Redress goes before the Senate: the Aug. 16 hearing

Vol. 99, No. 9, August 31, 1984. 12 pages. View this issue

Redress was the main story of this 12-page issue. J.K. Yamamoto reported on the Aug. 16 Senate hearing, where Rep. Mervyn Dymally and Rep. Norman Mineta testified in support, and where Sen. Ted Stevens said his subcommittee had not yet reached a conclusion on the commission’s recommendation. Later pages followed the hearing with Sen. Alan Cranston and Arthur Flemming, and with the rebuttal to David Lowman’s claims about the Magic cables from JACL redress director John Tateishi and John Herzig. Sen. Daniel Inouye told the JACL convention banquet that an official apology would be harder to win than payments.

Other items include the Republican platform’s acknowledgment of the injustice of the World War II incarceration (often called internment), plans for the fifth Tule Lake pilgrimage on Sept. 21-23, and a Placer County vote endorsing redress. The paper also carried an NBC apology for using a racial slur on air, the Yankee Samurai exhibit at the USS Arizona Memorial, Bill Marutani and Bill Hosokawa columns, and Harry Honda’s Little Tokyo Life installment on chop suey houses.

What’s in this issue

National

• Members of Congress Testify for Redress, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. At an Aug. 16 Senate hearing, California Democrats Rep. Mervyn Dymally and Rep. Norman Mineta testified in support of redress legislation for Japanese Americans interned during WW2. Mineta gave emotional testimony about his family’s internment experience while Dymally compared the redress effort to the campaign for the Martin Luther King holiday.
• GOP Platform Acknowledges Injustice of WW2 Internment, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Republican party’s 1984 platform included a plank acknowledging the injustice done to Japanese Americans during WW2 internment, included through the efforts of delegate Stephen Nakashima. Nakashima also successfully pushed for expanded coverage of minority issues in the platform.
• NBC Regrets Usage of ‘JAP’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. NBC SportsWorld producer Terry Ewert apologized to Seattle Chapter JACL after using the term ‘JAP’ to describe a Japanese diver’s nationality during a July broadcast. The chapter’s anti-discrimination committee chair had written to object and suggest the abbreviation ‘JPN’ instead.
• Diet Members Visit U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 1. Eight members of Japan’s Diet toured the Salinas Valley agricultural region as part of a ten-day U.S. trip, hosted by Rep. Leon Panetta. The group paused for a moment of silence at a memorial commemorating the WW2 internment of area Nikkei.

Incarceration & Redress

• Cables Prove Nisei Disloyal, Insists Ex-Officer, page 1. At the Aug. 16 Senate hearing, former NSA intelligence officer David Lowman argued that decoded Magic cables proved Japanese Americans engaged in espionage during WW2, while JACL redress director John Tateishi rebutted each of his claims. Tateishi argued the cables showed intent rather than actual espionage and that no Nikkei were ever convicted of spying.
• U.S. Will Balk at Giving Apology to WW2 Internees, Inouye Says, page 3. Sen. Daniel Inouye told the JACL convention Sayonara Banquet that while Congress may approve monetary compensation for internees, an official government apology would be much harder to obtain. He also discussed the need to fight racism against all minority groups, not just Asian Americans.
• Pilgrimage to Segregation Center Set, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Four Bay Area community groups are organizing the fifth Tule Lake pilgrimage scheduled for Sept. 21-23, including campsite tours, workshops, a cultural program and memorial service. Registration fees range from free for young children to $40 for regular attendees, covering transportation, meals and lodging.
• Restoration of Camp Memorial to Begin, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A metal fence will be installed around the Japanese Garden of Memories at Sherwood Park in Salinas to protect it from vandalism following its dedication on the anniversary of Executive Order 9066. The Salinas JACL is seeking tax-deductible donations to help the city cover restoration costs.
• Senate Hearing Continued: Cranston and Flemming Testify, page 8. Sen. Alan Cranston testified at the Aug. 16 Senate hearing that the WW2 internment was the worst mass violation of civil rights besides slavery, recounting his personal opposition to the policy in 1942. Former CWRIC member Arthur Flemming also restated his support for the commission’s redress recommendations.
• Cables Rebuttal Continued: Herzig Challenges Lowman, page 8. Retired Army counter-intelligence officer John Herzig refuted David Lowman’s claims about the Magic cables, arguing the evidence was circumstantial and that selective application of loyalty standards would have also implicated German and Italian Americans. Herzig read a resolution from his WW2 unit honoring Japanese American soldiers’ sacrifice despite their families’ internment.
• County Supervisors Call for Monetary Compensation, by Roy Yoshida, page 9. Placer County’s board of supervisors unanimously passed a resolution endorsing JACL’s redress program and recommending $20,000 compensation for internment survivors. Testimony included accounts from Marshal Hike Yego and JACL leaders about the economic and personal devastation caused by the WW2 internment.

