Redress, the Korematsu appeal and a new legislative year

Vol. 98, No. 1, January 6, 1984. 32 pages. View this issue

Redress ran through this 32-page issue. The front page reported that the Department of Justice would appeal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel’s ruling vacating Fred Korematsu’s wartime conviction. Ron Wakabayashi’s Musubi column looked ahead to a pivotal legislative year, and Minoru Yasui urged Japanese Americans to ask 1984 candidates where they stood. Corrected charts showed JACL chapter redress pledges for FY1984, Marshall Sumida wrote on Public Law 503 and Executive Order 9066, and William M. Marutani examined the euphemisms used for the World War II incarceration (often called internment).

The front page also carried a federal ruling on equal pay for comparable work in Washington state. Inside are a year-in-review chronology, Peter Irons on new findings in the wartime court cases, scholarship applications, officer installations, a membership contest, and Yasuo Wakatsuki’s research on Japanese emigration to the United States.

What’s in this issue

National

• U.S. Court Orders Washington State to Award Women ‘Equal Pay for Comparable Work’, page 1. A federal judge ruled that Washington state must pay an estimated $839 million in back wages to employees in traditionally female jobs who were paid less than men for comparable work. The state argued the ruling would be economically devastating and said it would appeal.
• Vietnam Vets Held for Burning Buddhist Shrine, page 1. Three Vietnam veterans were arrested for allegedly burning down a Buddhist shrine in Northampton, Massachusetts on New Year’s eve, reportedly in revenge for the Tet offensive. Authorities said a small local Vietnamese community was not believed to be in danger despite rumors of planned attacks.
• Rep. Matsui Believes Grenada Mission Right, page 1. Rep. Robert Matsui, after a ten-day trip through the Caribbean, concluded that the U.S. invasion of Grenada was justified, though he criticized the Reagan administration’s press censorship during the operation. He said Grenada’s neighbors appreciated the American action and that students were genuinely in danger.
• Sen. Matsunaga Suffers Heart Attack, page 1. Sen. Spark Matsunaga (D-Hawaii) was hospitalized at Bethesda Naval Hospital after suffering a mild heart attack and was expected to remain there about 10 days. He has served in Congress since 1962 and sits on several key Senate committees.
• State Must Pay in Dental Exam Case, page 3. A federal judge ruled that Hawaii must pay most of $152,000 in attorney fees awarded to lawyers representing white dental applicants who alleged race discrimination by state officials. The 1976 case concerned examination practices after statistics showed Asian Americans passing at higher rates.

