Redress debate, Hong Kong immigration and a 12-page spring issue

Vol. 100, No. 11, March 22, 1985. 12 pages. View this issue

The front page carried UC regent Yori Wada’s remarks at Fresno State: he called the WW2 incarceration (often called internment) “an evil action,” yet opposed monetary redress. Redress ran through the issue. Transcripts of the 989-page HR 4110 hearings were released, and the new Legislative Education Committee, with Minoru Yasui as chairman, planned a fund drive for redress lobbying. Letters and a column by Bill Marutani argued the question from several sides. Rep. Norman Mineta also introduced an immigration bill to raise the yearly quota for Hong Kong residents from 600 to 5,000.

Elsewhere in the issue, Robert Shimabukuro wrote about a Hyster Co. ad campaign that drew protest, and Bill Hosokawa traced the history of tofu. Two travel features by Rafael Bouffard covered Alaska and China. Chapter news came from Contra Costa, New England, Fremont, Marin County and Gardena Valley.

What’s in this issue

National

• Bay Area Leader Speaks Against Redress, page 1. UC regent Yori Wada told a Fresno State audience that while he views WW2 internment as an evil action, he opposes monetary redress for former internees. Wada, a former internee himself, argued that younger generations have thrived and that America has repaid through the lives Japanese Americans now live.
• Discrimination Complaint Filed Against L.A. County, page 1. Two longtime Los Angeles County Health Service Dept. employees, Thomas Ohgi and Wallace Shishido, filed a class action complaint alleging they were repeatedly passed over for promotion due to race. They have initiated proceedings with the California Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing and may file a lawsuit if unresolved.
• U.S. May Clean Up Bikini Atoll, Site of Nuclear Tests, page 1. The Reagan Administration may remove radioactive topsoil from Bikini atoll, site of 23 U.S. nuclear weapons tests through 1958, pending congressional approval. Lawyers for the Justice Dept. and the 1,200 islanders agreed to dismiss the Bikinians’ lawsuit seeking a cleanup.
• Hong Kong Immigration Bill Introduced, page 1. Rep. Norman Mineta introduced a House bill to raise the yearly immigration quota for Hong Kong residents from 600 to 5,000, calling the existing colonial quota antiquated and discriminatory. The bill addresses urgency ahead of Britain’s 1997 transfer of Hong Kong to China and has support from Illinois senators Paul Simon and Alan Dixon.
• Okawara Assesses U.S.-Japan Relations, page 1. Departing Japanese Ambassador Yoshio Okawara gave a farewell speech in Los Angeles assessing five years of U.S.-Japan relations, calling the image of Japan as a closed market outdated. He attributed trade imbalances largely to the overvalued dollar and urged both nations to focus on shared interests rather than transient irritants.
• Protests Stop ‘Charlie Rum’, page 2. A Detroit TV station dropped a pseudo-Asian caricature character called ‘Charlie Rum,’ played by a white host, following protests from American Citizens for Justice and others including Rep. Robert Matsui. The character had used stereotypical makeup and accented speech, prompting comparisons to past anti-Asian incidents in Michigan.

Commentary

• Hyster Ad Campaign Attacked, by Robert Shimabukuro, page 1. Hyster Co.’s 1984 ad campaign for its new lift truck, featuring menacing images of sumo wrestlers, kabuki warriors and samurai, drew protest from Japanese Americans including project engineer Max Ozawa and attorney Philip Tajitsu Nash. The piece details the company’s history of inflammatory anti-Japan rhetoric despite relying on Japanese suppliers and components for the product itself.
• Then, Everybody Would Be a Success, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Columnist Bill Marutani reflects on Issei values of diligent effort (doryoku) as a model for continuing the redress struggle through further rounds of advocacy. He argues that Japanese Americans must persevere despite lack of unanimity or discouragement, as their honor and integrity as a nation are at stake.
• Color Blind Gov’t Urged, by Ken Masugi, page 4. A letter to the editor responds to J.K. Yamamoto’s criticism, arguing that Japanese American welfare is better served by protecting individual civil rights rather than asserting ethnic group rights. The writer contends that a color-blind government should be the political goal rather than race-based redress legislation.
• Turner Confused, by Frank M. Takahashi, page 4. A letter responds to J.L. Turner’s earlier letter, arguing there is no parallel between Turner’s treatment as an American POW of Japan and the unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese American citizens during WW2. The writer, whose parents died in camps while his brothers served in the U.S. Army, argues redress is warranted despite no amount of money compensating for the humiliation suffered.
• Turner Misinterpreted, by Christine Froechtenigt, page 4. A letter argues that J.L. Turner’s original letter was mischaracterized, as his point was about the general risks of wartime discrimination rather than equating internment with POW treatment. The writer suggests Turner’s actual argument was against the practicality of redress decades later, not an insensitive comparison.
• JATC Is For You, by Henry Sakai, page 5. JATC chairperson Henry Sakai explains the origins and mission of the Japanese American Travel Club, founded with Tyler Tanaka to provide quality, reasonably priced tours for Japanese Americans nationwide. He emphasizes that the club aims to benefit members and the community rather than maximize profit, inviting support and tour suggestions.
• Flying and Friendship in the Far East, by John Ball, page 5. Author John Ball recounts witnessing the first Pan American Clipper flight from Treasure Island as a young man and reflects on how air travel has transformed from a rare adventure to a common experience. He emphasizes the joys of traveling with friends and describes a meaningful shared silent moment with a stranger at a Kyoto rock garden.
• The Tasty Contribution of Commodore Perry, by Bill Hosokawa, page 9. Columnist Bill Hosokawa traces the history and growing American popularity of tofu, noting its Chinese origins roughly 2,000 years ago and its introduction to Japan about 1,000 years ago. He discusses modern tofu production statistics and credits Commodore Perry with bringing soybean seeds from Japan that seeded America’s soybean industry supplying most of Japan’s tofu production today.
• ‘I Think I’m Turning Hakujin’, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 9. The article examines growing mainstream media attention to ‘Asian Westernization’ surgery performed by Dr. Ronald Matsunaga to make Asian eyes and noses appear more Occidental, a procedure that has become increasingly popular including in Hawaii. A dissenting Sansei source calls the practice atrocious, arguing it reflects societal pressure to conform to an anglicized standard of beauty rather than genuine choice.

