Vol. 113, No. 10, October 4, 1991. 8 pages. View this issue
A large national conference on Asian American issues, set for Oct. 24-26 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, led this eight-page issue. Speakers named in the report include Elaine Chao and Gov. Pete Wilson. The front page also covered President Bush’s plans for the Pearl Harbor 50th anniversary ceremony and new Census figures on household income. Inside, the JACL Intermountain District announced a tribute to Mike Masaoka, its first governor in 1939, at its Oct. 26 convention.
On the commentary page, Bill Hosokawa wrote about a barber and the loss of a heritage language, and Jin Konomi described Japan’s skip-aid consultants. Readers wrote in about a cartoon one called racist and about monuments to Nikkei service members. Community pages covered Aki Kurose’s science teaching, a gallery show in Little Tokyo, Monterey Peninsula JACLers honored for volunteerism, and a notice that a redress ceremony in New York City was not scheduled.
What’s in this issue
National
- National Asian American Conference Scheduled, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A large-scale national conference on Asian American issues, titled ‘Asian American Experience: Looking Ahead,’ is scheduled for Oct. 24-26 at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The conference will feature a distinguished lineup of speakers from arts, government, media, business, and academia, including Elaine Chao and Gov. Pete Wilson.
- Bush: Positive Message at Pearl Harbor Event, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Bush plans to emphasize the importance of future constructive Japan-U.S. relations at the upcoming Pearl Harbor 50th anniversary ceremony. No foreign guests will be invited to the Dec. 7 ceremony to ease tensions, though Bush is expected to visit Japan in November to further soften the tone of relations.
- Median Household Income Higher, Says Census, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Census data shows real median household income for various racial groups, with Asian household income listed at $38,450, not statistically different from 1989 after adjusting for inflation. The report also details poverty rates among whites, blacks, and Hispanics in 1990.
- USPAACC Forum on U.S.-China-Hong Kong-Japan Trade, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A forum sponsored by the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce will address business topics including manufacturing, banking, and export control law related to Hong Kong, China, and Japan. Registration fees vary for members and non-members.
- Eight Awarded Scholarships by Mental Health Foundation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Okura Mental Health Leadership Foundation awarded its first scholarships to eight Asian-Pacific Americans in human services fields during a ‘Week in Washington’ program featuring congressional briefings and meetings with notable Washington figures. The six-day program was headquartered at the Hampshire Hotel and included participants from institutions across the country.
JACL
- Masaoka Tribute Scheduled by Intermountain District, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Intermountain JACL District Convention on Oct. 26 at Cactus Pete’s will honor Mike Masaoka, who was the district’s first governor in 1939. National JACL president Cressey Nakagawa and Sha Uifusa will hold a news conference addressing Pearl Harbor’s meaning to Japanese Americans, a JACL education initiative on textbooks, and anti-Asian violence.
Community
- Nikkei Teaches Science with a Sense of Wonder, Discovery, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Aki Kurose, an award-winning Seattle elementary school teacher and former astronaut program participant, is a leading advocate for hands-on science education through the Washington Initiative in Science Education. She emphasizes experiential learning over textbooks, arguing that science should be taught through trial, error, and discovery rather than rote reading.
- Asian American Economic Development Enterprises Opens Technology Development Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A new Technology Development Center opened Sept. 26 in Torrance, California, aimed at addressing unemployment and depressed economic conditions in Southern California. The center will seek donations of high-tech equipment for job training programs.
- Monterey Peninsula JACLers Honored with Volunteerism Award, by Kay Sugahara, page 5. Ted Durein and other Monterey Peninsula JACL members were honored by former President Gerald Ford with ‘the Spirit of Volunteerism’ award for their community-oriented activities. Other honorees mentioned include a teacher named Milton Kato and community advocate Joni Johnson.
- Paintings and Drawings Displayed at Doizaki Gallery, by Kay Sugahara, page 5. Paintings and drawings by a retired Japanese language newspaper editor, created as a hobby since his 1957 graduation from Chouinard Art Institute, went on display at the George J. Doizaki Gallery in Little Tokyo’s JACCC from Sept. 15-29. Also mentioned is Art Miki of Winnipeg, president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians, receiving recognition for his leadership and contribution to redress for Japanese Canadians.
- Yoshiko Yamaguchi’s Life Reappears in Popular Musical, by Kay Sugahara, page 5. The story of Yoshiko Yamaguchi (Li Xiang-lan), a Manchurian-born singer and actress who later became a Japanese politician, has been adapted into a popular musical running for two years in Tokyo following her recently published autobiography. Yamaguchi was known prewar for her singing and postwar as a Hollywood film star, and she later served multiple terms in Japan’s House of Councillors.
Incarceration & Redress
- Redress Ceremony Not Scheduled, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Office of Redress Administration will not conduct a special redress presentation ceremony in New York City as previously reported. ORA administrator Robert K. Bratt said the event could not be scheduled as originally announced.
Commentary
- Snipping Away a Stereotype, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Columnist Bill Hosokawa recounts an experience at his barber, a Hispanic man named Chris, who spoke Spanish with a customer family, revealing his own struggle to retain fluency in his heritage language due to disuse. Hosokawa reflects on the parallel experience of Nisei and Sansei who similarly lose fluency in Japanese, and questions the assumptions people make based on appearance and ethnicity.
- Moshi Moshi: Skip-Aid Consultants, by Jin Konomi, page 4. The column explores Japan’s ‘yonige-ya’ (skip-aid consultants) industry, which helps debt-ridden individuals evade creditors legally, since Japan lacks an easy bankruptcy option like the U.S. The piece discusses how this phenomenon has become fodder for a popular TV drama and raises questions about the show’s portrayal of an underground industry born of economic desperation.
- PC Cartoon Called ‘Racist’, by Esther L. Watson, page 4. A reader from Indianapolis writes to express disappointment over an editorial cartoon in the Sept. 13 Pacific Citizen, calling it racist. She urges the publication to be more sensitive to its content going forward.
- Comment on Monuments, page 4. A letter writer discusses the ongoing debate over what type of monument should include the Nikkei who served, referencing historical precedents including the USS Maine and the USS Bennington explosion in 1905, which killed Japanese American Cook Sakae Takata among others. The writer argues for recognition of Japanese American service members’ sacrifices in official monuments and memorials.
Obituaries
- Southern Illinois University Honors Dr. Michael (Nikkei Educator), by Kay Sugahara, page 5. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale honored an active St. Louis JACLer who served as coordinator at the SIU clinic center for 24 years and became a professor in 1967 in what is now the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences. He was born in Surrey, B.C., and contributed several stories to the Pacific Citizen about the Rohwer camp experience.
- Obituaries: Community Members Remembered, by P.C. Staff, page 6. This roundup lists several community members who recently passed away, including Grace MacInnis, a British Columbia politician who advocated against government treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII, and Hachiro Okazaki, a Hawaii-born community member. Other individuals noted include Teru Onouye, Shigeno, Harry T., and Mariko, with details of their surviving family members.
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