Redress funding and a call to former state workers

Vol. 95, No. 23, December 3, 1982. 12 pages. View this issue

Redress ran through this 12-page issue. The front page carried Assemblyman Patrick Johnston’s final call to find Japanese Americans fired from California state jobs in 1942 who may claim $5,000 in back wages, and noted editorials in the Los Angeles Times and Herald Examiner backing monetary redress. Inside, JACL chapters and districts pledged money to the national campaign, including the Pacific Southwest District Council, Seattle and New York. Floyd Shimomura wrote about the program in his President’s Corner, and the JACL Redress Committee issued a video explaining its guidelines.

Also in this issue: the opening of the Franklin D. Murphy Library at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Peter Imamura’s interview with a laid-off Nikkei autoworker, and coverage of Japan’s new prime minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone. Commentary came from Bill Hosokawa, Bill Marutani and Clifford L. Uyeda.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Johnston Issues ‘Last Call’ for Former Ca. State Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Assemblyman Patrick Johnston’s office is making a final effort to locate Japanese Americans eligible to claim $5,000 in back wages under AB 2710 for state employees fired in 1942. Legislative Assistant Priscilla Ouchida listed dozens of former employees who have not yet contacted the office before claim forms are mailed in December.
• JACCC Library Formally Opens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Franklin D. Murphy Library of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center was dedicated Nov. 22 in Los Angeles before an audience of about 200, with Dr. Franklin Murphy as keynote speaker. The library will serve as a special reference resource on Japanese Americans and Japan, with materials funded by the Ahmanson Foundation, Japan Foundation and Times Mirror Foundation.
• Former So. Cal. Grower Fetes 100th, page 2. Approximately 110 people attended a birthday celebration for Yaichi Omachi, a retired vegetable grower formerly of Canoga Park, who turned 100 at Phoenix West Residence in Fresno. Omachi and his family were interned during WWII at Jerome, Arkansas, before returning to Fresno to grow watermelons and vegetables, and he received a congratulatory telegram from Rep. Tony Coelho.
• ‘Tokyo Disneyland’ Will Soon Enchant Japanese, page 5. Oriental Land Co. is spending $545 million to build Tokyo Disneyland, a venture from which Walt Disney Productions will collect royalty fees without direct ownership. The park, bigger than the original California Disneyland, is expected to draw 10 million visitors in its first year and will feature state-of-the-art ‘audio-animatronics’ and heavy corporate sponsorship.
• N.Y. ‘Women’s Exchange’ Viewed as a Good Beginning, page 12. A New York JACL-sponsored ‘Women’s Exchange’ brought together Nikkei women and Japan-born women for workshops exploring the social and cultural gaps between them. Participants, including workshop leader Fumi Matsuki Raith, shared personal stories about loneliness, stereotyping, and adjustment to American life, with organizers calling the event a successful first step toward building rapport.

Incarceration & Redress

• L.A. Times, Herald Examiner Editorials Support Redress, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Both the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and Los Angeles Times published editorials supporting monetary redress for Japanese Americans interned during World War II. The editorials cite the forthcoming recommendations of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians and argue that compensation is a matter of justice long overdue.

National

• U.S. Computer Firm Files Suit Against Japan Co. for Pirating, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Microsoft Corp. filed suit in Tokyo against Shuwa System Trading Inc. for pirating a software program designed for an NEC microcomputer, in what is seen as a key test case for software copyright protection in Japan. The suit also names a printing company that published a manual containing the allegedly pirated code.
• Japan’s New Leader Is Ambitious, Outspoken, page 1. Yasuhiro Nakasone was elected president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, automatically making him prime minister, after a controversial 35-year political career marked by shifting alliances and a reputation as a ‘political weather vane.’ The article traces his background, his image as a rightist, and his stated positions on defense and U.S.-Japan relations.
• Nikkei Autoworker Speaks Out on U.S. Industry’s Problems, by Peter Imamura, page 1. Mark Masaoka, a Japanese American spot welder laid off from GM’s Van Nuys plant along with 2,250 other employees, criticizes the company’s mismanagement and overproduction as the real cause of the layoffs rather than market conditions. Masaoka discusses his union activism, the auto industry’s shift overseas, and the role Japanese American community organizations might play in labor and trade issues.
• Former Mitsukoshi Store Head Arrested in Kickback Scandal, page 5. Shigeru Okada, former president of Japan’s Mitsukoshi department store, was arrested for allegedly obtaining $189,000 illegally as a kickback from an interior decorating firm. Okada had been fired from his post in September after 10 years as president, and a close associate was also arrested on tax violation charges related to Mitsukoshi dealings.
• Advisory Unit Recommends Changes in Japan Textbooks, page 5. An advisory body to Japan’s Education Minister recommended that ‘special consideration’ be given in describing historical events involving Japan and its Asian neighbors in textbooks, following complaints from China and South Korea about whitewashed wartime history. The council called for earlier screening of controversial 1981 textbook passages but avoided directly ordering changes to specific disputed wording.
• Report Released on JAL Crash, page 5. A Japan Transport Ministry panel criticized Japan Air Lines for ‘slipshod medical supervision’ of the pilot who crashed his DC-8 into Tokyo Bay in February, killing 24 passengers. The pilot, diagnosed as schizophrenic, had a history of erratic behavior that JAL officials failed to properly act upon despite warnings from his wife.