Incarceration & Redress

• HR 4110 Transcripts Released, page 2. Transcripts of congressional hearings on redress bill HR 4110 before the House Judiciary Subcommittee have been released, totaling 989 pages of testimony from 1984. The record includes statements from members of Congress, Commission on Wartime Relocation members, and opposition testimony from Karl Bendetsen, John McCloy and David Lowman.

Arts & Entertainment

• Glaciers, Ghost Towns and Cities Built on Poles: Awesome Alaska, by Rafael Bouffard, page 5. A travel feature describes an Alaskan cruise through the Inside Passage, highlighting Wrangell, Juneau’s Mendenhall Glacier, Skagway’s Gold Rush history, and Ketchikan’s Creek Street and totem poles. The piece promotes a 7-day JATC cruise departing July 19, 1985 aboard the S/S Daphne.
• The Land That Time Forgot in Golden China, by Rafael Bouffard, page 7. A travel feature describes the Golden China tour, highlighting the discovery of the Terracotta Army near Xian in 1974 and the legacy of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. The piece also covers Xian’s Ban Po Museum, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and other historic sites included in the 21-day tour.

Community

• Contra Costa Chapter Hosts Sushi Benefit, page 6. The Contra Costa JACL chapter is hosting a sushi benefit on March 31, offering boxes of norimaki and inarizushi for a $5 donation. Reservations can be made with Jack Imada before March 29.
• New England Chapter Plans Peabody Museum Tour, page 6. New England JACL is organizing a special tour of the Japanese collection at the Peabody Museum of Salem on March 31, featuring the newly opened ceramic art exhibit of Kyoto potter Maseyuki Imai. The tour will be led by museum curator Jack Thayer, with reservations arranged through Margie Yamamoto.
• Fremont Chapter and Buddhist Church Host Nikkei History Program, page 6. The Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church and Fremont JACL are co-sponsoring an educational program on local Nikkei history on March 22, featuring speakers Dr. Walter Hashimoto and Mas Yamasaki. Violet de Cristoforo will share her WW2 camp experiences, and Morgan Yamanaka will discuss redress issues.
• Marin County Chapter to Screen Nisei Retirement Video, page 6. Marin County JACL is screening Emiko Omori’s ‘A Tale of Nisei Retirement,’ produced by the JACL National Aging and Retirement Committee and featuring actor George Takei, on March 22 at the Marin Buddhist Church. Aging expert George Yoshida will moderate a discussion following the screening, free of charge.
• Gardena Valley Chapter to Hold Miss Gardena Valley JACL Competition, page 6. Gardena Valley JACL will hold the formal introduction and competition for Miss Gardena Valley JACL on March 24 at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center, featuring four candidates including students from Cal State Long Beach, Cal State LA, and USC. The winner will go on to compete in the Nisei Week competition in August.

Obituaries

• ‘Miss Sheldon’ Remembered by Former Students, by Sachi Seko, page 7. Mabel Sheldon Williams, former English teacher at Butte High School in the Gila internment camp, died March 5, 1985 at age 90 in Boulder, Colorado. The tribute recounts her decades of missionary work in India after the war, her lasting bond with former Nisei students, and the educational endowment fund she established for impoverished children in India.

JACL

• Legislative Education Committee Plans Massive Fund Drive for Redress Lobbying, by Minoru Yasui, page 9. The Legislative Education Committee (LEC), an independent corporation formed because JACL cannot engage in substantial lobbying without risking tax-exempt status, convened in San Francisco to plan a nationwide fund drive aiming to raise $400,000 annually for redress lobbying. The board elected officers including Minoru Yasui as chairman and outlined plans to hire a professional Washington lobbying firm and mobilize grassroots efforts.

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