Nisei veterans stamp campaign, Toyota lawsuit and camp preservation

Vol. 150, No. 3, February 19, 2010. 16 pages. View this issue

A campaign to honor Nisei veterans with a commemorative stamp, and what happens after the Postal Service’s advisory committee turned it down, led the news. Nalea J. Ko reported on supporters who vowed to keep pushing. A JA family’s lawsuit against Toyota over the death of Noriko Uno made the front page, and Greg Risling covered it on page 7. Harry K. Honda looked ahead to Being Japanese American in 2050, and Mako Nakagawa continued her Power of Words series on the terms used for the World War II incarceration (often called internment).

Elsewhere in the 16 pages: the first Japanese American Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., which focused on preserving confinement sites, and Kristin Fukushima’s column on immigration reform. Nalea J. Ko also profiled author Naomi Hirahara and the rap group Far East Movement. Rachel Cohen wrote about three siblings in Olympic ice dancing. The Minoru Yasui Oratorical Competition and a Manzanar school reunion also appeared.

What’s in this issue

National

• Campaign to Honor Nisei Veterans Won’t Be Stamped Out, by Nalea J. Ko, page 3. Despite rejection by the U.S. Postal Service’s Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, supporters of a Nisei WWII veterans commemorative stamp vow to continue their years-long campaign. The committee cited a policy against honoring individual military sub-branches, and supporters are now pushing to change that policy through the postmaster general.
• Family Members Search For Answers in Mysterious Disappearance, by Nalea J. Ko, page 5. Fredric H. Yamamoto, 56, disappeared from Bothell, Wash. on Sept. 29, believed to have taken an inflatable kayak onto Lake Washington, with his abandoned car found weeks later. His sister and a private investigator continue searching for answers as the sheriff’s department finds no signs of foul play.
• Educators Want Ethnic Studies in High Schools, by Nalea J. Ko, page 6. San Francisco educators and students are advocating for a pilot ethnic studies program for ninth graders despite the school district’s budget constraints. Supporters say the curriculum, which would cover topics like Japanese American internment, fosters student engagement and self-respect.
• National Newsbytes, by P.C. Staff and Associated Press, page 6. A roundup of national news briefs including a lawsuit over a detainee’s death at a Rhode Island detention facility, a documentary on internee Fumiko Hayashida, a New Hampshire committee vote against repealing gay marriage, a University of Colorado Asian studies doctoral program proposal, a Chinese spy’s sentencing, and a Utah affirmative action ban resolution.
• Lawsuit Seeks Acceleration Fix For More Toyotas, by Greg Risling, page 7. A lawsuit filed against Toyota seeks to expand the automaker’s recall to include a brake override system, following the death of Noriko Uno whose 2006 Camry suddenly accelerated. Uno’s family attorney argues her death could have been prevented had Toyota not blamed such accidents on driver error.

Arts & Entertainment

• Bringing Back Mas Arai, by Nalea J. Ko, page 4. Author Naomi Hirahara discusses her Mas Arai mystery series, inspired by her father’s history as a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor turned Los Angeles gardener. Her fourth book in the series, ‘Blood Hina,’ releases March 2 and centers on a mystery involving Japanese dolls.
• Far East Movement is Moving On Up, by Nalea J. Ko, page 9. The Asian Pacific American rap group Far East Movement discusses their rise from small audiences to touring the world with hits like ‘Girls on the Dance Floor.’ The group’s members reflect on fan reactions to their APA identity and their focus on making party music while working on their third album.

Community

• APAs in the News, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A roundup of achievements by Asian Pacific Americans including Eric Shinseki receiving a JAVA award, tennis victories by Yutaka Kobayashi, Hawaii JACL’s civil rights honor, five new Eagle Scouts from San Jose, Wat Misaka’s honor by the Knicks, a proclamation for artist Lewis Suzuki, and federal judgeship confirmations for several APAs.
• Bone Marrow Donor Needed For Natalie Nakatani, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Community leaders and celebrities are helping search for a bone marrow match for 8-year-old leukemia patient Natalie Nakatani, whose best chance is a donor of Asian descent. JACL chapters are organizing bone marrow drives and encouraging members to get tested.
• Calif. Colleges Seeking Nisei Students, by P.C. Staff, page 10. California colleges including Pasadena City College, CSU Fresno, and Sacramento City College are searching for former Nisei students whose education was interrupted by WWII internment to award them honorary degrees. The effort stems from Assembly Bill 37, signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
• Manzanar School Reunion Planned, page 15. The Manzanar school reunion will be held Aug. 9-11 at the California Hotel in Las Vegas, organized by reunion committee chair Hank Nakano. Events will include a slot tournament, a banquet, and updates from Manzanar National Historic Site rangers on park activities.