Community

• Supremacist Students Threaten Violence, page 1. A white supremacist group called the White Student Union at Sacramento City College has stepped up recruitment and threatened violence if its demands for equal campus privileges are not met. The group distributed flyers questioning demographic trends and demanded an apology from the Los Rios Community College District.
• Idaho Farm Bureau State Board Names First Nikkei Director, page 2. Pat Takasugi, a 34-year-old Wilder, Idaho farmer, was elected to a two-year term as Southwest Idaho District director of the Idaho Farm Bureau. He has an extensive record of leadership in agricultural organizations and served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret captain.
• Altrusa Club Honors Past JACL Vice Pres., page 2. Lily Okura, the first woman vice president of national JACL, was honored by the Altrusa Club of Washington, D.C. for her community leadership, including her work at the Meyer Therapy Center for Handicapped Children.
• Six Nikkei Artists Win California Grants, page 2. The California Arts Council awarded six grants to Japanese American artists for fiscal year 1983-84 out of 115 total recipients statewide. Recipients included Fran Murakami, Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, Nobuko Miyamoto, June Kuramoto, Mako Horiuchi, and Chinatsu Higashi.
• Architect-Woodworker Nakashima Awarded Order of Sacred Treasure, page 2. George Katsutoshi Nakashima, 78-year-old architect and furniture designer, was awarded Japan’s Third Order of the Sacred Treasure medal, matching an honor his journalist father received years earlier. Nakashima also received the Distinguished Citizen Award from Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
• ‘Justice’ Author Irons Tells of New Findings, page 3. Prof. Peter Irons, author of “Justice at War,” spoke at a San Francisco community forum about documents he uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act showing the government withheld, altered and destroyed key evidence in the wartime cases of Hirabayashi, Yasui and Korematsu. The forum was sponsored by several Japanese American organizations including Golden Gate JACL.
• Pacific Business Bank ‘In Organization’ Still, Says California Banking Dept., page 3. The California State Banking Department issued corrections to a previous Pacific Citizen article, clarifying that Pacific Business Bank has not yet received its charter or license and does not yet offer banking services. The department also corrected errors regarding board membership and the nature of an FBI background check.
• Matsunaga Expresses Concern at U.S.-Japan Aging Meeting, page 3. Sen. Spark Matsunaga told participants at the first US-Japan Conference on Aging that Congress must address long-term care for the elderly given America’s aging population. He cited statistics showing dramatic increases in the proportion of elderly Americans over the past two centuries.
• Epic Movie Set for Retirement Home Fund, page 3. A premiere screening of the Japanese film “Chiheisen” (Horizon), a $4 million epic about an Issei immigrant, will be held in Los Angeles with proceeds benefiting the Japanese Retirement Home’s rebuilding program. The film is based on director Kaneto Shindo’s own sister’s story as a picture bride.
• Bay Area Bar Association to Install New Officers, page 3. The Asian Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area will install its officers and directors at its seventh annual dinner, featuring California Attorney General John K. Van de Kamp as speaker. He will address violence against racial and ethnic minorities.
• South Bay Area Bar Group Installs 1984 Board, page 3. The Asian Pacific Bar Association of the South Bay Area installed Steven Nakano, public defender for Santa Clara County, as its president with California Chief Justice Rose Bird as keynote speaker. A special presentation was made to founding president John Fukasawa.
• Chronology: A Year in Review (Nov. 1982-Dec. 1983), page 9. A detailed chronological listing recounts major Japanese American community events throughout 1982 and 1983, including redress developments, JACL activities, government appointments, and civil rights milestones. Entries span from county reparations ordinances to the Korematsu coram nobis case and various community commemorations.

Incarceration & Redress

• Government Appeals Korematsu Decision, page 1. The U.S. Department of Justice filed notice of its intent to appeal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel’s ruling that vacated Fred Korematsu’s wartime conviction. Korematsu’s petition had alleged the government altered and suppressed evidence showing Japanese Americans posed no military threat.
• Redress Phase Five: Query Candidates Regarding Redress, by Minoru Yasui, page 6. Yasui urges Japanese Americans to question 1984 Congressional and Senate candidates about their redress positions, providing detailed analysis of Senate races where AJA votes could be decisive. He outlines which Republican seats are vulnerable and could potentially flip the Senate to Democratic control, aiding redress legislation’s chances in 1985.
• JACL Chapter Redress Pledges for FY1984 Corrected Charts, page 6. Corrected charts show JACL chapter redress fundraising pledges and amounts received across national districts as of early January 1984, with the FY1984 goal set at over $129,000. The National Board authorized accelerating spending of a three-year budget into two years given the urgency of pending redress legislation.

Military & Veterans

• Veterans Pooling Efforts for National ‘Pro-Justice’ Resolution from VFW, page 3. Nisei VFW Posts in California and other veterans groups are pushing for a 1984 VFW convention resolution to prevent future anti-redress statements like one made by former VFW commander James Currieo. The Nisei VFW has formed a Resolutions Committee and is holding fundraising events to support the effort.
• Veterans Ad. to Allow Plants on Punchbowl, page 3. Buddhists in Hawaii will now be permitted to leave potted plants on graves at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific during Hana Matsuri and O-Bon holidays. Sen. Spark Matsunaga had sought this exemption since 1980 from a VA policy restricting floral arrangements to Christian holidays.
• Nisei Fought in Philippines, by Arthur Morimitsu, page 7. In a letter responding to an anti-redress resolution from a Filipino American veterans group, Morimitsu details the extensive contributions of Japanese American soldiers in the Pacific theater, including intelligence work critical to the Battle of the Philippine Sea. He emphasizes that Nisei soldiers, including some who volunteered from internment camps, served honorably and should not be conflated with Japanese nationals.

