Redress bill co-sponsors, a detained student, and school input in Seattle

Vol. 103, No. 8, August 22, 1986. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress was the thread through much of this eight-page issue. Grayce Uyehara reported that John Hayashi, a participant in JACL’s Washington Leadership Program, won Rep. Robert Young as the 140th co-sponsor of redress bill H.R. 442. Bill Hosokawa praised the volunteer lawyers behind the coram nobis cases of Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu and Minoru Yasui. Newly elected JACL President Harry Kajihara wrote about the work ahead, including the chapter redress pledges. The front page also carried Seattle Superintendent William Kendrick’s response to Asian community demands, and the case of Choichiro Yatani, a graduate student held without bail under the McCarran-Walter Act.

Inside are J.K. Yamamoto’s report on the coalition against California’s English-language initiative, Proposition 63, and Harry Honda’s coverage of the Nikkei sports festival in Mexico City. Bill Marutani’s column continued his search for names in a 1943 Tule Lake photograph. Other pages covered the Japanese American Service Committee’s 40th year in Chicago and a talk by Dr. Arthur Flemming at the JACL Convention’s aging workshop.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Supt. Meets With Asians, Responds to Calls for Input, page 1. Seattle School Superintendent William Kendrick agreed to form a broadly based multicultural management council after Asian community leaders demanded more input into school administration decisions. The council will include administrators, principals and students, and Kendrick also promised Asian involvement in addressing low achievement test scores among Asian students.
• Sac’to LEC Fundraiser Planned, page 1. Sacramento Community College auditorium will host a Legislative Education Committee fundraiser on Nov. 29 featuring George Takei and Lane Nishikawa, with Congressmen Robert Matsui and Norman Mineta invited to speak on redress bill H.R. 442. Jerry Enomoto chairs the organizing committee with Mary Tsukamoto as vice-chair.
• Nagao of Seabrook Eulogized, page 1. The 1986 Seabrook JACL Installation and Graduate Recognition Banquet opened with a surprise presentation to Charles Nagao of a New Jersey State Assembly resolution posthumously honoring his wife Mary Chiyoko Yamashita Nagao. Mary Nagao, who died in 1985, was a longtime Seabrook JACL member and was named 1984 Outstanding Senior Citizen in New Jersey by Gov. Thomas Kean.
• Scholar Looks at Chinatown, Little Tokyo Societies, page 2. Stanford Lyman, a sociology and Asian studies professor at New School for Social Research, published a book examining power, conflict and community among Chinese and Japanese immigrants in Chinatown and Little Tokyo. The book is based on ethnological fieldwork in San Francisco’s Chinatown and historical documents about family formation and clan societies.
• Asian Drug Program Gets Donation, page 2. The Nikkei Lions Club donated $1,000 to Asian American Residential Recovery Services (AARRS) and Haight Ashbury Medical Clinic’s Bill Pone Memorial Unit, two San Francisco drug treatment programs. AARRS, the only residential drug treatment program in Northern California specifically for Asians, has served more Asian clients in its first year than all other residential programs in San Francisco combined.
• Nissan Presents Truck to AADAP, page 2. Nissan Motor Corp. USA presented a King Cab truck to the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) in Los Angeles for use in youth and community assistance programs. AADAP provides residential, outpatient and prevention/education services for substance abuse at its Crenshaw Blvd. location.
• Get Involved, JA Seniors Told, by Jane Kaihatsu, page 3. Dr. Arthur Flemming, keynote speaker at the JACL Convention’s Aging and Retirement Workshop, stressed that involvement is key to a meaningful retirement and encouraged seniors to pursue second careers and volunteer work. Flemming, a former HEW Secretary and Wartime Relocation Commission member, urged Nisei to take responsibility for passage of redress bill H.R. 442.
• Honolulu Chapter Plans Scholarship Luncheon, page 6. Honolulu JACL will hold its annual scholarship luncheon Sept. 13 featuring a forum with congressional candidates Neil Abercrombie, Mufi Hannemann, and Pat Saiki, all chapter members, discussing redress and other issues. The event will be held at Flamingo Chuckwagon.
• Fresno Chapter Drops American Loyalty League Name, page 6. Fresno Chapter JACL, established in 1923 as the first JACL chapter, has dropped ‘American Loyalty League’ from its name. Sansei members suggested the change because the old name no longer reflected the chapter’s commitment to civil rights for all people regardless of ethnicity.
• Seabrook Chapter Installs New Officers, Honors Graduates, page 6. Seabrook JACL installed Misono Miller as new chapter president, succeeding Gregory Ono who served three consecutive terms, and recognized numerous scholarship recipients including the first Mary C. Nagao Scholarship winner Jill Otani. The banquet also included remarks from Eastern District Council Governor Mike Suzuki and a moment of silence for the chapter’s first president, Vernon Ichisaka, who died in 1985.

