Senate vote on redress payments, and a JACL board prepares for convention

Vol. 109, No. 12, October 20, 1989. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress led this eight-page issue. The Senate voted 74-22 to make redress payments an entitlement program beginning in fiscal 1991, after Sen. Dan Inouye spoke about Japanese American soldiers who volunteered from behind barbed wire. Joanne Kagiwada reported the story on page 1, and page 7 continues it with the full roll-call vote and remarks from Jerry Enomoto of JACL-LEC. Nearby, the Office of Redress Administration was confirming eligibility for some 600 people over age 90 and had revised its documentation forms. The National JACL Board’s 13 motions from its September meeting, mostly about convention planning, are summarized on the front page.

On the commentary pages, Bill Hosokawa wrote about Japanese Americans retiring to Southern California, Bill Marutani about Richard Gephardt’s study of Japanese, and Harry K. Honda about a European tour. Elsewhere are a student newspaper’s response to an anti-Asian letter, the Washington Asian American Film Festival, a book review, and the Placer JACL’s 49th goodwill dinner.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Inouye’s Speech in Senate About His Mainland Buddies of 442 Volunteering ‘from Behind Barbed Wire’ Stirs Wide Support, by Joanne Kagiwada, page 1. The Senate voted 74-22 to add a provision making redress payments an entitlement program beginning in fiscal 1991, following an emotional speech by Sen. Dan Inouye about Japanese American soldiers who volunteered from behind barbed wire. Multiple senators, including Rudman, Specter, Bumpers, Biden, Domenici, Bradley, and Adams, rose to support waiving the Budget Act to ensure timely redress payments.
• Senate’s Roll-Call Vote on Redress Entitlement, page 7. This article continues coverage of the Senate debate on redress, detailing additional senators’ remarks including Brock Adams recalling Japanese American classmates removed from his Seattle high school, and Paul Simon recalling his father’s unpopular wartime radio statement. The full roll-call vote of 74-22 is listed along with reflections from JACL-LEC Board Chair Jerry Enomoto on the achievement.

National

• Board Zooms on Convention Preparations, page 1. The National JACL Board approved 13 motions at its Sept. 23-24 meeting at Headquarters, covering topics from convention planning to scholarships and fund development. Key actions included underwriting an award for Chapter of the Biennium and studying changes to the candidates forum format.
• Some 600 Over Age 90 Prepare for $20,000 Redress Payment, page 1. The Department of Justice’s Office of Redress Administration has received more than 600 responses to its mailing of 1,300 verification letters sent to Japanese Americans age 90 and over. Administrator Bob Bratt explained that while no congressional funds have yet been appropriated, ORA is sending confirmation postcards as an interim measure to prepare for distribution once money becomes available.
• Redress Administration Revises Forms, JACL-LEC Distributes Copies to Chapters, page 1. The Office of Redress Administration revised its documentation forms sent with preliminary eligibility letters, and JACL-LEC distributed copies to chapters on Oct. 11. A new ORA Help-Line was established to assist people with questions about the documentation procedure required for redress payments.
• What Hath ‘Jubal Early’ Wrought—Anti-Asian Letter Triggers Support of Asian Americans, Protests and Emotions, page 3. A student newspaper at the College of San Mateo published numerous rebuttals to an anti-Asian letter written under the pseudonym ‘Jubal Early’ that made sweeping, bigoted generalizations about Asians. The editor and many students responded with strong objections, emphasizing the need to combat racism and stereotypes on campus.
• Get Your Head Out of the Sand, America, by Yoshiki Hidaka, page 5. A Japanese NHK executive argues that the U.S. is failing to adapt to the emergence of new economic and political blocs in Europe and Asia, including a yen-dominated Asian trade sphere. He contends these developments reflect the success of U.S. Cold War policies and warns that a retreat into isolationism would be disastrous for American leadership.
• Smithsonian Giving Up Indian Skeletal Remains, page 8. The Smithsonian Institution announced it will allow American Indian tribes to recover skeletal remains and burial artifacts from its collection. Sen. Daniel Inouye, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, had worked for years to facilitate repatriation of remains linked to specific tribes.

Arts & Entertainment

• 8th Annual Film Festival in Washington, D.C. Spotlights Interracial Asian-American Themes, page 2. The 8th annual Washington Asian American Film Festival opens Oct. 27 with The Crimson Kimono, featuring James Shigeta in an interracial love story, and runs through Nov. 2 with feature and short films from multiple countries. The festival includes panel discussions on Hollywood’s treatment of interracial sexuality and Asian American self-representation in cinema.
• Books to P.C.: Harvest of Hate and Asian American Literature, by Harry K. Honda, page 6. This review covers two books: ‘Harvest of Hate,’ a long-unpublished novel about the Japanese American camp experience by Georgia Day Robertson who taught math at Poston during WWII, and ‘Asian American Literature: An Annotated Bibliography,’ a reference guide covering 25 years of Asian American literary works. Both books are noted for their contributions to preserving Japanese American history and literature.
• 1990 Competition for Clavell Award to Close June 30, page 6. The 12th annual James Clavell American Japanese National Literary Award short story competition has been announced with a June 30, 1990 deadline. Established by novelist James Clavell, the award encourages Japanese Americans to document their historical legacy through creative writing.

