Redress recognition, and the Pacific Citizen’s 2,500th issue

Vol. 107, No. 10, October 7, 1988. 8 pages. View this issue

The front page carried news of the redress legislation. On Sept. 27 and 28, JACL, the JACL-Legislative Education Committee and Go for Broke veterans presented silver scroll plaques to members of the 100th Congress who helped enact H.R. 442, the redress bill President Reagan signed on Aug. 10. Grayce Uyehara reported the story, and her coming keynote at a San Diego redress celebration is also here. Rep. Robert T. Matsui and JACL-LEC’s Jerry Enomoto responded to Canada’s decision to pay reparations to Japanese Canadians.

On page 4, Harry K. Honda marked the paper’s 2,500th issue, tracing its history from its 1929 founding as Nikkei Shimin. Other pages cover an EEOC suit over “Remember Pearl Harbor” remarks, Asian American groups objecting to Continental Airlines’ “Fare Samurai” ads, and three senators, including Daniel Inouye, seeking to be majority leader. Columns by Bill Hosokawa and Jin Konomi round out the commentary.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• JACL, JACL-LEC Laud Members of Congress, by Grayce Uyehara, page 1. JACL, JACL-Legislative Education Committee and Go for Broke Veterans recognized members of the 100th Congress on Sept. 27 and 28 for their leadership in enacting redress legislation H.R. 442. Silver scroll plaques were presented to senators and representatives who supported the bill signed by President Reagan on Aug. 10.
• Scholarship Application Forms Mailed to JACL NCWNPDC Chapters, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Wilma Hayashi, chairperson of the JACL Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific District Council scholarship committee, announced that application forms for 1989 Scholastic Achievement Awards have been mailed to chapter presidents. The awards recognize outstanding graduating high school seniors from families holding NCWNPDC membership.

Incarceration & Redress

• Grayce Uyehara to Keynote San Diego Redress Celebration, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Diego Chapter of JACL is hosting a redress celebration and recognition banquet on Oct. 23 at the San Diego Princess Resort, featuring a keynote address by Grayce Uyehara, former JACL-LEC executive director. Uyehara will discuss her experiences as a redress lobbyist and outline the reparations payment process for eligible persons.
• Settlement a ‘Historic’ Step Forward in Area of Human Rights, Says JACL-LEC, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Robert T. Matsui and JACL-LEC commended the Canadian government’s decision to pay reparations to Japanese Canadians interned during WW2, calling it a historic step forward for civil and human rights. JACL-LEC chairperson Jerry Enomoto said the organization must remain vigilant in pursuing freedom and justice even after victories like this.

Community

• Tracking Down Questionable ‘Fact’ Proves No Trivial Pursuit, by George Johnston, page 1. A fourth grade teacher questioned a claim in Learning magazine that Lucille Ball picked up radio signals from a secret Japanese radio station in Hollywood during WW2. JACL Pacific Southwest District Regional Director John Saito sent a letter demanding further information and calling the claim outrageous and potentially damaging.
• APASG Dinner to Honor Tamaki, Wang, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Asian Pacific American Support Group of USC will honor the late Carl Tamaki and Kenjohn Wang for lifetime achievements at its dinner at the Biltmore Hotel. The event will also feature scholarship presentations to outstanding Asian Pacific American students at USC.
• South Bay JACL Singles Fundraiser to Benefit Nikkei Homeless, Hungry, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Sansei Singles Committee of the South Bay JACL Chapter is holding its first major fundraising event, ‘We Care for the Homeless and Hungry,’ on Oct. 15 at the Nakaoka Center. Proceeds will benefit the Emergency Caregiver Program of the Little Tokyo Service Center, with a dance featuring the band The Shake Down.
• ABA to Hold Awards Banquet at Biltmore Hotel, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Asian Business Association will honor Asian Americans in business and engineering at its 11th annual awards banquet on Oct. 20, co-sponsored with Asian American Architects and Engineers. Honorees include Edward Y. Kim, Jay C. Kim, Harold Yee, and P.L. Martin, with Warren Furutani serving as master of ceremonies.
• The Newsmakers, by P.C. Staff, page 5. David Y. Nakagawa, a longtime Pasadena Boys Club executive, received the National Council of Presbyterian Men’s first ‘Churchman of the Year’ award. Also noted are Miyuki Kirra, a Santa Monica College student who won a Japanese Speech Contest, and Dr. Alley E. Watada, who was elected Fellow of the American Society for Horticulture Science.

