JACL’s long-range plan, hate crime law and safety of Asians in America

Vol. 95, No. 24, December 10, 1982. 8 pages. View this issue

The December 10, 1982 issue carried the news of a Japanese tourist, Kazumi Miura, who died a year after being shot in the head during a robbery in downtown Los Angeles. Other front-page stories covered a new Illinois law creating criminal penalties for hate crimes, harassment of Asian refugees in Washington state, and civil rights chairman Clarence Pendleton’s criticism of affirmative action. National JACL President Floyd Shimomura and Lillian Kimura wrote about the Long Range Planning Report adopted at the national convention, which set five goals for the decade, including membership growth and a $3 million endowment fund.

Also in these eight pages: Bill Hosokawa on U.S.-Japan relations, Bill Marutani on ethnic slogans, and Lia Shigemura on racism in film. A reader’s letter argued for individual reparations to Japanese Americans, and San Jose JACL began planning its 60th anniversary banquet for Feb. 19, 1983.

What’s in this issue

National

• Japanese Tourist Shot in L.A. Robbery Dies a Year Later, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Kazumi Miura, a Japanese tourist who was shot in the head during a robbery in downtown Los Angeles in November 1981, died on Nov. 30, 1982 in a Japanese hospital without ever reviving from her coma. The two robbers were never caught, and her husband has since urged fellow Japanese through the media not to visit the U.S.; meanwhile the LAPD canceled a planned tourist safety film over fears it would hurt tourism ahead of the 1984 Olympics.
• Bill to Halt Anti-Racial Crimes Is Signed by Illinois Governor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Illinois enacted House Bill 2391, creating criminal penalties for hate crimes based on race, color, creed, religion or national origin, including felony charges for mob violence and institutional vandalism causing over $300 in damage. The bill passed unopposed and takes effect January 1.
• Rights Chair Says Affirmative Action Leads to ‘Racial Spoils’ System, by P.C. Staff, page 1. U.S. Civil Rights Commission chairman Clarence Pendleton told University of San Diego law students that affirmative action programs have created a ‘racial spoils system’ and that he supports a policy of color-blind racial neutrality. He also praised Reagan’s economic policies as a way to grow the free enterprise system rather than relying on preferential programs.
• Final Testimony Is Presented in 6-Year Old Lockheed Bribery Trial, page 1. The Tokyo District Court trying former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka in the Lockheed payoff scandal heard its final witnesses nearly six years after the trial began, totaling 101 witnesses over the proceedings. Defense witnesses, including former houseboys, testified they never saw cardboard boxes containing bribe money being carried into Tanaka’s residence.
• IBM Denies Conspiracy in Hitachi Case, page 1. IBM chairman Frank T. Cary rebutted Japanese media claims that IBM conspired with the FBI to entrap Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric employees in an industrial espionage sting. Cary called the charges ridiculous and warned that industrial espionage, if unchecked, could become ‘a cancer’ crippling American industry.
• Japan’s New Prime Minister Stresses Self-Defense Needs, page 1. New Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone distributed a personal political paper to foreign governments arguing Japan should revise its pacifist constitution and build stronger self-defense capabilities rather than depend on U.S. military protection. Despite these personal views, a government spokesman stressed they were not his official policy, and Nakasone publicly denied plans to alter defense spending limits or the U.S.-Japan security treaty.
• Nakasone to Visit Washington in ’83, page 1. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone accepted an invitation from President Reagan to visit Washington on Jan. 18, 1983, delivered by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Former Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki also agreed to become supreme adviser of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
• Harassment of Washington State’s Asian Refugees on Rise, page 1. A public hearing in Seattle revealed growing physical harassment of Asian Pacific Americans in Washington state, particularly ethnic Chinese refugees, fueled by perceptions that Asians receive preferential treatment and take jobs from others. Testimony also highlighted families being split up to qualify for federal relief programs and poor affirmative action progress in schools.
• Refugees Face Harassment and Housing Crisis in Washington State, page 4. Continuing coverage of the Seattle hearing details that Asians make up 131,000 residents of Washington state, with about 32,000 refugees, facing housing crises and family separations due to relief program rules. The piece also notes poor affirmative action progress in the state’s education system despite Asians being the largest minority group of students.

