Supreme Court seat, a Texas road name, and redress history

Vol. 141, No. 2, July 15, 2005. 12 pages. View this issue

A search for an Asian Pacific American on the U.S. Supreme Court led the July 15, 2005 issue. After Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announced her retirement, Caroline Aoyagi reported on attorneys and advocates who said it was time. Also on the front page, Orange County, Texas removed the ‘Jap Lane’ road signs after a decade-long effort by JACL Houston members and residents. John Tateishi wrote on the JACL’s role in the redress campaign, and Amy E. Ikeda reported on Yuri Kochiyama’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

Inside are two youth conference reflections by Katie Soe and Sean Miura, and Harry Honda’s account of a clergy panel on the World War II incarceration. The National Park Service invited public comment on a Minidoka preservation plan, and Densho launched its ‘Sites of Shame’ website. A Madison, Idaho group hoped to save a 1920s Japanese language school. Sports and arts pages close out the 12-page issue.

What’s in this issue

National

• APAs Still Missing From Supreme Court Discussions, by Caroline Aoyagi, page 1. Following Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement announcement, Asian American attorneys and advocates argue it is time for an Asian Pacific American Supreme Court nominee. Despite a growing pool of qualified AA judges and lawyers, none have ever been considered for the nation’s highest court.
• Texas Approves ‘Jap Lane’ Name Changes, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 1. After a decade-long battle by JACL Houston members and residents, Orange County, Texas officials removed the racially insensitive ‘Jap Lane’ road signs and approved new names including Duncanwoods Lane, Japanese Lane and Cajun Way. Commissioner John Dubose said he led the renaming effort to avoid a lawsuit and bad publicity following a similar successful case in neighboring Jefferson County.
• JA Activist Yuri Kochiyama Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, by Amy E. Ikeda, page 1. Longtime social justice activist Yuri Kochiyama, 84, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as part of the ‘1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005’ project recognizing her decades of civil rights work alongside figures like Malcolm X. If selected, she would be the first Japanese American woman to receive the honor.
• Madison Group Hopes to Preserve Japanese School, History, by Associated Press, page 4. Madison School District officials in Rexburg, Idaho discovered a 1920s-era Japanese Language School on newly purchased farmland and a community committee now hopes to preserve it as an educational museum or cultural library. The school, built by Japanese immigrant families, served as an educational, religious and social hub until it closed in 1941 following the outbreak of WWII.
• JANM Delegation, Japanese Officials Vow to Strengthen U.S.-Japan Relations, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A Japanese American National Museum delegation led by Sen. Daniel Inouye met with Japanese officials including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to discuss strengthening U.S.-Japan relations through a symposium on Japanese Americans. Delegation members included actor George Takei and Gen. Eric Shinseki, who joined a panel with Japanese leaders.
• Densho Unveils ‘Sites of Shame’ Web Site, by P.C. Staff, page 12. Densho launched a new website, ‘Sites of Shame: An Overview of Japanese American Detention Facilities,’ featuring an interactive map detailing 69 WWII detention sites that held over 120,000 Japanese Americans. The site includes video testimonies, historic photographs, and personal family stories to preserve this history for future generations.

Commentary

• Redress Legacy, by John Tateishi, page 1. JACL Executive Director John Tateishi argues that the JACL was the primary driving force behind Japanese American redress, tracing the campaign’s history from Edison Uno’s 1970 resolutions through the 1978 Salt Lake City guidelines. He contends the organization’s crucial role is often understated in histories of the redress movement.
• Remembering Lily and Pat Okura, by Emily Murase, page 2. Emily Murase pays tribute to Lily and Patrick Okura, longtime Washington, D.C. JACL leaders known for their hospitality and devotion to the chapter, following Lily’s death shortly after her husband Pat’s passing. She recounts Pat’s early, once-controversial advocacy for redress and the couple’s lasting impact on generations of JACL members.
• What It Means to Be an American, page 2. A letter writer reflects on Barbara Takei’s commentary ‘Shikata Ga Nai,’ pondering questions of Japanese American identity in relation to supporting the Muslim community. The writer suggests that grappling with the larger question of American identity benefits both individuals and the nation.
• Strengthening Our AA Identity, by Katie Soe, page 6. A youth delegate recounts her experience at the 2005 JACL National Youth Conference in Salt Lake City, describing workshops on Asian American identity, a Living Voices presentation, and a banquet honoring Vision Award winner Mee Moua. She reflects on how the conference helped her better understand her cultural identity.
• In Search of Our Voice, by Sean Miura, page 6. A 16-year-old Yonsei describes attending the JACL Youth Conference and meeting other Japanese Americans for the first time outside his family, finding relief and connection with peers who shared similar experiences of cultural disconnection. He concludes that his generation is beginning to find its own voice within JACL.
• Different Time Zone, Same Standard of Beauty, by Amy Ikeda, page 8. A Yonsei writer traveling in Japan with her grandmother is dismayed to find American mainstream beauty standards, featuring Caucasian models and celebrities, deeply embedded in Japanese media and culture. She reflects on how this experience helped her better understand her own identity as a Japanese American navigating between two worlds.
• Our Evacuation Story Told Another Way, by Harry Honda, page 8. Harry Honda recounts a panel discussion at the Japanese American National Museum where Buddhist and Christian clergy shared personal perspectives on the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. Panelists including Rev. Paul Nagano, Rev. Art Takemoto, Rev. Grant Hagiya and Rev. Mas Kodani discussed the camps, community rebuilding, and continuing interfaith dialogue.