Community

• Placer JACL Slates 49th Goodwill Dinner, page 2. Placer County JACL will hold its 49th annual goodwill dinner on Nov. 4 at the Placer Buddhist Church, featuring National JACL president Cressey Nakagawa as the main speaker. The dinner, started in the 1940s to combat anti-Nisei prejudice, has long been praised by Mike Masaoka as one of JACL’s finest events.
• Cal Japanese Alumni Scholarships Presented, Awards Total $15,000 for Enrollees in UC System, page 2. The California Japanese American Alumni Association awarded $15,000 in scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at University of California campuses. Recipients were honored at an evening dinner, with additional honors and a memorial award also presented.
• PSWDC Election Slated at Las Vegas, page 2. The Pacific Southwest District will hold its last quarterly meeting of the biennium Dec. 1-3 in Las Vegas, where officers for the coming district biennium will be elected. The Las Vegas Chapter is hosting with hotel accommodations and bus transportation arranged from Los Angeles.
• Orange County Nikkei Seniors to Be Honored, page 3. The Orange County Japanese American Association will hold its third annual Senior Citizen’s Day Luncheon on Nov. 12 honoring Nikkei pioneers over age 80. The event will be held at the Orange County Buddhist Church in Anaheim.
• Tokyo Professor Donates $10,000 Worth of Books to Little Tokyo Library, page 6. Kageki Nagayama, a Tokyo professor, contributed $10,000 to purchase books for the Little Tokyo Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, citing the importance of international cooperation. The donation will help build the library’s Japanese Heritage Collection amid budget constraints caused by the strong yen.
• 1000 Club Photo Contest on Tokyo Whing Ding Planned, by Dr. Frank Sakamoto, page 8. National JACL Convention chairman Robert Ito relayed a question about eligibility for the 1000 Club Whing Ding photo contest, which is open to JACL members with photos taken in Japan. Categories include Most Scenic, Human Interest, Most Comical, and Best Subject Matter, with Japan Air Lines donating a round-trip ticket as first prize.
• The Newsmakers, page 8. This roundup covers notable achievements by Japanese Americans including Caryl Ito’s appointment to the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, Mary B. Suzuki’s UC Berkeley fellowship, David T. Imagawa’s AIDS research making national news, and several others’ honors including Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s peacemaker award. Also noted is Francis T. Motooka’s sentencing for drug smuggling in Japan.

Commentary

• Ambassador Nobuo Matsunaga, page 4. This editorial honors outgoing Japanese Ambassador Nobuo Matsunaga for his four and a half years of skillful diplomacy during a period of significant U.S.-Japan economic friction. The piece credits his forthrightness with helping smooth over controversies like the Toshiba matter and Nakasone’s disparaging remarks about American minorities.
• Nisei Search for Roots, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. Harry Honda recounts his three-week tour of Europe with a West L.A. JACL travel group, reflecting on how the trip connected him to his American/Western educational roots through sites like the Sistine Chapel and various European landmarks. He also notes a touching moment when the tour director spoke of the Japanese American 442nd combat team’s service from internment camps.
• An Invitation to Retire in California, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa discusses the growing concentration of Japanese Americans in Southern California as many return in retirement, likening it to salmon returning home after being displaced by wartime exclusion orders. He describes meeting James Ito at a Heart Mountain reunion who extolled the pleasures of retirement at Leisure World in Laguna Hills.
• The Majority Leader, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Bill Marutani reflects on House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt’s study of Japanese language, speculating it may relate to his focus on U.S.-Japan trade issues. He offers recommendations of dictionaries and language resources for serious students of Japanese, including a correction of an earlier pronunciation error.
• Pride and Shame, by Ben Nakagawa and Mako Nakagawa, page 5. The letter writers express pride in JACL’s efforts toward reconciliation with Japanese Americans who resisted WWII military orders, but condemn an Anti-Defamation League advertisement in the same P.C. issue as hate-mongering journalism against Palestinians. They argue JACL should be especially sensitive to such propaganda given its own history.
• Filmmaker’s Call, by Saulius (Saul) Urbonas, page 5. A filmmaker seeks to contact a family whose home was confiscated during World War II for a potential feature film or television movie based on their experiences in the camps. He requests interested parties write to his production company.
• Ne-mawashi, by Ej Suyama, page 5. The letter writer argues that columnist Bill Marutani understated the pejorative connotation of the Japanese term ‘ne-mawashi,’ explaining it involves a sophisticated process of avoiding direct confrontation. He suggests Americans could benefit from adopting some of this indirect negotiation approach.

Obituaries

• Edward F. Ishii, page 8. Edward F. Ishii, 67, former Omaha JACL president and longtime 1000 Club chair, died Aug. 21 of a pulmonary embolism. A WWII veteran and sole survivor of a plane crash, he served 21 years in the Air Force and led the chapter’s participation in the Omaha Ethnic Festival, leaving behind his wife Rose and five children.
• Roy M. Yamadera, page 8. Roy M. Yamadera, 76, former East Los Angeles JACL president, died Oct. 4 at White Memorial Medical Center. Blind in his later years, he co-organized the Southern California Society of the Japanese Blind in 1969 and is survived by his wife Mary and several children and grandchildren.

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