JACL

• D.C. Conferee Lands Co-Sponsor, by Grayce Uyehara, page 1. A participant in JACL’s Washington Leadership Program, John Hayashi, successfully lobbied Rep. Robert Young (D-Mo.) to become the 140th co-sponsor of redress bill H.R. 442. Young serves on several House committees and represents Missouri’s 2nd District.
• Let’s Show Some Respect to Staff, by Yosh Nakashima, page 5. JACL VP of General Operations Nakashima discusses open staff positions at national headquarters and calls for better treatment and communication regarding JACL staff amid budget constraints. He urges leadership to communicate responsibly and proposes publishing job descriptions for volunteers and staff to improve understanding.
• Here’s What We’re Doing, by Harry Kajihara, page 5. Newly elected National JACL President Harry Kajihara outlines early tasks including filling roughly 35 committee chair positions and developing a Program for Action per the National Constitution. He also reports on the chapter redress pledge status, noting $40,340 received toward a $60,000 loan repayment goal due Sept. 30.

National

• Japanese National Kept in Detention by Provision of McCarran-Walter Act, page 1. Choichiro Yatani, a Ph.D. candidate at SUNY Stony Brook, was detained without bail after returning from the Netherlands due to alleged subversive activities under the McCarran-Walter Act. Yatani denies ever being a Communist Party member, saying his only past infraction was participating in a 1968 anti-Vietnam War protest in Tokyo.
• Foes of California English Initiative Form Coalition to Prevent Passage, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. A coalition of Asian, Latino and civil rights organizations launched a campaign against Proposition 63, which would make English California’s official language, fearing it would curtail multilingual services and create an anti-immigrant atmosphere. Speakers at press conferences across the state, including JACL representatives, argued the measure was vaguely worded and could invite lawsuits against bilingual programs.
• Detainee: Paradoxical Twist in Immigration Law, page 3. Immigration lawyers noted a paradox in Choichiro Yatani’s case: had he entered the U.S. illegally he would have more legal rights than he does as a legal entrant denied bail. Yatani’s advisor said he was close to completing his Ph.D. thesis on Japanese business management when he was detained.

In-Depth

• Chicago Agency Now in 40th Year, page 3. Japanese American Service Committee (JASC) in Chicago marks its 40th anniversary Aug. 30, having grown from a $9,000 budget in 1946 to nearly $1 million today. Originally the Chicago Resettlers Committee helping JAs released from WW2 camps, JASC now offers elder care, youth services, and immigrant assistance programs.

Commentary

• Asian Groom Catalog, by Bob, page 4. In a humorous column, the author proposes starting an ‘Asian groom catalog’ business as a joke response to controversial Asian bride catalogs, soliciting reactions from friends. Responses ranged from skeptical to amused, with the author concluding with a tongue-in-cheek offer regarding a typesetter fund donation.
• Aging Workshop Continued: Making the System Work, by Jane Kaihatsu, page 4. Continuing coverage of Dr. Arthur Flemming’s address, he cited the Save Our Security group’s successful grassroots lobbying effort on Social Security as a model for redress advocacy. He was presented with a samurai doll by the Aging and Retirement Committee in recognition of his support for redress and JA issues, after which other workshop topics including Sansei care for aging parents were discussed.
• Diminishing Hands Across the Desert, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Marutani continues his effort to identify individuals in a 1943 Tule Lake camp photograph, aided by readers Mollie Yasutake Fujioka and Aki Saito Yasutake who provided names of family members pictured. The column traces the Saito family’s roots to Gumma-ken, Japan, and reflects on the historical significance the photo may hold for future generations.
• Credit to the Nation, by Judd C. Kramer, page 4. A Jewish WW2 veteran writes to express admiration for Japanese Americans’ wartime sacrifices and bravery despite their unjust internment, comparing their treatment to persecution of Jews under Hitler and Stalin. He urges the U.S. government to publicly acknowledge the wrong done to Japanese Americans and provide restitution.
• Yoneda Speaks Out, by Karl Yoneda, page 4. Karl Yoneda responds to a previous letter from Professor Peter Suzuki, detailing violent incidents involving pro-fascist ‘Manzanar Black Dragon’ Kibei agitators who threatened his family during WW2 internment. He defends his wartime reporting of these individuals to authorities and notes the Communist Party USA has since admitted its errors regarding the evacuation.
• Volunteers for Justice, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa praises the volunteer legal teams who took on the coram nobis cases reopening the wartime convictions of Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Minoru Yasui after Prof. Peter Irons discovered suppressed government evidence. He highlights attorney Kathryn Bannai’s leadership in coordinating the effort, now continued by Rod Kawakami as the Hirabayashi case heads to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Convention Aftermath, by Henry Sakai, page 5. Former PC Board Chair Henry Sakai criticizes the National Board’s decision to limit subscription increases, arguing Pacific Citizen needs higher rates to cover rising postal costs and expand the newspaper. He calls for better communication from National JACL to the membership and urges continued support for the PC Typesetting Fund and LEC redress fundraising.

Sports

• U.S., Latin American Nikkei Athletes ‘Go for the Gold’ in Mexico Sportsfest, by Harry Honda, page 6. The 11th International Nikkei Sports Festival held in Mexico City Aug. 7-9 drew over 300 athletes from five countries, with Brazil winning most medals in track & field, judo, table tennis, swimming and tennis. American athlete Rick Noji broke personal and festival records in the high jump, broad jump and triple jump.

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