Community

• L.A. Medical Pioneers Honored, page 2. The Japanese American Medical Association honored pioneering Nikkei physicians at its annual dinner in Los Angeles, including Dr. Denis Adler, Dr. Sakaye Shigekawa, Dr. James Yamazaki and others for decades of service to the community. A posthumous award was given to Dr. Thomas Nakao, who died Nov. 10.
• Nikkei Teen-Ager Dies in Boat Mishap, page 2. The body of 18-year-old Jerry Marumoto of Live Oak, California was recovered from the Feather River after he went missing during a Thanksgiving weekend hunting outing. Authorities believe his boat struck something, ejecting him into the water where he drowned.
• JACCC Begins Fund Drive to Dedicate Seats in Its Theater, page 3. The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center launched a fundraising drive to dedicate seats in its new theater, offering a Golden Circle for $5,000 donors and naming rights for $1,500 donors among the 841 permanent seats. The theater, costing about $6.25 million, will open in 1983 with a Living National Treasures exhibition and a Kabuki performance from Japan’s National Theater.
• N.Y. ‘Women’s Exchange’ Viewed as a Good Beginning, page 6. A program hosted by New York JACL brought together nearly 50 Japanese and Japanese American women to discuss cultural differences, isolation experienced by expatriate wives, and differing gender roles in Japan versus the U.S. Attendees agreed the session was a good first step and hoped for continued efforts to engage Japanese businessmen’s wives in future discussions.
• San Jose Prepares for 60th Yr., page 6. San Jose JACL is planning its 60th Anniversary banquet for Feb. 19, 1983 at the Le Baron hotel, with committees assigned for history, banquet, recognition, and other logistics. The chapter was founded in 1923 as the American Loyalty League under the late Dr. Hisaichi Nakahara.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nikkei’s Dance Company Gets Grant, page 2. The June Watanabe Dance Company, a modern dance company in Marin County, received a $10,000 grant from the Buck Trust via the San Francisco Foundation. The funding will support a performance of Paul Taylor’s ‘3 Epitaphs’ and Watanabe’s choreography on the Japanese American relocation experience titled ‘Herding.’

Obituaries

• Ex-Lions Int’l President Dies, page 2. A former Lions International president died of a liver ailment at Kyoto Katsura hospital at age unspecified, having been the first Japanese and Asian elected to lead Lions International in July 1981. He received the U.N. Prize for Peace after retiring from the Lions presidency and was a frequent visitor to San Francisco, notably planting a Japanese pine tree at McLaren Park in 1981.

In-Depth

• Japanese Nationals in N.Y. Prefer to Keep to Themselves, page 2. New York City’s Japanese population, estimated at 50,000-60,000, forms three distinct communities—business expatriates, Japanese Americans, and a loose community of artists and students—that rarely socialize together. The business community recreates a self-contained Japanese lifestyle through restaurants, bars, golf clubs and services, largely due to language barriers and strong ties to Japan.
• New York’s Japanese Community Continued, page 4. The article continues describing how Japanese expatriates in New York cluster in neighborhoods like Fort Lee, New Jersey, pay higher rents, and maintain a self-contained lifestyle revolving around Japanese customs, golf, and business entertaining. Experts attribute this insularity largely to language barriers and expatriates’ temporary mindset focused on their eventual return to Japan.

Military & Veterans

• Japanese-Canadian War Dead Honored, page 3. The S-20 and Nisei Veterans Association held its annual dinner in Hamilton, Ontario, observing a moment of silence for Japanese-Canadian war dead from both World Wars. Special guest Art Morimitsu of Chicago, who served with U.S. Military Intelligence in Burma, was thanked for inviting Canadian Nisei veterans to past American reunions.