National

• Pearl Harbor ‘Joke’ Discriminatory, EEOC Suit Claims, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The EEOC is suing on behalf of Harumi Yoshimoto, a 64-year-old Nisei worker who alleges he was harassed by his boss at Santa Fe Engineers with repeated remarks of ‘Remember Pearl Harbor.’ Yoshimoto was later fired, and the EEOC is seeking full back pay plus damages, arguing the case reflects a pattern of rising harassment toward Asian Americans.
• AA Groups Urge Continental Airlines to Stop ‘Fare Samurai’ Ad Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Asian American groups including JACL and Chinese for Affirmative Action asked Continental Airlines to discontinue its ‘Fare Samurai’ ad campaign, which depicts a White actor as a samurai speaking pseudo-Japanese. JACL’s Bill Yoshino wrote that the ad displays insensitivity and contributes to rising violence against Asian Americans, but the airline declined to stop the campaign before its scheduled end.
• Three Senators Vying for Majority Leader, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Senators Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana, and George J. Mitchell of Maine are competing to replace Sen. Robert C. Byrd as Senate majority leader, with a vote set for Nov. 29. Each candidate has strengths, including Inouye’s 20 years of seniority and chairmanship of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
• Woo to Face Roth in Senate Race, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Delaware Lt. Gov. S.B. Woo narrowly won the Democratic Senate nomination despite an AFL-CIO leader’s remark about his Chinese ethnicity and opposition to ‘Asian influence.’ Woo will face Republican incumbent Bill Roth in the general election.
• Bill Gives Permanent Status to Peace Institute, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Spark Matsunaga introduced bipartisan legislation to give permanent status to the U.S. Institute of Peace, which began operations and was reauthorized for two years in 1986. The bill caps spending authority at $20 million per year without changing the institute’s research and education mandate.

Obituaries

• ‘Nisei Onassis’ Dies in New York, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Kay Sugahara, internationally prominent New York businessman and president of Fairfield-Maxwell Ltd., died of cancer on Sept. 25 at age 79. A prewar founder of the Nisei Week Festival and first Nisei customs broker on the mainland, Sugahara was interned during WW2 before rebuilding a shipping business and later founding the U.S.-Asia Institute think tank.

Commentary

• Respect Deserved, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial discusses Gov. Deukmejian’s nomination of Thomas W. Hayes for state treasurer after Congressman Daniel Lungren’s nomination failed partly due to Asian American opposition over his initial vote against H.R. 442. The piece notes Lungren ultimately voted for the final redress bill despite reservations, and argues his respect for principle deserves respect in turn.
• An Irony of History, by Jin Konomi, page 4. This Moshi Moshi column reflects on the irony that Japan, once positioned as a potential moral leader against racial discrimination at the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference, squandered that opportunity through wartime militarism and exploitation of occupied peoples. The piece contrasts the idealism of Prince Saionji’s era with Japan’s later actions that alienated liberated populations during WW2.
• Future Opportunities for AJAs, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa relates a theory from Sansei entrepreneur Les Hamasaki about five factors behind Japan’s postwar rise: luck, connections, timing, determination, and discipline. Hamasaki argues Japanese Americans are uniquely positioned to help restore American greatness by applying these same lessons.

In-Depth

• Welcome to Our 2,500th Issue, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. Honda recounts the history of the Pacific Citizen from its 1929 founding as ‘Nikkei Shimin’ by the San Francisco JACL chapter through its 1,000th and 2,000th issues, including wartime suspension and relocation to Los Angeles in 1952. The piece celebrates reaching the 2,500th issue and anticipates the 3,000th issue arriving around 1998.

Military & Veterans

• DLI Celebrating 47th Anniversary with Dinners, Building Dedications, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Defense Language Institute in Monterey will celebrate its 47th anniversary with a birthday banquet and building dedications honoring MIS leaders Col. Kai Rasmussen and John Aiso. DLI traces its roots to the Military Intelligence Service, which began in 1941 with four Japanese American instructors and 60 Nisei students who later played a significant role in the Pacific victory.

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