Community

• 21-Year-Old Aims High as He Vies for City Council Seat, by Lynda Lin, page 1. Eugene Kang, a 21-year-old University of Michigan senior, is running for Ann Arbor’s Ward 2 city council seat against a more experienced opponent, championing affordable housing and opposing new taxes. If elected, he would be the first Korean American council member in his municipality, and he hopes to inspire greater APA civic engagement regardless of the outcome.
• NPS Invites Public Comment for Minidoka Project, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a draft management plan for preservation and reconstruction of the Minidoka Relocation Center, where over 13,000 Japanese Americans were interned during WWII. Public workshops will be held through July and August in various states to finalize the plan.
• University Receives $1.5 Million Japanese Book Collection, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The University of Pittsburgh’s library system received a Japanese book and periodical collection valued at more than $1.5 million from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, doubling its East Asian Library holdings. The collection contains over 64,000 volumes covering topics from social movements to labor issues spanning the mid-19th to late 20th centuries.
• Hmong Sports Festival Turns 25, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Hmong Minnesota International Sports Tournament in St. Paul celebrates its 25th anniversary, having grown from a small gathering into the largest Hmong festival in the country drawing over 20,000 people daily. This year’s festival will make special efforts to welcome recently arrived Hmong refugees from Thailand.
• Chapter Announces Kee Kitayama Scholarship Winners, by P.C. Staff, page 12. The Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL chapter awarded four high school graduates the Kee Kitayama Memorial Scholarship, each receiving $1,000 for academic achievement and community involvement. Recipients included three Aptos High School graduates and one from Scotts Valley High School, with the late Kee Kitayama’s widow Keiko in attendance.
• Buchanan YMCA Needs Old Photos for ‘Sentimental Journey’, by P.C. Staff, page 12. The second annual ‘Sentimental Journey’ reunion of former Japanese YMCA members will focus on a sports theme this October in San Francisco, featuring well-known sports figures and family activities. The planning committee is seeking old photos of Buchanan YMCA sports teams and events for a visual display.

JACL

• JACL PSW District to Honor ‘Women Effecting Change’ at Awards Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The JACL Pacific Southwest District will honor Rose Matsui Ochi, Carol Kawanami and Dr. Mary Oda at its Annual Awards Dinner in Irvine on Sept. 10 for their contributions to the Japanese American community. Proceeds will support JACL’s efforts to train young Asian Pacific Americans as future community leaders.

Sports

• Wie’s Time Still a Ways Off, But It’s Coming, by Associated Press, page 7. Despite missing the cut by two strokes at the John Deere Classic after a late collapse, 15-year-old Michelle Wie showed she can compete with men, finishing ahead of 54 male golfers including David Duval. Wie plans to continue playing PGA Tour events and is competing in the U.S. Amateur Public Links this week.
• IOC Drops Baseball, Softball from 2012 Olympics, by Jim Armstrong, Associated Press, page 7. The International Olympic Committee’s decision to cut baseball and softball from the 2012 London Games disappointed Japan, which sent top professional players to Athens and won a bronze medal. Officials cited the absence of top MLB players and the sport’s steroid problems as reasons for the cut.
• Asashoryu Off to Winning Start at Nagoya Sumo, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Grand champion Asashoryu opened the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament with a convincing win over Miyabiyama on July 10. He remains the lone grand champion competing in sumo.

Arts & Entertainment

• Blending Combat and Couture with a Little Patriotism, page 9. New York bridal designer Junko Yoshioka offers military brides up to 75 percent off her couture wedding gowns, which normally retail for as much as $4,000. Yoshioka, who grew up in Japan and studied fashion in Milan, started the discount program after learning of an employee’s brother being deployed to Iraq.

Obituaries

• Japan’s Oldest Man Dies at 110, by Associated Press, page 11. Kohachi Shigetaka, who had been Japan’s oldest man since July 2004, died of pneumonia at a hospital near his hometown in Hiroshima. Nijiro Tokuda, just one month younger, is now Japan’s oldest man, while the world’s oldest living man is 113-year-old Emiliano Mercado Del Toro of Puerto Rico.
• Man Believed to be JA Found Dead in Drifting Yacht, by Associated Press, page 11. Japan’s Coast Guard found a man dead aboard a drifting yacht off the northeastern Pacific coast, believed to be 81-year-old California adventurer Sakae Hatashita who went missing during his solo voyage home. Hatashita had reached Japan from San Diego in December after a successful trans-Pacific trip to bury his wife’s ashes.
• Alice Okada Tatsuno, by P.C. Staff, page 11. Alice Okada Tatsuno, 91, of San Jose passed away May 21 due to sudden heart failure, survived by her husband of 67 years, Dave M. Tatsuno, along with children and grandchildren. A private inurnment service was held in keeping with her wishes.

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