Redress payments, a Utah tax law and the UC Berkeley admissions review

Vol. 108, No. 11, March 24, 1989. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress was the main subject of this March 24, 1989 issue. The front page reported that confusion over the wording of Public Law 100-383 may have delayed payments, and that JACL-LEC’s Rita Takahashi told Congress the law does not require every eligible person to be identified before payments begin. It also covered House budget hearings led by Rep. Don Edwards, where JACL-LEC, NCJAR and NCRR urged full funding of $500 million. Also on page 1, Utah Gov. Norm Bangerter signed a law exempting redress money from state tax, and members of the JACL’s Utah chapters attended the signing.

Elsewhere in the eight pages, the paper followed the California Senate’s review of UC Berkeley admissions and the criticism of the Shack Report. Commentary included an editorial on John J. McCloy, plus Bill Marutani, Jin Konomi and Michi Nishiura Weglyn. Bill Hosokawa reviewed a book on Japanese workers in Wyoming. A Queen Hotel listing in Little Tokyo’s historic district and a testimonial dinner for Shig Kihara also appeared.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Interpretation Snarls Redress Payments, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Confusion over the wording of Public Law 100-383 among bureaucrats, including the Attorney General, may have delayed redress payments to Japanese Americans. JACL-LEC’s Rita Takahashi testified before Congress that the law does not require all eligible persons to be identified before payments begin, but rather prioritizes the oldest eligible individuals first.
• House Subcommittee Initiates Budget Process for Redress Money, page 1. Rep. Don Edwards held two days of hearings on the FY1990 budget request for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, examining performance under the new redress law mandate. Representatives from JACL-LEC, NCJAR, and NCRR praised the Office of Redress Administration’s work and urged full appropriation of $500 million for redress payments.

National

• Calif. Senate Reviews UCB Admissions Policy Report, page 1. California Senate held a hearing chaired by Sen. Art Torres examining whether UC Berkeley admissions policies discriminated against Asian American students. Asian American leaders expressed disappointment with a UC Berkeley faculty committee report that cleared the campus of long-term bias.
• News in Brief: Yamaguchi Finishes Sixth at World Championships, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Kristi Yamaguchi of Fremont, Calif. finished sixth in women’s individual figure skating at the World Figure Skating Championships, and fifth in pairs with partner Rudi Galindo. Midori Ito of Japan took first place in the individual competition.
• Anti-Redress Group’s Past Called ‘Murky’, page 1. A KRON-TV investigation by reporter Vic Lee revealed that the American War Veterans Relief Association, which filed an injunction to stop redress payments, has a questionable history and disputed claims of donating to VA hospitals. The group’s leader John Kirby previously headed another organization whose solicitors were arrested on drug charges.
• American Lawyer Sets Japan Legal Precedent, page 2. Japan’s supreme court ruled 15-0 that banning note-taking in Japanese courts violated constitutional guarantees of public trials, in a case brought by American lawyer Lawrence Repeta. The ruling allows note-taking at all levels of Japanese courts, though sketches, photography, and recording remain forbidden.
• Asian Immigrants Among Target of Australian Violence; Inquiry Scheduled, by David Clark Scott, page 2. Recent racial violence and vandalism across Australia, targeting Asian immigrants and Aborigines among others, has prompted a national inquiry into racism led by federal race discrimination commissioner Irene Moss. Public hearings are scheduled from June with a report due by year’s end, amid firebombings of Chinese restaurants in Perth.
• Redress Budget: ORA Operations Praised at House Hearings, page 3. At House Judiciary Subcommittee hearings, representatives from JACL-LEC, NCJAR, and NCRR praised the Office of Redress Administration’s efficient operations and urged full appropriation of funds to implement redress payments. DOJ officials testified they requested $500 million for FY1989 supplemental and $500 million for FY1990, though the Reagan budget allocated far less for administrative expenses.
• Calif. Senate Admissions Probe Continues Amid Shack Report Criticism, page 3. Continuing coverage of the UC Berkeley admissions controversy details criticism of the ‘Shack Report’ by Asian American advocacy groups, who noted a drop in Asian American enrollment following 1984 policy changes favoring SAT verbal scores and raised GPA requirements. Sen. Torres is considering whether to recommend a formal investigation by the California Attorney General.
• Accent Discrimination Suit Dismissed, page 3. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit filed by Manuel T. Fragante, who claimed he was denied a Honolulu city clerk job due to his Filipino accent. The court ruled the denial was based on the accent’s effect on job-related communication rather than discrimination against the accent itself.
• 1871 KKK Act Sustains Developer’s Rights, page 5. The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, originally passed to protect the civil rights of Blacks, is now being used by developers to sue cities over building disputes, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. A Montana developer successfully used the act to win $500,000 in damages from the City of Billings after a foreclosure dispute.
• Legal Group Heads Support Tenure for Nakanishi, page 5. Presidents of seven lawyer associations expressed outrage at UCLA’s refusal to grant tenure to Prof. Don Nakanishi in the Graduate School of Education, criticizing Chancellor Charles Young’s lack of sensitivity to Asian Pacific community concerns. Nakanishi was forced to pursue nearly three years of review before his case was resolved.
• Unpublished Memoirs Claim Britain Knew Attack Plans on Hawaii, page 5. Memoirs by two British intelligence officers claim that Prime Minister Churchill knew of Japan’s plan to attack Pearl Harbor but did not fully share this intelligence with the United States. The book’s publisher withheld publication due to restrictions under the UK’s Official Secrets Act.
• Most Japan Firms Rate Foreign Workers ‘Useful’, page 5. A Japanese Immigration Bureau survey found that nearly nine out of ten Japanese companies with foreign employees consider them useful to their operations. Most companies cited the need for foreign workers’ language abilities in copywriting and teaching foreign languages.
• Blacks in Canada Mark ‘Martinsday’, page 6. More than 2,000 people gathered in Toronto to mark ‘Martinsday,’ an unofficial holiday recognized by Canada’s black community coinciding with the U.S. commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr.