Commentary

• Being Japanese American in 2050, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. Harry Honda reflects on a 1993 essay by Dr. Lane Hirabayashi challenging the notion that intermarriage rates alone will determine the survival of Japanese American communities by 2050, arguing instead that culture is learned and perpetuated through community choices and actions. He also revisits a 1942 JACL wartime appeal by Mike Masaoka pledging loyalty to America.
• Reset The Default, by Peter Shigeki Frandsen, page 8. Frandsen reflects on how New York City’s practice of charging for soda refills unintentionally helped him control his calorie intake, unlike free-refill culture elsewhere. He argues people should reset default habits, like automating savings deductions, to make healthy and financially sound choices easier to maintain.
• Are the Benefits of Chapter Scholarship Programs Worth It?, by Brandon Mita, page 11. JACL national youth representative Brandon Mita questions whether chapter scholarship programs yield sufficient return in member engagement and proposes converting some scholarships into awards for student organizations instead. He argues this approach could build coalitions with broader APA communities and recruit younger members into JACL.
• Power of Words, Part Two, by Mako Nakagawa, page 12. Mako Nakagawa continues her argument for replacing euphemistic terms describing the WWII Japanese American experience, focusing this time on ‘concentration camp’ and ‘internment camp’ terminology. She urges JACL chapters to support the ‘Power of Words’ resolution ahead of the 2010 national convention in Chicago.
• Working For Immigration Reform, by Kristin Fukushima, page 13. JACL is engaged in comprehensive immigration reform efforts on both coasts, participating in the Reform Immigration For America campaign and forming an AAPI-focused task force in Los Angeles. The article highlights JACL’s use of blogging and text messaging campaigns to mobilize younger members and calls for broader chapter involvement to pass reform in 2010.

Sports

• JA Siblings Dancing For Olympic Gold, by Rachel Cohen, page 10. Siblings Cathy and Chris Reed represent Japan and their younger sister Allison represents Georgia in Olympic ice dancing, despite growing up in New Jersey with little chance of making the U.S. team. Coached by top trainers, the family reflects on their improbable journey to the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

JACL

• Who Will Be the Next Min Yasui?, page 11. JACL is distributing guidelines for the 2010 Minoru Yasui Oratorical Competition, inviting high school and college students to compete at district councils before the finals at the national convention in Chicago. The competition, named after civil rights attorney Min Yasui, asks contestants to address how APAs and JACL can inspire change in America’s current landscape.
• Keam Keynotes Washington, D.C. JACL Installation, page 12. Virginia Delegate Mark Keam, the first Korean American elected to the state legislature, keynoted the Washington, D.C. JACL chapter’s installation dinner. Keam previously interned with the D.C. JACL chapter in 1988 and has worked for the FCC, SBA, and Verizon.
• First JA D.C. Summit Focused on Camp Preservation, page 12. JACL joined other organizations at the first Japanese American Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. to advocate for preservation of WWII confinement sites, with $3 million in federal funding set aside for restoration grants. Key speakers included former Sen. Alan Simpson and former Sec. Norman Mineta, with several members of Congress attending a related reception.
• Veterans’ Group Calling For Scholarships Applicants, page 15. The Japanese American Veterans Association has increased its scholarship awards to $1,500 each for the 2010 cycle, with an April 21 deadline for eligible applicants related to WWII veteran units or currently serving JAs. Three new scholarships have been added this year in honor of Col. Douglas Ishio, Kiyoko Tsuboi Taubkin, and Teru Kamikawa Matsui.

Obituaries

• Amy Hashiguchi-Kawaoka, page 15. Amy Hashiguchi-Kawaoka of Gardena, Calif. passed away Dec. 20, 2009 after a battle with illness, at age 82. She is survived by her son, daughter, several siblings, and was preceded in death by three brothers and her son Christopher.
• Professor Helped Established Asian American Studies, page 15. Lucie Cheng, former director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center and a pioneering social scientist, died Jan. 27 in Taipei from cancer. She led the center from 1972-1987, helped establish the university’s first endowed chair in Japanese American Studies, and later became a publisher and journalist in Taiwan.

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