Redress funding and a new national director for the JACL

Vol. 108, No. 5, February 10, 1989. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress funding led the news. Rep. Norman Y. Mineta and seven other members of Congress wrote to President Bush urging a higher figure than the $20 million Reagan proposed, warning that it would compensate only 1,000 eligible people under the Civil Liberties Act. Grant Ujifusa explained the appropriations process in Los Angeles. The JACL National Board chose Bill Yoshino as national director and adopted guidelines for the legal issues it would support. Vu-Duc Vuong told the board about the Stockton shooting that killed five Southeast Asian children.

Elsewhere in these 8 pages: Bill Hosokawa wrote on President Bush attending Emperor Hirohito’s funeral, and Clifford I. Uyeda explained where the term “redress” came from. Minami Yoshizawa recounted interviews with South Korean Vietnam War veterans. Readers will also find chapter installations, the Gardena Valley JACL’s 50th anniversary, and scholarships from the New York JACL and the Sam S. Kuwahara fund.

What’s in this issue

National

• Bush Urged to Back More Redress Funds than Reagan’s Bid, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Norman Y. Mineta and seven other members of Congress sent a letter to President Bush urging higher redress funding than the $20 million proposed by Reagan. They warned that Reagan’s funding level would compensate only 1,000 eligible individuals per year, fewer than the number expected to die annually.
• Michael Armacost Named as U.S. Envoy to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Bush administration nominated Michael H. Armacost, a senior State Department official, as the next ambassador to Japan. He will succeed Mike Mansfield, who served as ambassador for 11 years.
• Japanese Prime Minister Spends Weekend in L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita visited the Roy Sakioka Farm, the Japanese Retirement Home in Los Angeles, and met with Ronald Reagan during his U.S. visit. He was also the first foreign dignitary to call on President George Bush at the White House.
• Big Gain of Asians on U.S. Campus Noted, page 3. A report from the American Council on Higher Education found Asian enrollment jumped 17.9% from 1984 to 1986. The report, ‘Minorities in Higher Education,’ is available from the American Council on Education.

Incarceration & Redress

• Social Worker Relates Stockton Tragedy to JACL National Board, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Vu-Duc Vuong, executive director of the Center for Southeast Asian Refugee Resettlement, spoke to the JACL National Board about the Stockton shooting that killed five Southeast Asian children and injured 30. He described community efforts to respond, including creating scholarships in memory of the victims and concerns about the police investigation’s thoroughness.
• Addresses of Ex-Internees Outside U.S. Sought, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Office of Redress Administration called a press conference for Feb. 15 to brief the Japanese press on efforts to reach individuals living outside the United States who may be eligible for redress under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Information is being made available at U.S. embassies and consulates in Japan and Canada.

JACL

• Bill Yoshino Selected as the JACL’s National Director, by George Johnston, page 1. Bill Yoshino, formerly the JACL Midwest District regional director and acting national director, was selected as the new national director of the JACL. Yoshino discussed his priorities including civil rights issues and membership services, and his strong working relationship with JACL National President Cressey Nakagawa.
• National JACL Board Motions from the Feb. 4 & 5, 1989 Meeting, page 1. A detailed list of motions passed at the National Board meeting covering personnel policy, youth programs, the Min Yasui Fund, legal participation standards, and endorsements including Don Nakanishi’s tenure case and Mitsue Takahashi’s Supreme Court petition. Most motions passed unanimously with some opposition noted on hiring authority changes.
• Guidelines for JACL Participation, Involvement in Legal Issues Adopted, page 1. The JACL National Board adopted guidelines for determining which legal issues the organization should support, requiring four elements including consistency with JACL’s purpose and proportional resource commitment. The board also passed motions supporting Mitsue Takahashi’s fair trial petition, Don Nakanishi’s UCLA tenure case, and a friend of the court brief for the American Friends Service Committee.
• New York JACL Offers Four Scholarships, by Stanley Kanzaki, page 3. New York JACL president Lillian Kimura announced four annual $1,000 scholarships available to qualified candidates, including the Lucille Nakamura Scholarship and two financial aid awards. Applications are due March 15, 1989.
• JACL/Kuwahara Scholarships Open for College Ag Students, page 3. The Sam S. Kuwahara Memorial Scholarship was added to JACL’s National scholarship program, offering two scholarships for students studying agriculture or related fields. Kuwahara was a long-time Cortez, Calif. resident instrumental in preserving Japanese American farm holdings after WWII evacuation.