Arts & Entertainment

• Under the Eucalyptus Tree, by Ernest Michio Matsunaga, page 3. A poem recounts a Nisei man’s lifelong journey from an idyllic prewar childhood through wartime incarceration and the persistent racist “Ugly Chant” he internalized, ultimately finding peace in affirming his identity as a unique human being. The poem traces his marriage, family life, and eventual resolution of decades of internalized trauma.
• Kabuki Medea: A Drama Review, by Gerri Igarashi Yoshida, page 10. Shozo Sato’s “Kabuki Medea” at Chicago’s Wisdom Bridge Theatre blends traditional kabuki staging and costume with Greek tragedy, featuring a powerful performance by Barbara Robertson as Medea. The review highlights the production’s feminist reinterpretation and its universal themes of love, betrayal, and revenge across cultures.

Commentary

• Letters: ‘A Flat-Out Lie’ and Other Reader Responses, by Various, page 4. A reader disputes an Asian Week claim about a first-ever Chinese-named public school, noting Seattle’s Wing Luke School predates it by years; PC staff corrected the record on Wing Luke’s biography. Another letter criticizes JACL members who compare fingerprinting objections to civil disobedience of Gandhi and King.
• Musubi: A Resolution 42 Years in the Making, by Ron Wakabayashi, page 4. Wakabayashi reflects on the Nikkei community’s redress campaign entering a pivotal legislative year, noting the progress made through the CWRIC commission, coram nobis cases, and Congressional legislation. He calls on the community to ensure history does not repeat itself as it did in 1942.
• From the Frying Pan: On Telling a Friend Who’s Guilty of Racism, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa recounts a conversation with a Caucasian friend uneasy about his daughter working in Japan due to lingering wartime prejudice, despite not having similar concerns about Germany or Italy. Hosokawa confronts his friend about the racist underpinnings of his fears, noting they reveal a widely shared but unacknowledged bias.
• Amerika Monogatari: Widening the Gap Between Nihonjin and Nikkeijin, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 5. Yamamoto critiques the NHK drama “Amerika Monogatari,” a four-part series on Japanese American history that aired in Japan, for its melodramatic and inaccurate portrayal of Japanese American experiences including internment and interracial marriage. He draws parallels to the current controversy over “Sanga Moyu” and argues more JA input is needed in Japanese media productions about Nikkei.
• East Wind: Some Brief Glimpses, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Marutani shares observations from his fourth trip to Japan, noting the Japanese cultural practice of touring their own historical and scenic sites in large groups, contrasted with fewer American tourists visiting similar U.S. landmarks. He also comments on Japanese cleanliness and some instances of nighttime inconsiderate behavior by fellow travelers.
• Letter: Redress Pledge Figures Misleading, by George Kondo, page 6. George Kondo, Regional Director for N. Calif./W. Nev./Pacific, writes that the published redress pledge figures misrepresent chapter funding formulas and could disadvantage chapters’ fundraising efforts. He details specific calculation discrepancies affecting Sacramento and Marysville chapters.
• Letters to the Editor: Uninformed Viewers, Explanation Needed, Mondale a Disaster, and More, by Various, page 11. Multiple readers respond to prior PC articles on topics including the “Sanga Moyu” controversy, the novel “Futatsu no Sokoku,” political endorsements for Mondale, honoring fallen Ranger Mark Yamane, and calls for a superpower summit at Hiroshima. A researcher also requests postal materials from the WWII incarceration period for an exhibit.
• Travel Notes: U.S. Christians in Japan, by Joanne H. Kagiwada, page 13. Kagiwada recounts a three-week trip to Japan with her husband for Disciples of Christ 100th anniversary celebrations in Akita and Tokyo, along with visits to Hiroshima and Kyoto. She reflects on cultural observations, language barriers, and a visit to Hiroshima’s Peace Museum with survivor-director Yoshitaka Kawamoto.
• Cliff’s Corner: Life in Navaholand, by Dr. Clifford Uyeda, page 13. Uyeda details the Navajo Tribe’s long struggle to acquire land promised under the 1974 Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act, along with ongoing exploitation by energy companies and high unemployment on the reservation. He also discusses Navajo Tribal Chair Peterson Zah’s efforts toward inter-tribal unity and press independence for the Navajo Times.
• JACL and United States-Japan Relations, by Mike M. Masaoka, page 18. Masaoka argues JACL should carefully develop a U.S.-Japan relations program emphasizing education, including advocating for Japanese language instruction and balanced history curricula in American schools. He cautions JACL against becoming a “front” for Japan while urging increased funding and professional support for the initiative.