Obituaries

• Mrs. Green River of Wyoming Dies, page 2. M.A. Toku Sunada, 88, known affectionately as ‘Mrs. Green River,’ died at her home in Green River, Wyoming. A picture bride who arrived in Seattle in 1917, she was active with the Union Congregational Church, VFW Auxiliary, and local historical and business organizations, and was known for her deep knowledge of American sports history.

Commentary

• President’s Corner: Redress, by Floyd Shimomura, page 6. National JACL President Floyd Shimomura provides an update on the status of the Redress Program, including its consolidation into the regular JACL structure, a trimmed budget, chapter pledges, and anticipation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians’ upcoming report. He urges JACL to move quickly once the report is issued and calls for strong support for individual monetary payments.
• Letters: Long Range Goals, by Lillian Kimura, page 6. A letter from Lillian Kimura, former chair of the JACL Long Range Planning Committee, expresses concern that the committee’s report and goals have been largely ignored in subsequent JACL board and executive committee discussions. She calls for clarity on how resolutions and action plans relate to the committee’s articulated goals and objectives.
• Another ‘Relocation’ (Part Two), by Clifford L. Uyeda, page 6. Clifford Uyeda continues his account of the Navajo-Hopi land dispute, detailing how Public Law 93-531 forced thousands of Navajos off land they had lived on for generations due to a partition boundary and fence built by the federal government. He calls for repeal of the law, citing expert recommendations and warning of a potential violent confrontation as the 1986 relocation deadline approaches.
• A Look at Japan’s Political Process, by Bill Hosokawa, page 7. Bill Hosokawa explains the workings of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party leadership election and contrasts the vague, consensus-driven platform language with the sharper rhetoric of American politics. He compares the positions of the four LDP presidential candidates on constitutional revision, noting their generally cautious and noncommittal stances.
• East Wind: Guilt by Association of Race, by Bill Marutani, page 7. Bill Marutani condemns the persistent mentality that blames Nisei and Issei for wartime acts of Imperial Japan despite their total lack of involvement and their own military service and sacrifices in the Pacific War. He argues that such race-based condemnation is a form of illness or willful ignorance that Japanese Americans are not responsible for curing, and calls for clearing the air of such hatred.

JACL

• NCWNPDC Blue Shield Rates for ’83 Announced, page 9. The Northern California Western Nevada Pacific District Council JACL/California Blue Shield Health Plan will raise dues starting January 1983 due to rising medical costs and an aging membership. Chairman John Yasumoto detailed new deductible structures and a 29.6% rate increase, while noting the plan remains cheaper than comparable group plans.
• JACL Redress Committee Issues Video, page 9. National JACL Headquarters produced a 15-minute video explaining the redress guidelines passed at the national convention, featuring National President Floyd Shimomura, Youth Director David Nakayama, Redress Director John Tateishi, and Redress Chair Min Yasui. The tape is intended to help chapters understand the guidelines that will form the basis of JACL’s redress legislation.
• Seattle JACL Makes Pledge for Redress, page 9. The Seattle Chapter of JACL pledged $750 per quarter for three years to fulfill the national redress funding resolution adopted at the biennial convention. The pledge is contingent on receiving full and detailed quarterly financial accountings of the redress funds.
• Wakamatsu Tribute Nets $12,000, page 10. A National JACL fundraising effort honoring Shig Wakamatsu at the convention raised $14,700, with committee chairman Jack Nakagawa reporting $2,700 in expenses and a planned gift of round-trip airfare to Japan for Wakamatsu. More than 500 individuals contributed to the tribute, with many listed as Century or Life members.
• PSWDC Pledges $40,000 to JACL Redress Campaign, by Harry Honda, page 10. The Pacific Southwest District Council JACL voted at its Nov. 21 session to release $40,000 from its treasury in quarterly installments to fund the national redress campaign, with chapters expected to replenish the district treasury through their own fundraising. National President Floyd Shimomura addressed the council about redress funding discipline and expressed confidence that the CWRIC would recommend both individual and community redress awards.
• NY JACL Pledges $3,000 to Redress, page 12. The New York JACL chapter board pledged $1,015 per year for three years to the National JACL Redress Committee Fund, based on the mandated $5 per member contribution. The total pledge of $3,045 represents 1% of the $300,000 the Redress Committee seeks to raise for its legislative campaign.

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