The Hattori case and the fight to rename a Texas road

Vol. 117, No. 1, July 2, 1993. 8 pages. View this issue

The killing of Japanese student Yoshiro Hattori led the issue. The Department of Justice answered requests from JACL and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium for a federal investigation, first finding no basis for further action, and JACL representatives then met with Attorney General Reno’s staff to press the case. A second front-page story followed efforts by Sandra Tanamachi Nakata, the Houston Chapter and Midwest Regional Director Bill Yoshino to change the name of Jap Road in Beaumont, Texas. Reporter Gwen Muranaka covered the local dispute. Also on page 1 was the funding fight over the redress program’s Civil Liberties Public Education Fund.

Columns by Lillian C. Kimura, Bill Hosokawa and Mei Nakano fill the commentary pages, with a reader’s letter on Jap Road. Inside are a Junior Olympics report from Steve Okamoto, Sylvia Kobayashi on a family aviation business in Anchorage, and Harry K. Honda on the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey.

What’s in this issue

National

• U.S. Justice Department to Investigate Hattori Killing, page 1. The Department of Justice responded to JACL and NAPALC requests for a federal investigation into the 1992 killing of Japanese student Yoshiro Hattori, initially finding no basis for further federal action. JACL representatives met with Attorney General Reno’s staff to press for continued investigation, noting no federal statute prohibits racially motivated violence alone without interference with a federally protected right.
• Redress Education Fund Needs Help, page 1. The Civil Liberties Public Education Fund, the last hurdle of the redress program, faces uncertain funding as the House Appropriations Committee considers the budget without a separate appropriation for it. JACL is urging senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee to support President Clinton’s $5 million budget request for the fund.
• Defendant in Temple Murder Case Admits to Lie, page 1. Alessandro ‘Alex’ Garcia, key witness in the 1991 murders of nine people at a Buddhist temple near Phoenix, admitted he lied to investigators about details of the crime, though he maintains Johnathan Doody was the triggerman. Garcia, who already pleaded guilty, faces up to 271 years but hopes for a reduced sentence of 25 years.
• Hattori Case Jurors Polled About Guns, page 1. A brief item referencing jurors in the Hattori shooting case being polled regarding gun ownership views following the trial verdict.
• Mink Hails Ginsburg Selection, page 3. Rep. Patsy T. Mink praised President Clinton’s nomination of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the U.S. Supreme Court, calling it an excellent appointment given Ginsburg’s strong background in equal and civil rights. Mink herself had been considered by some for the position but never officially declared interest.
• Clinton Popularity Drops in Japan, page 5. A poll shows President Clinton’s favorability rating in Japan eroded from 62 percent in February to 44 percent by May, ahead of his first trip to Japan as president for the G7 summit. Respondents expressed growing pessimism about Clinton’s ability to improve U.S.-Japan relations and declining expectations for U.S. leadership in global politics.

Community

• Midwest Director Helping to Change ‘Jap Road’ Name, by Gwen Muranaka, page 1. JACL National President Lillian Kimura and Midwest Regional Director Bill Yoshino sent letters supporting efforts by Sandra Tanamachi Nakata and the Houston Chapter JACL to change the name of Jap Road in Beaumont, Texas. County Commissioner Mark Domingue declared the issue dead after townspeople argued the name was historical and not a racial slur.
• Nikkei Fighting ‘Jap Road’ Accused of Taking Issue Inside Classroom, page 1. Susan LeBlanc accused Sandra Tanamachi Nakata of teaching young students that ‘Jap’ was a racial slur inside a classroom, a claim Tanamachi Nakata denies. Tanamachi Nakata says she never used the word in front of children and instead used an analogy about a street called ‘Stupid Road.’
• Elvis Sighting: Jack Iwata Photo Exhibit, page 1. A 1958 photo by the late Japanese American journalist Jack M. Iwata shows Elvis Presley signing autographs for Japanese actresses Yumi Shirakawa and Hideko Takamine. The photo is part of an exhibit titled ‘One More Shot: Jack Iwata Documenting Changing Japan Relations, 1937-1990’ at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, running July 10 through Oct. 17.
• Sansei Carries on Airport Business, by Sylvia Kobayashi, page 3. Nelson and Wayne Kogane operate an aviation business at Anchorage International Airport, continuing a family legacy that began when their father Tom Kogane moved the family from Seattle to Alaska in 1947. Anchorage has since grown from a small frontier town into a major commercial and industrial hub with international ties to Asia.
• Little Tokyo Nickname Given to Somali Refugee Area, by Allan Beekman, page 3. A section of Mogadishu, Somalia has been nicknamed ‘Little Somalia’ or ‘Little Tokyo’ by refugees seeking safety amid U.S. and international peacekeeping operations. The origin of the nickname was not reported.

