Nikkei delegates meet President Fujimori; Pearl Harbor 50th looms

Vol. 113, No. 4, August 16, 1991. 12 pages. View this issue

Delegates from North America traveled to South America for the 6th biennial Pan-American Nikkei Association convention in Asuncion, Paraguay, where Peru’s President Alberto Fujimori welcomed them at the Government Palace. Harry K. Honda reported on the trip, and a short history traced Japanese immigration to Paraguay, which began in 1936. Closer to home, the approaching 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor drew a JACL response. National Director Bill Yoshino sent chapter presidents a strategy to counter anti-Japanese sentiment, and a JACL statement recalled the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans. Bill Hosokawa’s column looked at apology in Japan.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles and Orange County Human Relations Commissions planned to investigate an incident at a Huntington Beach restaurant. Reviews covered David Mura’s memoir Turning Japanese and Amy Hill’s one-woman show Tokyo Bound, and Bill Marutani wrote on sound words in English and Japanese. Letters took up a Justice Department apology and recruiting members through sports.

What’s in this issue

National

• Nikkei—North Meets South at PANA Event; Peru President Fujimori Welcomes Delegates at Palace, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. About 40 Japanese Americans, three Japanese Canadians, and two Little Tokyo reporters attended the 6th biennial Pan-American Nikkei Association convention in Asuncion, Paraguay, where Peru President Alberto Fujimori welcomed the group at the Government Palace. Fujimori spoke about the difficulties of his presidency, economic reforms, and thanked PANA for its charitable work in Peru.

In-Depth

• A Short History of the Japanese in Paraguay, page 1. Japanese immigration to Paraguay began in 1936 with settlers farming at La Colmena, growing to about 7,000 Japanese descendants today among Paraguay’s 4 million people. A 1919 friendship treaty protected Japanese residents and their property even through WWII, meaning there were no detention camps in the country.

Community

• Arizona Chapter Gets Involved in Buddhist Murder Investigation, page 1. The Arizona Chapter of JACL is lending its support to local efforts investigating a murder involving Buddhists in the community. The chapter plans to remain involved in ongoing developments related to the case.
• Southern California Agencies to Investigate Red Onion Incident, page 4. The Los Angeles and Orange County Human Relations Commissions will jointly investigate an apparent racially-motivated incident at a Red Onion restaurant in Huntington Beach where three women were allegedly assaulted. JACL’s Pacific Southwest regional office is working with other civil rights groups on a position paper regarding the restaurant chain’s policies and record.
• PANA-Paraguay Plaque Presented to JACL President, page 4. JACL President Cressey Nakagawa received an award for his participation at the 6th PANA Convention in Asuncion from PANA-Paraguay president Emi Kasamatsu de Enciso. The presentation recognized his contributions to the convention.
• Camels Line Up in Virginia City Streets, page 8. The 42nd Annual Virginia City International Camel Races will take place Sept. 6-8, drawing over 25,000 visitors annually to watch camel and ostrich racing that began as a joke in 1959. This year’s event includes a team from Australia’s Northern Territory, home to its own camel cup competition.

JACL

• JACL Gears Up Strategy to Handle Pearl Harbor Anniversary Event, page 1. JACL National Director Bill Yoshino sent a letter to chapter presidents outlining a strategy to combat potential negative effects from the upcoming 50th anniversary commemoration of Pearl Harbor. The plan includes raising public awareness, enlisting allies like Sen. Paul Simon, and approaching media with alternative coverage suggestions to prevent anti-Japanese and anti-Asian sentiment.

Incarceration & Redress

• Statement on Pearl Harbor Anniversary, page 1. A JACL statement reflects on the tragedy of the Pearl Harbor attack while emphasizing that it also precipitated the unconstitutional incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps. The statement warns against renewed racism amid the 50th anniversary commemoration and current U.S.-Japan economic tensions.

Arts & Entertainment

• Author Chronicles Odyssey Toward Self-Discovery, by Sam Nakagawa, page 5. A review of David Mura’s memoir ‘Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei,’ which recounts his journey to Japan and his search for identity as neither fully American nor Japanese but Japanese American. The book explores his upbringing in a Jewish neighborhood, his disconnection from Japanese culture, and his eventual reconciliation with his heritage.
• Nishizu Interview Book Published, page 5. Dr. Arthur A. Hansen’s ‘Clarence Nishizu Interview’ was celebrated at Cal State Fullerton as part of the Orange County Japanese American Oral History Project. The 220-page hardcover book covers Nishizu’s personal history and recollections of early Japanese American families in Orange County during the 1900s-1910s.
• Books in Brief, by Harry Honda, page 5. Several book reviews are presented including Lu Chi’s ‘Wen Fu: The Art of Writing,’ a biography of atomic bomb survivor Dr. Takashi Nagai titled ‘A Song for Nagasaki,’ a Quaker book on U.S. military bases in Asia, a photography study of Japanese American families, and Sucheng Chan’s ‘Asian Americans: An Interpretive History.’ Each book offers insight into different aspects of Japanese and Asian American history and culture.
• Tokyo Bound: Amy Hill’s One-Woman Show Explores Cultural Identity, by Martha Nakagawa, page 7. Amy Hill’s autobiographical one-woman stage production ‘Tokyo Bound’ at East West Players portrays her experiences visiting and living in Japan as a half-Japanese, half-Finnish woman raised in South Dakota. The show parodies various Japanese women stereotypes while exploring her complex relationship with cultural identity and her mother’s immigrant experience.

Commentary

• Curious Custom of Apology in Japan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa discusses the Japanese cultural tendency toward frequent apology and applies this to the lack of a direct Japanese apology for Pearl Harbor as its 50th anniversary approaches. He notes growing calls within Japan, including from LDP official Yohei Kono, for a clearer apology directed at the United States.
• Onomatopoeia or ‘Gi-on’, by Bill Marutani, page 6. Marutani explores the concept of onomatopoeia, comparing English and Japanese words that imitate sounds such as animal noises and coughing. He reflects on his own attentiveness to these sound words while reading Japanese comic strips and listening to Japanese music.
• Justice Department Should Apologize for Apology Delay, by K.R. Hamada, page 6. A letter writer thanks Violet K. de Cristoforo for her suggestions regarding a Justice Department apology letter and plans to write requesting an apology for his deceased father who died before the 1988 Redress bill was signed into law. He reflects on the irony of his father’s death occurring the same year JACL first sought Redress decades earlier.
• Getting New Members Through Sports, page 6. A letter writer suggests JACL chapters use sports programs, as the Gardena Chapter did in 1979 with youth basketball and track teams, to attract younger members rather than creating a new image. The writer argues young Japanese Americans are more interested in sports and social activities than abstract discussions of civil rights.

Obituaries

• Ernest Kaoru Uno, page 9. Ernest Kaoru Uno’s obituary details his life and community contributions, including his family and survivors. He was remembered for his work in insurance and involvement in community activities before his death.
• Carl Saito, page 9. Carl Saito, an insurance and investment agent until his retirement in 1990, died of cancer on July 31. Services were held at Bunker’s Garden Chapel in Mesa, Arizona, on Aug. 4, and he is survived by family members including his wife and children.

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