman Mineta praised the groups’ efforts and said he would have introduced legislation to reinstate the preferences had they been removed.
• Trade Hearings Open; U.S. Warns Japan to Ease Curbs, page 1. U.S. officials pressed Japan to relax import testing and customs procedures as monthly missions continued to encourage follow-through on a May trade announcement. James Bere and others noted negotiations were producing slow but incomplete progress reaching from top-level commitments down to practical customs actions.
• Wash. Post Against Local Content Bill, page 1. The Washington Post editorialized against a proposed local content bill requiring high percentages of U.S.-made components on imported vehicles, particularly targeting Japanese cars. The paper argued such protectionist legislation would shift jobs rather than create new ones, at the expense of export industry workers.
• Noguchi Hearings Draw to Close but Coroner Does Not Testify, page 2. Former Los Angeles County coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi decided not to testify in his own defense as Civil Service Commission hearings on his demotion concluded, with the hearings having cost taxpayers over $174,000. Expert witnesses including Dr. Cyril Wecht and Dr. George Genther testified in his defense, praising his reputation and noting budget issues contributed to department problems.
• Acquitted Chol Soo Lee Thanks Asian American Support Groups, page 3. Chol Soo Lee, acquitted in his retrial for a 1973 Chinatown murder, praised the Asian American community groups who supported him throughout the case. He expressed hope to work in the Asian community and help youth if released from prison while awaiting his appeal on a separate 1977 murder conviction.

Community

• Seattle Sansei Dies in Three-Car Crash, page 1. Thomas A. Egashira, 21, of Seattle died in a head-on collision on Interstate 90 near the Mercer Island bridge. Two passengers in his car were also injured, along with the driver of another vehicle involved in the crash.
• Chinese Protest in Li’l Tokyo Against Japan History Books, page 1. Chinese and Korean American groups staged a march through Little Tokyo protesting Japan’s revision of history textbooks that downplay wartime aggression toward other Asian countries. Organizers demanded immediate changes rather than waiting until 1985, and some threatened a boycott of Japanese goods.
• JACCC Library Names Director, page 1. Victor E. Okim, former head of the Library Science Library at Catholic University of America, was named director of the Franklin D. Murphy Library at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. Professor Yukio Fujino of Tsukuba University was also sent as a three-month consultant to the library on a Japan Foundation grant.
• 101-yr.-old Issei Survives Ordeal in Forest, page 1. Charles Nagahiko Mizunaga, 101, of Henderson, Colorado, survived a night alone in mountainous terrain near Boulder after wandering off during a family mushroom-gathering trip. He was found in surprisingly good condition after walking several miles trying to find his way out of the forest.
• Former Nisei Queen Responds to Rift Over ‘Mixed Ancestry’, page 3. Hedy Posey, the 1980 Nisei Week queen and Gardena Valley JACL candidate, wrote a letter defending her right to represent the Japanese American community despite being only 50 percent Japanese. She described facing prejudice from some Nisei and Sansei over her mixed heritage despite being raised deeply immersed in Japanese culture and language.
• Entertainment Industry Bias Probed, page 3. Los Angeles Human Relations Commission hearings examined minority employment in the entertainment industry, with testimony from Sumi Haru of the Screen Actors Guild and other industry representatives about poor representation of minorities on television. Numerous Asian Pacific American actors including George Takei, Pat Morita, and Mako endorsed the hearings.
• WLA Senior Citizen Appreciation Day Set, page 6. The Annual West Los Angeles Senior Citizen Appreciation Day will be held Sept. 25 at the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle, featuring a chicken dinner and the film ‘Wataridori’. The event is organized by the WLA JACL and Auxiliary.
• Downtown LA JACL Sells Theater Tix, page 6. Tickets are available through Downtown JACL for the play ‘The Music Lessons’ on Oct. 9, written by Wakako Yamaguchi and starring Nobu McCarthy. The production is being presented at Cal State L.A.’s Music Hall by the university’s Theatre Arts Department and Asian-American Theatre Arts Association.
• U.S.-Japan Communication Lecture Set, page 6. The Japan America Society of Southern California will present a lecture by author Jack Seward on improving communication between Americans and Japanese on Oct. 6. Seward has written numerous books on Japan including works examining the Japanese language and American attitudes toward Japan.
• UCLA Names Furutani Head of Asian Center, page 7. Long-time community activist Warren Furutani was offered the position of Student/Community Projects Coordinator at UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center. Furutani has been active since the 1960s with Seinan Senior Citizens Center, Services for Asian American Youth, JACL’s Community Action Program, the Manzanar Committee, and the Committee to Free Chol Soo Lee.
• Courtroom: Kathea Suzuki Awarded Damages, page 7. Kathea Suzuki, 34, of San Francisco was awarded $950,000 in damages by an Orange County jury after a 500-pound file cabinet was found defective, injuring her knee while she worked as a secretary in Santa Ana. The jury ordered the manufacturer, Supreme Systems Corp., to pay damages.
• Mary Matsumoto Elected to Lutheran Church Commission, page 7. Mary Matsumoto of Indianapolis was elected to the Commission on the New Lutheran Church by the Lutheran Church in America at its biennial convention in Louisville. She represented the Indiana-Kentucky Synod as one of 31 people elected from the 2.9 million-member denomination.
• Alaskan and Japan Cities Make ‘Sister Port’ Pact Official, page 8. Kushiro City, Japan and Seward, Alaska formalized a sister-port agreement following a February trade mission, with mayors exchanging gifts and expressing hopes for mutual prosperity and friendship. Alaska officials cited past beneficial agreements with Japan in pulp manufacturing and fisheries trade, including an upcoming purchase of 120,000 metric tons of bottomfish.