JACL

• Kimura to Co-Chair March on Washington, D.C., page 1. JACL National President Lillian Kimura will join civil rights leaders as a co-chair of the 30th anniversary March on Washington on Aug. 28, commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King’s 1963 speech. Kimura will join Coretta Scott King and other civil rights leaders under the march theme ‘Jobs, Justice and Carrying the Torch.’

In-Depth

• Aleuts Evacuation Preserved in Film, page 3. The Aleutian/Pribilof Islands Association worked with Gaff Rigged Productions on a documentary about the World War II evacuation of Aleuts. The same production company is reportedly interested in shooting the Alaska Nikkei Story about Japanese Americans in Alaska during the war.
• Sumo in Prewar Hawaii Recalled, page 3. Ninety-one-year-old Kiyoshi Yoshida of Honolulu recalls wrestling sumo with the Makiki Buddhist Temple team starting in 1918 at age 15. He recounts various Buddhist temple-sponsored sumo teams across Hawaii plantations and his sumo name Takanoyama.

Sports

• 300 Run in 41st JACL Junior Olympics, by Steve Okamoto, page 5. The 41st annual JACL Junior Olympics, sponsored by the Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific District Council, drew 300 athletes ranging from age 6 to 50 at Chabot College in Hayward. Eden Township won the team championship, with thirteen new records broken across various divisions.

Military & Veterans

• Defense Language Institute Survives Base Closure, by Harry K. Honda, page 5. News that the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey will remain open, rather than closing and moving language training to Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, was welcomed by Nisei veterans including George Kanegai. The MIS history traces back to the Presidio of San Francisco, and buildings at DLI are named after Nisei heroes including John Aiso and Frank Hachiya.

Commentary

• Something Lacking in Nagasaki, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa reflects on his visit to Nagasaki, comparing it unfavorably to Hiroshima’s more successful commemoration of its atomic bombing history. He describes Nagasaki’s Peace Park as underwhelming and notes the city’s rich but underappreciated history as Japan’s historic window to the West during its period of isolation.
• A Long Hot Summer, by Lillian C. Kimura, page 6. Kimura discusses rising racial tensions across the country, citing news headlines about conflicts between Hispanic, Black, Asian and other communities. She emphasizes JACL’s continued need to work for justice and equal opportunity amid increasing animosity between Americans of color.
• Reader Says Too Much ‘Ado’ Over ‘Jap Road’ Issue, by Mary Sutow, page 6. A letter writer from Houston, Texas argues that the controversy over renaming Jap Road has caused unnecessary division in the community and that the name never carried racial animosity when first used decades ago. She suggests the issue could have been resolved quietly through a petition rather than public controversy.
• The ‘I Message’, by Mei Nakano, page 7. Nakano writes about completing a mediation and reconciliation training course and reflects on communication challenges among Nisei and Sansei, who often struggle to express feelings directly. She explains the ‘I message’ technique for expressing feelings constructively rather than through criticism, and considers how Japanese American cultural values of silence and self-restraint may have shaped communication patterns across generations.
• In-Sight: Asian Americans and Black Community Relations, by Lillian C. Kimura, page 8. Kimura discusses tensions between Asian Americans and African Americans, citing criticism of a Japanese American’s appointment to Health and Human Services and workplace diversity issues at AT&T Bell Labs. She calls for continued efforts to build understanding between communities of color rooted in shared experiences of racism.

Obituaries

• Obituaries, page 8. This week’s obituary listings include tributes to several community members including Yoshinobu (San Mateo JACL president), Kenichi Kuroda, Ayako Maeda, Tsuneko Neeno, Tai Ninomura, Mineo Sato, Hugh Seto (MIS veteran), Bong Hack Shin, and others with details of survivors. Notable among them is Bong Hack Shin, one of Hawaii’s oldest Korean picture brides, who immigrated in 1916 and later received a diploma from Farrington High night school.

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