Redress bill delays, Asian Pacific students and Los Angeles elections

Vol. 104, No. 13, April 3, 1987. 12 pages. View this issue

Redress and elections shared the front page. The Senate redress bill now had 66 co-sponsors, but its introduction and the House hearing on H.R. 442 were both postponed, according to Grayce Uyehara of JACL-LEC. Edna Ikeda reported on the ninth annual Asian Pacific Student Union conference at UC San Diego, where nearly 500 people heard a tribute to the late Minoru Yasui. J.K. Yamamoto covered two Los Angeles races: Warren Furutani’s school board contest and Arthur Song’s run in the 10th District.

Elsewhere are notice of the 18th annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 25, news of new JACL scholarships and internships, and an item on a benefit concert for the National Council for Japanese American Redress. Bill Hosokawa’s column “Second Chance” is on page 4, a survey of JACL singles is on page 5, and page 10 reports on USC’s new Nikkei Seniors Wellness Center, with Little Tokyo Service Center among its supporters.

What’s in this issue

Community

• AP Students Discuss Issues in Education, by Edna Ikeda, page 1. Nearly 500 students and community members attended the ninth annual Asian Pacific Student Union statewide conference at UC San Diego, the largest APSU conference ever. Speakers addressed stereotypes, education access, and anti-Asian sentiment, with a tribute given to the late Minoru Yasui.
• Oakland Councilman Ogawa Plans to Run for Sixth Term, page 1. Veteran Oakland City Councilman Frank Ogawa announced he will seek a sixth four-year term in the April 21 election. Ogawa, the only Asian and one of two Republicans on the council, cited economic development and public safety as his top priorities.
• Incumbent Tries to Tie Furutani With Scandal, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. In the Los Angeles Board of Education District 7 race, incumbent John Greenwood accused challenger Warren Furutani of accepting campaign contributions from businessmen implicated in a scheme to steal from the school district. Furutani rebutted the allegations, noting the money was donated before the scandal became public, and has gained significant endorsements including Councilman Mike Woo.
• Asian Candidate Building a Coalition in ‘Black District’, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. Korean American attorney Arthur Song is running for the Los Angeles City Council’s 10th District seat, a predominantly Black district, and says much of his support comes from the Black community. He faces prominent rivals including Homer Broome, Nate Holden, and Myrlie Evers in the April 14 election.
• United Way Group to Study Services in AP Communities, page 2. The Asian Pacific Research and Development Council, a United Way group of about 40 volunteers, will conduct a major needs assessment study called ‘Pacific Rim Profiles II’ to identify gaps in health and human services for Asian Pacific communities in Los Angeles County. The study follows a 1985 report that found major demographic changes in the area’s Asian Pacific population.
• L.A. Council Race: Reporters Gather Around Homeowner Facing Eminent Domain, page 3. Continuing coverage of the 10th District council race details candidate Ken Orduna’s outreach to Asian Americans, including his history addressing Korean-Black tensions and his opposition to eminent domain proceedings by the Board of Education. The proceedings threaten to displace up to 500 families, many of them elderly Korean American and Japanese American renters.
• JCCCNC to Present Five Community Awards, page 6. The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California will honor five individuals May 16 for contributions to Japanese American cultural and community life, including ikebana artist Haruko Obata and community award recipients Shichinosuke Asano, Yoshiye Togasaki, Clifford Uyeda, and Sandy Ouye Mori. The awards dinner will be held at the Cathedral Hill Hotel in San Francisco.
• JA Women’s Directory for No. California Seeks Listings, page 7. The NCWNP District JACL Women’s Concerns Committee is soliciting recommendations for a resource directory of Northern California Japanese American women, covering categories from employment to health to politics. The directory, organized by committee members including Mei Nakano, is tentatively scheduled for September publication.
• Student Conference Panel Addresses Asian Pacific Stereotypes, page 8. Continuing coverage of the APSU conference describes a panel discussion on the ‘model minority’ myth and anti-Asian violence, featuring speakers including UC Berkeley professor Chung Hoang Chuong, attorney Bruce Iwasaki, and attorney Angela Oh. Panelists warned that the stereotype masks real problems including poverty, gang involvement, and rising anti-Asian violence.
• Mile-Hi History: Chapter Honors 15 Past Presidents, page 9. Mile-Hi JACL honored 15 past presidents at its March 7 installation dinner, spanning leadership from the chapter’s 1938-39 charter presidency to the current president Bob Sakaguchi. Of the 31 individuals who have held the office, four are deceased.
• Ex-Director of Kimochi Still Dealing With Health Concerns, by Robert Tokunaga, page 10. Sandy Ouye Mori left her position as program director at Kimochi senior citizens home to become executive secretary of the San Francisco Health Commission. She reflects on her six years leading fundraising and construction efforts for Kimochi Home, completed in 1983, and her decision to move on to apply her health and gerontology background in a new role.
• Nikkei Newsmakers, page 11. Brief items note Wayne Kadotani’s 30-year honor with the Metropolitan Water District, Joan Kawada Chan’s appointment as chief deputy director of California’s Office of Criminal Justice Planning, and Tomio Moriguchi’s receipt of a Community Volunteer Leadership Award for his Keiro Nursing Home fundraising work.