Community

• Iwata-Sanchez Passed Over for Chancellor Spot, page 1. Naomi Iwata-Sanchez was passed over for the Seattle community colleges chancellor position in favor of Thomas Gonzales, who was chosen for greater educational experience. Iwata-Sanchez, current Seattle JACL chapter president, faced opposition from faculty who felt her experience was too limited for the role.
• Animal Cruelty Charges Against Cambodian Refugees Dismissed, page 2. Charges against two Cambodian refugees for killing and preparing to eat a dog were dismissed by a Long Beach municipal court judge due to insufficient evidence of unjust cruelty. The case highlighted a clash of cultural values, as the defendants were following customs from their home country, while animal-rights activists pushed for new laws against killing dogs and cats for food.
• ‘Japanese American’ in Time ‘Will Not Exist,’ Rev. Kodani Predicts, page 2. Rev. Mas Kodani of Senshin Buddhist Temple predicted the eventual disappearance of a distinct Japanese American identity, citing statistics showing more than 50 percent of Sansei and Yonsei are marrying outside their race. The remarks were made at the installation dinner of the Japanese American Historical Society of Southern California, where Sue Embrey became the new president.
• S.F. Nihonmachi Gears for Festival, page 2. San Francisco’s Miss Cherry Blossom Festival will be held April 14-15 with a dinner and program to select a young woman to represent the Japanese American community of Northern California. Judging is based on presentations, an essay, and other criteria, with co-chairs Yo Hironaka and Benh Nakajo overseeing the event.
• Walnut Grove Issei to Celebrate 100th Birthday, page 3. Friends of Yasu Kawamura, a pioneer Issei woman from the prewar Japanese farming community of Walnut Grove, are planning a 100th birthday celebration for her in May at Saga Restaurant in Sacramento. The event is chaired by Isao Hamada, with reservations due by April 15.
• Hotel in Little Tokyo Named ‘Historical’, page 3. The Queen Hotel above Far East Cafe in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 9. Built around 1911, the hotel originally provided furnished rooms for Japanese laborers above ground-floor businesses.
• CSU Sacramento Given $20,000 for Japan Studies, page 3. NEC Electronics Inc. awarded $20,000 to the Japanese language program at CSU Sacramento headed by Prof. Shotaro Hayashigatani to promote Japanese culture and exchange. T. Hashimoto of NEC was instrumental in arranging the presentation.
• LEAP Forum to Examine L.A. Future, page 3. A Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) Community Forum was scheduled for March 29 at the Biltmore Hotel to discuss multicultural issues Los Angeles will face by the year 2000. Dr. Jane Pisano of the LA 2000 Committee was to present results of a Rand Corp. community survey on the city’s future.
• Justice in Action Awards Presented at AALDEF Dinner, page 3. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund celebrated its 15th anniversary at its fourth annual Lunar New Year Dinner in New York, presenting Justice in Action awards to immigration attorney Benjamin Gim, playwright David Henry Hwang, and redress advocate Grayce Uyehara. The awards were presented by Maurice N. Nessen, Yoko Ono, and Rep. Norman Mineta.
• Denver Area Scholarships Now Ready, page 5. Denver-area community organizations have made $20,000 available in scholarships for graduating Japanese American high school students, with applications due April 7. The program, started in 1956 with a single $50 scholarship, has awarded over 500 scholarships in 33 years.