Community

• Publishers Pull Objectionable Material from State Schoolbooks, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 2. June Kizu of United Teachers of Los Angeles successfully pressured two publishers to remove offensive content about Japanese Americans from elementary school textbooks, including the word ‘Jap’ and a photo of S.I. Hayakawa that was replaced with one of Rep. Norman Mineta. The effort demonstrates how community advocacy can lead to swift changes in educational materials.
• Aging & Retirement: Masuda Survey Ready for Release, by Harry Honda, page 6. A national JACL committee on aging and retirement discussed the late Dr. Minoru Masuda’s survey of elderly Nisei in Seattle during a convention workshop. Findings showed Nikkei community ties strengthen with age and that Nisei have less demand on their children compared to the Issei generation.
• Chapter Pulse: Selanoco and Watsonville, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Selanoco Chapter will again sell teriyaki and wonton at the Orange International Street Fair as its biggest annual fundraiser. Watsonville, Monterey and Salinas chapters’ seniors gathered for the third annual Tri-County Seniors Picnic honoring over 160 deceased community members.
• Issei Railroad History Room Part of UP Depot Restoration, by Harry Honda, page 9. Intermountain District Council JACL delegates met in Jackpot, Nevada, discussing chapter activities including the restoration of Ogden’s 25th St. railroad station with a room dedicated to Issei railroaders. The group also visited the Minidoka Relocation Center site, noting how it has changed since WW2.
• Little Tokyo Life (No. 31): Chop Suey Houses, by Harry Honda, page 12. This installment of the Little Tokyo Life series recalls the numerous Japanese-owned chop suey restaurants that once dotted Little Tokyo before WW2, with reader Kay Tateishi reminiscing about family dinners and a street preacher. Harry Honda also notes Nisei Week honorees including Shintaro Fukushima, who helped raise funds for the JACCC Japan America Theatre.

Commentary

• Bakappei, by Bill Marutani, page 4. In this East Wind column, Bill Marutani reflects on regional Japanese dialect words he heard as a child, including the mysterious term ‘bakappei,’ which he associates with Issei gambling on kanji character games. He also recounts his own brief and costly introduction to dice gambling in the army.
• Keeping Track, page 4. This editorial reprinted from the Roseville, Calif. Press-Tribune praises the Placer County board of supervisors for endorsing redress for Japanese American WW2 internees. It argues that monetary compensation is justified given the severity of the injustice and that survivors deserve a tangible apology.
• Translation by Computer, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. In this From the Frying Pan column, Bill Hosokawa examines the challenges of machine translation between Japanese and English, citing examples of garbled computer-generated text. He concludes that human translators will remain necessary for the foreseeable future given the complexity of idiomatic and contextual language.
• Mission from Sao Paulo, by Chuck Kubokawa, page 5. A Guest Corner column describes a visit by a Sao Paulo Nikkei youth baseball team to Northern California, hosted by Sequoia Chapter JACL members, including games, cultural events, and sightseeing. The author discusses the possibility of a future international baseball tournament involving teams from Brazil and the U.S.
• Nomination of Candidate by Outgoing President ‘Improper’, by Fred Hirasuna, page 7. A letter to the editor criticizes outgoing JACL National President Floyd Shimomura for making a nomination speech for Frank Sato as his successor, arguing that the national president should remain impartial in campaign activities. The writer clarifies that most CCDC chapters actually voted for the opposing candidate Yasui despite an endorsement list suggesting otherwise.
• Two Noguchis, by Dunbar Morris, page 7. A letter writer notes that the Pacific Citizen had not covered the story of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, a renowned medical researcher honored with a new Philadelphia institute, and also highlights a recently completed Isamu Noguchi sculpture in Philadelphia commemorating Benjamin Franklin’s experiments. The writer suggests both stories would interest PC readers.
• Why No Letters?, by Miki Fukumoto, page 7. A reader writes to ask why the Pacific Citizen lacks a Letters to the Editor section, suggesting it could help engage younger Asian Americans with JACL. The writer hopes the paper could serve as a vehicle for the Asian American community’s political voice and cover more local cultural events.

JACL

• Resolutions Considered by National Council, page 6. The JACL National Council passed numerous resolutions at its Aug. 17 meeting in Honolulu, covering topics from redress reporting requirements to opposition to the Simpson-Mazzoli bill and support for the Equal Rights Amendment. The council also rejected resolutions on NHK’s series and reduced membership fees for new seniors.
• Mineta, Redress Leaders to Speak at Film Screening, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Pacific Southwest District JACL will present the documentary ‘Nisei Soldier’ along with a redress panel discussion featuring Rep. Norman Mineta and other redress leaders on Sept. 22 in Gardena. A bento supper and discussion with 442nd veterans will accompany the screening.

Military & Veterans

• MIS Exhibit Opens at USS Arizona, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Yankee Samurai photographic exhibit depicting the Military Intelligence Service Nisei’s role in WW2’s Pacific Theater was dedicated at the USS Arizona Memorial Museum. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, himself an MIS veteran, gave the keynote address, and new photographs from Washington archives were added to the exhibit.

Arts & Entertainment

• Sano Elected Methodist Church Bishop, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Roy Isao Sano became the second Asian American ever elected bishop of the United Methodist Church, assigned to the Denver area covering four states. The former Pacific Citizen contributor and Mills College chaplain was elected during a historic conference that filled all vacancies with ethnic minorities.

Obituaries

• Canada’s Oldest Issei Man Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Tokiji Kiyono, believed to be the oldest Issei man in Canada, died at age 101 on June 30 in New Denver, B.C. Funeral services were held July 5, and Kiyono had lived in Cumberland, B.C. before the 1942 evacuation.
• Minoru Okabayashi, Houston Issei Farmer-Gardener, Dies at 87, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Minoru Okabayashi, who came to the U.S. in 1917 and became a naturalized citizen in 1955, died Aug. 6 in Houston. He worked as a gardener for arts patron Ima Hogg in the 1930s and is survived by multiple children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

In-Depth

• Too Much Meat Causes Nikkei Ill Health, by P.C. Staff, page 12. A Hiroshima medical team led by Dr. Michio Yamakido studied Big Island residents of Hiroshima descent, finding higher rates of heart disease and colon cancer compared to their relatives in Japan. Researchers attributed the difference to dietary habits, particularly higher consumption of animal fats in the U.S.

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