National

• House Hearing Postponed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The introduction of the Senate redress bill and a House hearing on the redress bill have both been postponed, according to JACL-LEC executive director Grayce Uyehara. The Senate bill now has 66 co-sponsors, while the House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 442 was rescheduled to April 29.
• Office of AP Affairs Established in Sacramento, page 2. State Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti announced the formation of an Office of Asian Pacific Affairs within his staff to focus on issues including civil rights, education, health, and redress. The office is staffed by Georgette Imura and Maeley Tom and will assist senators in building relationships with Asian organizations.
• Mineta Backs Bill to Change Laws on Denial of Entry Visas, page 8. Rep. Norman Mineta co-sponsored legislation introduced by Rep. Barney Frank to revise the McCarran-Walter Act provisions governing visa denials based on political beliefs. Mineta said current law gives the State Department overly broad power to deny entry visas and stifle free debate, citing the recent arrest of six Palestinians in Los Angeles under the law.

Incarceration & Redress

• Concert to Raise Funds for Suit, page 2. The National Council for Japanese American Redress will present ‘Omoide II,’ a benefit concert on May 2 in Chicago, featuring several professional vocalists and musicians. Proceeds will go to legal expenses for NCJAR’s class action suit, scheduled for Supreme Court review on April 20.
• Heart Mt. TV Documentary Available on Videocassette, page 3. VHS copies of ‘Winter in My Soul,’ a 1986 television documentary on the wartime Heart Mountain camp produced by Bob Nellis, are now available. The 45-minute documentary includes interviews with former internees and area residents and takes its title from a poem by internee Miyuki Aoyama.
• ’87 Manzanar Pilgrimage Set, page 7. The 18th annual Manzanar Pilgrimage will be held April 25, with this year’s theme celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Constitution. Manzanar is a designated state and national historical landmark located 212 miles north of Los Angeles.

Obituaries

• May Semba, USO Volunteer for 442nd RCT, Dies at 67, page 3. May Semba of St. Paul, Minnesota, died Feb. 17 at age 67. She was one of the USO volunteers who prepared special Sunday dinners for members of the 442nd RCT in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1944-45.
• Takeru Higuchi, Chemist Who Invented Time Release Pill, Dies, page 3. Takeru Higuchi, 69, the pharmaceutical chemist who developed time-release pills, died March 24 at University of Missouri-Columbia Hospital following cardiovascular bypass surgery. He held more than 100 patents and was credited with developing slow-release medicine technology used in cold medicine and other drugs.