Arts & Entertainment

• Sansei Benefit Draws Cast and Community Support, page 1. A gala benefit dinner was held March 11 at the Pavilion Restaurant in Los Angeles for the cast of the play Sansei, running through May 7 at the Mark Taper Forum. The PSWDC JACL Leadership Committee is sponsoring a theater night on April 7.
• J-Town Revue Promises Night of Nikkei Entertainment, page 5. The ‘J-Town Revue’ benefit show on April 8 at the Kabuki 8 Theatres in San Francisco’s Japantown will feature local Nikkei dance performers including ballroom dancers, tap dancers, and a children’s dance theatre. Proceeds benefit the Japanese Cultural & Community Center for Northern California.

Obituaries

• Thomas T. Sakakihara, Former Big Island Magistrate, Dies at 88, page 2. Thomas T. Sakakihara, a former Hawaii territorial legislator and Big Island magistrate who was wrongly detained during WWII despite being born in Hilo, died Feb. 22 in Honolulu. He served as a special deputy sheriff after Pearl Harbor before being arrested on suspicion of being an alien and later had a long career as a magistrate until retiring in 1968.

Commentary

• Misinformed Patriot, page 4. This editorial reflects on the legacy of John J. McCloy, who died recently at 93, noting his role in approving the WWII evacuation and imprisonment of Japanese Americans as a civilian aide to the Secretary of War. While McCloy later advocated for the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, he remained unapologetic about the Evacuation, even referring to it as ‘retribution’ for Pearl Harbor during Commission testimony.
• Time to Fly, by Stanley Kanzaki, page 4. A letter to the editor responds to a prior column about Japanese Americans ‘flexing their muscles’ against anti-JA hostility, arguing that JA activism has a long history and criticizing JACL’s tabling of a reconciliation motion regarding No-No Boys until 1990. The writer urges JACL to take swift, unified action on behalf of all Japanese Americans, including No-No Boys, to avoid repeating past injustices.
• War Refugee Shelter, by Michi Nishiura Weglyn, page 4. A letter to the editor details the history of Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York, a WRA-administered shelter for European war refugees that operated alongside Japanese American concentration camps, noting that refugees received significantly higher wages and allowances than Nikkei internees. The letter cites specific wage comparisons and references archival documentation at the FDR Library and other sources.
• Modan Nihongo, by Bill Marutani, page 4. This East Wind column examines how Japanese kanji characters have been simplified over time, making them nearly unrecognizable to those who learned the old forms during WWII-era military intelligence training. The author details specific examples of character simplification, including kaeru (return), koe (voice), and kuni (nation/country).
• A Funeral Thought: The Tenno, by Jin Konomi, page 4. This Moshi Moshi column reflects on the mixed public reaction in Japan to Emperor Hirohito’s state funeral, noting widespread indifference alongside anti-tenno rallies and one Okinawan village’s refusal to participate in official mourning. The author assesses that while a CBS-NY Times poll showed 31% opposition to the tenno system, this sentiment may not represent a strong organized national movement against the monarchy’s resurgence.

In-Depth

• Book Tells of Japanese in the Wild West, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. This From the Frying Pan column reviews Hisashi Tsurutani’s book ‘America-Bound,’ which documents the little-known history of Japanese immigrant laborers who worked in Wyoming coal mines and railroads in the early 20th century. The book details harsh exploitation by labor contractors, mining deaths, and the presence of Japanese prostitutes who arrived before Japanese male laborers.

Military & Veterans

• MIS Founder-Instructor Shig Kihara to Be Accorded Gala Testimonial Dinner, page 5. A testimonial dinner for Shig Kihara, founder and instructor of the Military Intelligence Service Language School, will be held April 22 in Burlingame, Calif., sponsored by MISNORCAL. Kihara will be honored for his wartime contributions and his postwar role supporting veterans organizations and documentary films like Nisei Soldier and Color of Honor.
• Kanemoto Honored with Order of the Rising Sun, page 6. James Kanemoto of Longmont, Colo. was honored by the Japanese government with the Order of the Rising Sun 5th Degree for his community service. A longtime JACLer and Buddhist leader, Kanemoto helped develop Denver’s Sakura Square complex.

JACL

• N.Y. JACL Chapter Announces Deadline Change, page 5. The New York Chapter JACL Board voted to extend its scholarship application deadline from March 15 to April 30, 1989. The chapter encourages all qualified individuals to apply for both the chapter and National JACL scholarships.

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