Community

• Store Signs Will Show a Bit More English, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Monterey Park City Council unanimously revised its sign ordinance to require more English on commercial signs, following months of public debate. The new ordinance requires the business name or nature to also appear in English on Asian business signs.
• Women Highlighted in 1989 Installation, page 2. The East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center held its 1989 installation banquet featuring women in prominent roles, including emcee Nobu McCarthy and performers Amy Hill, Judy Momii, and Laila Hee Olsen. Traci Tanimoto of UCLA received the Dr. Kenneth Miyata memorial scholarship at the event.
• Ujifusa on Another Whirlwind L.A. Tour Explaining Redress Appropriations Process, by Meriko Mori, page 2. Grant Ujifusa, JACL/LEC vice-chairman of Strategy, spoke at the Greater Los Angeles Singles JACL installation dinner-dance and other events, expressing optimism about the budget and appropriations process for redress funding. He stressed the importance of lobbying Congress members to secure the desired $500 million in appropriations.
• 1989 JACL Singles Convention to Be Held in Torrance, page 3. The fourth annual JACL Singles Convention will be held over Labor Day weekend at the Torrance Marriott Hotel with the theme ‘Come Together… Dynamic Singles.’ Topics will include relationship seminars such as ‘Man Talk/Women Talk,’ divorce, dating, and rejection.
• AT&T Donates $10,000 for AADAP Brochures, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Asian American Drug Abuse Program received a $10,000 grant from AT&T to fund bilingual drug abuse prevention brochures. Executive director Mike Watanabe said the grant will help the organization reach the community more effectively in their own languages.
• Talks on Japanese Morality, page 3. CSU Fullerton will host a philosophy symposium titled ‘Japanese Morality: an East-West Dialogue’ on campus March 1-3, free to the public. Visitors should pre-register with Prof. Craig K. Ihara.
• Nominations Open for Okamoto Award Citing San Francisco Bay Area Volunteer, page 5. Applications are now available for the new Kay Okamoto Volunteer Award, established to recognize Bay Area volunteers serving the Japanese American community, with a deadline of April 30. The first $1,000 award will be announced in July at the Hamilton Senior Center’s anniversary celebration.
• JCCCNC Nearing $3 Million Goal of Building Campaign, page 5. The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California received a major boost when the community donated/pledged $119,500 in three months, matching a $55,000 challenge grant from selected individuals. The organization is now only $200,000 short of its $3 million capital campaign goal for the second phase community hall/gymnasium.
• Gardena Valley JACL Celebrates 50th Anniversary, page 5. The Gardena Valley Chapter of JACL celebrated its Golden Anniversary at the Carson Community Center with over 150 attendees including many past chapter presidents. The event featured door prizes, a raffle giving away $900, and a history of the chapter presented by Helen Kawagoe.
• Nakagawa to Run, page 5. Entertainer Tom Nakagawa, a Florin and Sacramento JACL member, announced his candidacy as a Democratic candidate for Sacramento County auditor/controller in 1990. The announcement was made by his campaign coordinator Al Sakuma.
• Riverside JACL Ponders Problems of Year 2000 as Cited at Installation, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. Assistant district attorney Randall Tagami spoke at the Riverside JACL installation dinner about demographic and law enforcement cost challenges facing Southern California by the year 2000. He urged JACL to apply its history of civil rights advocacy to help address the coming social changes from growth and racial diversity.
• Dennis Sato Heads Marin County CL, page 8. President Dennis Sato and his 1989 Marin County JACL cabinet were sworn into office by Carole Hayashino, deputy acting National JACL director. Hayashino emphasized the need to continue pushing for prompt redress appropriations, stating she did not expect reparations during the 1989 fiscal year.

In-Depth

• N.Y. Nikkei Project in Quest of Artifacts, page 3. The exhibit ‘Turning Leaves: the Family Album of Two Japanese American Families’ is on display at the Chinatown History Project Library featuring photographic collections from the Nagano and Miyamura-Uyeda families. The New York Nikkei Project is collecting stories, photographs, and artifacts to document the New York Japanese American community’s history.

Commentary

• Spark’s Switch, page 4. This editorial discusses Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s decision to exchange Senate Finance subcommittee assignments with Sen. Max Baucus, taking on taxation and debt management instead of international trade. The piece suggests this move allows Matsunaga to avoid potential racist attacks that could arise from handling U.S.-Japan trade tensions while using his skills on the pressing budget deficit issue.
• Time to Grow Up, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa discusses President Bush’s decision to attend Emperor Hirohito’s funeral despite having been shot down by Japanese forces in WWII, calling it a pragmatic and magnanimous gesture reflecting changed U.S.-Japan relations. He draws a parallel to the Japanese American community, urging members to set aside old intramural grievances and move forward with similar generosity.
• A Correction, by Grant Ujifusa, page 4. A letter to the editor correcting a previous article, clarifying that the senator discussed regarding appropriations strategy was Alan Simpson, not Alan Cranston.
• Background on Name, by Clifford I. Uyeda, page 4. A letter to the editor providing historical background on the origin of the term ‘redress,’ noting that a JACL committee formally changed its name to ‘JACL National Committee for Redress’ in 1977-78. The letter also references earlier reparations efforts dating to 1970 and 1974 by Seattle and Northern California-Western Nevada JACL groups.
• Korean Vets Recall Vietnam, by Minami Yoshizawa, page 4. A history professor recounts interviews with South Korean Vietnam War veterans who served as U.S. mercenaries, revealing deep resentment toward the U.S., South Korean, and Japanese governments for profiting from the war. The veterans also admitted to atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians, causing the author and his interpreter considerable distress during the research process.

Military & Veterans

• Post-Traumatic Care for Vietnam Vets Urged, page 5. Sen. Spark Matsunaga introduced a bill directing the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to study post-traumatic stress disorders among Vietnam War veterans of Asian, Pacific Island, Native American and Native Alaskan descent. The legislation is similar to a provision previously dropped from the omnibus veterans health care bill.

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