Incarceration & Redress

• Japanese Canadians to Seek Redress for WW2 Relocation, page 1. Leaders of Canada’s 45,000-member Japanese Canadian community are considering seeking financial compensation or an official government acknowledgement of wrongdoing for the WWII-era forced relocation of 21,000 Japanese Canadians. Community organizers plan to reach consensus across 16 centers this fall before approaching Parliament with a restitution plan.
• Japanese Canadians to Seek Redress (continued), page 2. Gordon Kadota, president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians, detailed the wartime confiscation of homes, farmland and fishing boats from Japanese Canadians forced into interior relocation camps starting in 1942. He cited a $25,000-per-internee figure from U.S. redress hearings as a possible starting point for Canadian compensation discussions.

Commentary

• For 30 Years, by Harry Honda, page 4. Editor Harry Honda reflects on his 30 years with the Pacific Citizen, recalling the paper’s early columnists and financial struggles, as he announces his transition from the editor’s desk to Peter Imamura. He plans to focus on other aspects of PC operations including subscriber lists and the PC Index and library.
• War, Not Peace, by Dr. Clifford Uyeda, page 4. Clifford Uyeda argues that war is fundamentally a license to kill innocent people, citing historical examples from the Crusades to Vietnam and Beirut. He calls for greater investment in prevention programs rather than war preparation.
• Canadian Nisei Vet, by James Oda, page 4. A letter to the editor clarifies that some 200 Canadian Japanese were later accepted for linguistic intelligence work despite earlier military exclusion. These veterans formed a group and sent delegations to Nisei Veterans reunions in Hawaii and elsewhere.
• ‘East Wind’, by Peggy Tanaka, page 4. A letter praises Bill Marutani’s ‘East Wind’ column for honestly conveying what JACL members wanted to hear about the organization. The writer thanks the Pacific Citizen for informing readers about JACL activities across its chapters.
• Masaoka Videotape, by G.I., page 4. A reader sent payment to obtain a videotape recording of Mike Masaoka’s address at the Gardena convention. The editor confirms the tape can be shown provided the TV set emits no hum.
• ‘Eurasian’ Queens, by Raymond Okamura, page 4. Raymond Okamura condemns ethnocentrism expressed by a previous letter writer regarding mixed-ancestry Nisei Week queen candidates, arguing that Japanese identity has always been composed of multiple ethnic origins. He argues Nikkei identity in America is bound by common nationality, language, culture and shared history rather than biological descent.
• Takahashi Case: A Statement, by Paul Okuye, page 4. Livingston-Merced JACL President Paul Okuye explains why the chapter does not support fired teacher Mitsue Takahashi, despite a National Council resolution backing her. The chapter argues the dismissal followed proper Stull Act procedures and recommends the resolution be tabled pending further assessment.
• A Glimpse Behind ‘East Wind’, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Columnist Bill Marutani reflects on years of writing his East Wind column, discussing reader feedback, the challenge of weekly writing, and his awareness that he may have offended some readers unintentionally. He describes a balancing act between engaging varied readership and avoiding offense while still addressing issues he feels deeply about.
• From Bitter Words to Better Words, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa contrasts a 1943 Fresno Bee editorial opposing the return of Japanese Americans with a 1982 Fresno Bee editorial supporting redress for wartime injustices. He illustrates how newspapers, like people, can grow and change their positions dramatically over decades.
• Mitsue Takahashi, by Lia Shigemura, page 5. JACL Program Director Lia Shigemura discusses the complexity of the Mitsue Takahashi case, noting the controversy over the Fresno chapter introducing the resolution rather than Takahashi’s own Livingston-Merced chapter. She calls for using the Pacific Citizen as a forum for open discussion involving all parties connected to the case.

Sports

• Oliver Sportsmanship Award Winner Named, page 6. Jon Ricki Yamada, a June graduate of Downey High School, was named winner of the 1982 Oliver’s Sportsmanship Award at a banquet. Yamada holds the school’s 100-yard butterfly record and received numerous awards and trophies.

JACL

• WDC Chapter Pays Up Pledge, page 6. The Washington, D.C. JACL chapter board authorized a check of $1,220 to National JACL to meet its initial pledge based on its 1981 JACL Redress Campaign commitment. The announcement was made by chapter president K. Patrick Okura.

Obituaries

• Margaret E.B. Fleming, page 6. Margaret E.B. Fleming, 91, of Pasadena, died Sept. 3 after decades of actively pursuing racial integration since the 1930s. She pressed for integration of swimming pools, worked with the NAACP, JACL, and Hadassah, and helped abolish sweatshops and pass child labor laws in her native Pittsburgh in the 1920s.

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