Commentary

• The Japanese and the Jews, page 4. The columnist criticizes a disturbing wave of anti-Semitic writings appearing in Japan, including books and articles blaming Jews for Watergate, the Great Depression, and other events. The piece contrasts this with Japan’s historic sympathy toward Jews, including wartime efforts to help Jewish refugees, and urges Japan to focus on its own capabilities rather than scapegoating.
• Second Chance, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa recounts how his son Mike learned Japanese from his grandmother as a toddler but lost the language after she left, and how his daughter Susan also failed to retain much Japanese despite formal study. He describes his hope of successfully teaching his grandson Steve the language, as Steve has developed interest in Japanese through his karate class.
• In Search Of…, by Wallace Ohrt, page 4. A letter writer seeks help locating two former high school classmates, cousins Kazuo and Yoshio Maruyama, ahead of a 50th class reunion in Medford, Oregon. He asks readers with information to contact him or the reunion organizer.
• ‘Japan’ and ‘Japanese’, by Ed Suguro, page 4. A letter writer clarifies a previous letter that was edited in a confusing way, explaining he is satisfied with ‘Jpn.’ as an abbreviation for ‘Japan’ but believes ‘Japanese’ needs a different, more suitable abbreviation. He asks the paper to correct the record.
• Perceptions of the JACL Membership, page 5. A columnist examines how JACL members perceive the organization, discussing the difference between opinion columns and hard news reporting in the Pacific Citizen. The piece argues that increased openness about National Board deliberations would enhance rather than diminish member confidence in leadership.
• Singling Out the Singles: Survey Results, page 5. A survey of JACL Singles Convention attendees found most were women over 45, with many widowed or divorced, and 66 percent were JACL members. Respondents indicated chapters often fail to meet the needs of single members, with most seeking social outlets and community involvement opportunities.
• Asian Student Quotas at Universities, page 5. The column examines allegations that some universities are informally capping Asian American admissions despite high qualifications, drawing comparisons to historic discrimination against Jewish applicants. It argues that restrictive quotas are wrong regardless of diversity goals and that other groups should be encouraged into fields like engineering rather than limiting Asian admissions.
• ‘Superwoman Syndrome’ — Trying to Take on Too Much, page 9. A seminar sponsored by Asian Pacific Women’s Network–Los Angeles examined the ‘Superwoman Syndrome,’ in which women struggle to balance roles as wives, mothers, executives and activists, often leading to burnout. Panelists including family counselor Linda Wake and psychologist Kenyon Chan advised delegating responsibilities, involving spouses, and nurturing oneself to avoid physical and emotional exhaustion.

JACL

• Our New Fund-Raiser, by Harry Kajihara, page 4. Former LEC Fund Drive Chair Harry Kajihara introduces the new national LEC Fund Drive chair, Dr. Mae Takahashi, detailing her extensive community and professional background in Fresno. He thanks outgoing donors and solicitors and urges continued fundraising support for the redress lobbying effort.
• Nat’l JACL Announces New Scholarships, Internships, page 7. National JACL announced five new scholarships totaling over $57,000 contributed to its Scholarship and Student Aid Program, bringing the endowment fund to over $500,000. The new awards include memorial scholarships honoring Masao and Sumako Itano, Sho Sato, Thomas and Chiyoko Shimazaki, and internships honoring Frank and Yayoi Ono and Yoshiye Takata.

Arts & Entertainment

• Films by and About Asians to Be Screened at UCLA, page 8. Visual Communications and the UCLA Film and Television Archive will present ‘Transitions: 1987 Asian Pacific American International Film Festival’ at Melnitz Theatre, featuring films by and about Asians and Asian Americans. The series includes works by Lino Brocka, Samuel Fuller, Karen Ishizuka and others, plus a symposium with actors Mako, Kim Miyori and Rodney Kageyama.

In-Depth

• USC Opens Clinic Geared for Older JAs, by Alice McKay, page 10. USC School of Medicine opened the Nikkei Seniors Wellness Center, a geriatric clinic specifically designed for older Japanese Americans, offering comprehensive geriatric assessments. The center, formed with support from Keiro Services and the Little Tokyo Service Center, aims to study disease patterns specific to Japanese Americans, such as higher rates of diabetes and atherosclerosis compared to Japan.

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