JACL

• Installations of 1984 Officers, page 7. Multiple JACL chapters including Carson, East Los Angeles, French Camp, Gresham-Troutdale, Puyallup Valley, Sacramento, Salinas Valley, Watsonville, and West Valley are holding officer installation dinners in January 1984. The listings detail installing officers, new chapter officers, and special guest speakers for each event.
• Scholarship Applications Available, page 8. Applications for the 38th year of JACL’s scholarship program are now available, with 40 scholarships totaling more than $50,000 to be awarded in 1984. Five new scholarships funded by the California Japanese Alumni Association will go to University of California students, tracing back to the historic Euclid Hall dormitory for Nikkei students.
• Mountain Plains Conducts Employment Workshop, by Ronald Shibata, page 8. The Mountain Plains District Council held its meeting in Houston featuring a workshop on employment discrimination conducted by consultant Norman Ishimoto, with participants sharing their own discrimination case experiences. The council also addressed district leadership changes and youth program funding.
• ‘Where Are We on Redress?’ Chicago Town Meeting, by Eddie Sato, page 10. Minoru Yasui addressed a Chicago JACL town meeting on redress strategy, emphasizing the need to demonstrate support for Congressional co-sponsors of redress bills. Yasui also spoke at the Chicago JACL’s 39th annual installation dinner, urging Nisei to make their “last hurrah” in the fight for redress justice.
• Membership Contest Begins, page 11. National JACL Vice President for Membership Rose Ochi announced a membership recruitment contest offering six $250 prizes to chapters with the largest percentage and numerical membership increases. Districts exceeding base-year membership will also receive incentive awards, with winners announced at the 1984 convention in Honolulu.
• Chevron Awards Health Fair Grant to JACL, page 11. National JACL received a minority health fair grant from Chevron U.S.A. for the second consecutive year to facilitate health education and outreach in Asian and Asian American communities. Chapters are encouraged to sponsor health fairs with monetary and promotional assistance from National JACL.

Obituaries

• Necrology: November 1982 – December 1983, page 9. A comprehensive necrology lists numerous Japanese American community members who died during this period, including journalists, veterans, business leaders, and civic figures. Notable entries include publisher Akira Komai, Senator Henry Jackson, and PFC Mark Yamane who died in combat in Grenada.

In-Depth

• Public Law 503—More Dangerous than EO 9066, by Marshall Sumida, page 9. Sumida argues that Public Law 503, which criminalized disobedience of military orders against Japanese Americans, represented a more dangerous constitutional violation than Executive Order 9066 itself by giving the military unprecedented jurisdiction over civilians without martial law. He contends this set a dangerous precedent that could theoretically be used against any group in the future, and calls for accountability of the officials who advocated the policy.
• Amerasia Journal Explores History and Contributions of Immigrants, page 12. The current issue of Amerasia Journal examines Chinese American emigrant remittances to China, Indochinese refugee resettlement patterns in Orange County, and Japanese labor diplomacy efforts by Suzuki Bunji in the early 20th century. The issue also features poetry by Japanese American poet Toyo Suyemoto.
• Issei Reveal Life in Oral History Interviews, by Eileen Sunada Sarasohn, page 12. The Issei Oral History Project released “The Issei: Portrait of a Pioneer,” a composite oral history drawn from 32 of 200 interviews documenting first-generation Japanese immigrant experiences from Japan to internment camps and beyond. The project began in 1969 and also completed interviews for the Sacramento-area Walerga Project.
• Emigration of Japanese to the United States, by Yasuo Wakatsuki, page 17. Wakatsuki’s extensive research examines which Japanese prefectures sent the most emigrants to the United States in the early 20th century, finding that Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Kumamoto, and Okinawa accounted for the largest shares. He explores and largely debunks theories linking emigration to poverty, tenant farming, or regional traditions, instead finding stronger correlation with declining industrial crop production and coincidental historical factors.
• Tyranny by Terminology, by William M. Marutani, page 18. Judge Marutani examines how euphemistic terms like “voluntary evacuation,” “relocation,” and “repatriation” obscured the reality of forced removal and imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII. He traces the legal history from Executive Order 9066 through the Hirabayashi and Korematsu Supreme Court decisions, arguing for historical accuracy in describing these events.

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