Commentary

• Full Speed Ahead, by Floyd Shimomura, page 4. National JACL President Floyd Shimomura responds to a prior column questioning whether JACL has a long-range plan, detailing the Long Range Planning Report adopted at the Gardena Convention and the biennium planning process with specific committee goals. He outlines five decade goals including membership growth, a diversified financial base, and improved public relations for JACL’s image.
• Letter: Reparations and Moral Responsibility, by Moonray Kojima, page 4. A reader argues that the U.S. government should pay individual reparations to Japanese Americans similar to Germany’s payments to Jewish individuals, noting the irony that America still reveres Roosevelt despite his role in ordering internment. The writer contends Germany’s willingness to condemn Hitler contrasts with America’s reluctance to tarnish Roosevelt’s legacy.
• Letter: PCYA Correction, by Shirley Nakatsukasa, page 4. A letter from the Hoosier JACL chapter corrects an earlier article about Presidential Classroom for Young Americans, noting that the chapter sponsored student Michael Selby for the March 13-20 session. The original list of chapter sponsors had been incomplete.
• Asian Pacific Legal Defense and Education Fund, by John Saito, page 4. John Saito describes the founding of the Asian Pacific Legal Defense and Education Fund, which grew out of community support for Dr. Carole Fujita’s successful discrimination complaint against L.A. County. The organization now screens and supports discrimination complaints but needs more volunteers to keep up with demand.
• Probing the Issue of U.S.-Japan Relations, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa discusses a speech by Japan’s new San Francisco Consul General Takehiko Nishiyama, who posed questions about America’s future and the nature of U.S.-Japan relations within the Pacific Basin. Hosokawa notes Nishiyama’s hope for closer cooperation between the two nations and improved communication, contrasting this with past Japanese consular officials’ indifference toward Nisei.
• Racism in the ’80s, by Lia Shigemura, page 5. Lia Shigemura critiques the film ‘They Call Me Bruce?’ for reinforcing demeaning Asian stereotypes under the guise of comedy, arguing that lack of quality acting roles forces Asian American actors into self-denigrating caricatures. She also reflects on her personal journey of recognizing racism after moving to the mainland from Hawaii.
• Ethnic Slogans, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Bill Marutani discusses ethnic pride slogans like ‘Black is beautiful’ and recalls the Nikkei youth slogan ‘Yellow is mellow,’ pushing back on a Wall Street Journal claim that persistent ethnic identities represent a ‘failure’ of the melting pot. He also reflects on how Nisei have retained little traditional Japanese culture due to the demands of farm work and the trauma of World War II internment.

Incarceration & Redress

• 35 Years Ago in the Pacific Citizen, page 4. A historical recap from the Nov. 29, 1947 Pacific Citizen reports on House Judiciary subcommittee actions favoring permanent residency for three Issei, a bus accident involving Sansei preschoolers in Seattle, and job and housing bias against Nisei cited in a Denver human relations report. It also notes San Francisco’s Nikkei population nearing prewar levels of 5,000.

JACL

• National JACL Gets Grant to Support Health Fairs, page 6. National JACL received funding, potentially with Chevron contributions, to help chapters sponsor or co-sponsor community Health Fairs tailored to Asian American health needs like hypertension and stomach cancer screening. Chapters can receive up to $150 from National JACL per site, with professional coordination assistance from the National Health Screening Council for Voluntary Organizations.
• National JACL Long-Range Planning Report Revealed, by Lillian Kimura, page 6. Lillian Kimura, chair of the National JACL Long Range Planning Committee, details the committee’s multi-year process of surveys and interviews culminating in a report adopted at the National Convention. The report establishes JACL’s mission statement and five major goals for the decade, including membership growth, program activity, financial diversification, technology use, and public relations.
• Long Range Planning Report Recommendations Continued, page 7. The continuation of the Long Range Planning report outlines detailed strategies for achieving JACL’s five decade goals, including membership campaigns targeting Sansei and Yonsei, maintaining a Washington D.C. presence, pursuing a $3 million endowment fund called ‘Legacy for Japanese Americans,’ and exploring structural changes like a triennial convention cycle. It also lists the committee members who contributed to the report across various districts.

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