Vol. 99, No. 21, November 23, 1984. 8 pages. View this issue
Election results opened the November 23, 1984 issue. A roundup showed Japanese Americans winning city council, state legislature and county seats in California, Colorado and Hawaii, and another story told how Judge Raymond S. Uno unseated an incumbent to win a district court seat in Utah. Also on the front page, Monterey Park officials, including councilwoman Lily Lee Chen, objected to news reports that cast their city as the center of an Asian gang war. Inside, JACL Regional Director John Saito persuaded TV Guide to drop the abbreviation “Jap. Programming” for Japanese-language shows.
Other pages cover Tom T. Masamori’s Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award, a $10 rebate for each new JACL member, and Peggy Sasashima Liggett’s election as Central California District Council governor. Bill Hosokawa wrote about judo and reviewed Sawako Ariyoshi’s novel The Twilight Years, Harry Honda continued his Little Tokyo Life column, and a Seattle committee published a 1985 calendar of prewar photographs.
What’s in this issue
Community
- Monterey Park Officials Still Rankled by Asian-Gang Stories, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. Monterey Park city councilwoman Lily Lee Chen expressed disturbance over news reports framing her city as the center of an Asian gang war following testimony before the President’s Commission on Organized Crime. City officials called the reports misleading and exaggerated, saying they overshadow positive developments in the Asian American community.
- Senior Home Is Pet Project: Kibei Philanthropist Feted, page 3. Fred Isamu Wada was honored by over 1,200 attendees at a testimonial banquet benefiting the Japanese Retirement Home, one of his pet projects. The successful businessman’s career included building produce markets, bringing Japanese swimmers to the US, aiding Tokyo’s 1964 Olympic bid, and raising funds for Nikkei senior care facilities worth a combined $25 million.
- Vintage Photos of NW Grace 1985 Calendar, page 3. A Seattle organizing committee published a 1985 calendar featuring sepia-toned photographs of prewar Japanese American life in the Pacific Northwest to raise funds for a major photo exhibit. The calendar is available for purchase and includes historical images like Shoichiro Katsuno driving a produce truck to Pike Place Market.
- Chapter Pulse, page 5. Brief news items from several JACL chapters including Carson’s family Christmas party, San Diego’s installation dinner honoring WWII veterans, San Mateo’s Holiday Boutique, and West Valley’s Christmas boutique and annual Mochi-Tsuki Day. Each chapter provides event details and contact information for members.
National
- Nikkei in West Succeed in Bids for State, Local Seats, page 1. A roundup of 1984 election results shows numerous Japanese Americans winning city council, state legislature, and county positions across California, Colorado, and Hawaii. Notable wins include Frank Yamaguchi in Colorado and multiple Democratic incumbents and challengers in Hawaii’s state house and senate races.
- Uno Overcomes Obstacles in Win, page 1. Judge Raymond S. Uno made Utah history by unseating an incumbent district court judge, becoming the first minority elected to a district court in the state. He won despite handicaps including facing an incumbent and not being listed as a judge on the ballot, with support attributed mainly to minority groups and lawyers.
- TV Guide Deletes Slur, page 3. Prompted by JACL Regional Director John Saito, TV Guide agreed to drop the abbreviation ‘Jap. Programming’ used for Japanese-language shows. Editor Roger Youman apologized in a Nov. 12 letter for the publication’s insensitivity.
JACL
- Masamori Honored for Service, page 2. Tom T. Masamori received the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award for November 1984 at a ceremony at the Denver Buddhist Church attended by over 150 people. He was recognized for 40 years of community service including work with JACL programs, veteran groups, and various Denver community organizations, and $2,000 was awarded to organizations he designated.
- Chapters to Get $10 for Each New Member, page 2. JACL is offering a one-time rebate of $10 per new member recruited between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, an increase of $8 over the current rebate. The National Board approved the end-of-year membership drive at its October meeting.
- Topics for 1985 Tri-District Conference Set, page 4. A planning committee met to set the schedule for the seventh Tri-District Conference, to be held April 19-21, 1985 at the Fresno Hilton, featuring workshops from three JACL district councils. Topics include interracial families, aging, ethnic concerns, women’s concerns, Pacific Rim economic impact, and young adult leadership development within JACL.
- Liggett Elected Central Calif. Governor, page 5. Peggy Sasashima Liggett was elected Central California District Council governor at the 35th annual convention in Fresno, succeeding Maude Ishida. She was installed along with 1985 chapter officers en masse by national JACL director Ron Wakabayashi at the convention dinner.
- CCDC to Undertake Expansion of Nikkei Senior Service Center, by Harry Honda, page 8. The Central California JACL District Council discussed expanding the Nikkei Service Center in Fresno’s old Nihonmachi area following passage of Proposition 30, a bond measure assisting senior citizen projects. The council also addressed staffing needs for Hmong refugee ESL instruction and reviewed national JACL headquarters operations and the Go For Broke photo exhibit at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum.
Commentary
- Women Leaders, by Sandi Kawasaki, page 2. A letter writer reflects on attending a Geraldine Ferraro rally and draws parallels to JACL’s women’s concerns committee themes about women’s leadership potential. She urges JACL women to consider running for chapter, district, or national office as officer installations approach.
- A Welcome Move, by E. Jisuyama, page 2. A letter writer welcomes JACL’s official support of the NCJAR suit despite its delay, criticizing JACL’s slow response. The writer suggests NCJAR consider enabling legislation via a senate bill to overcome statute of limitations issues, citing precedent cases.
- One Brief, Shining Moment, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. The columnist recalls childhood judo lessons and the toughness instilled by tough competitors among Nisei boys of his generation. He recounts a wartime incident at Camp Robinson, Arkansas where he used judo to defend himself against a racist bully recruit, the only time he applied what he learned in the dojo.
- Little Tokyo Life (No. 42): Dominguez Hills, by Harry Honda, page 4. The columnist explores the history of Dominguez Hills and surrounding areas, discussing the prewar Japanese farming community, the Gardena Japanese School, and local landmarks including the Buddhist Church and Japanese Cultural Institute. He also reviews a new pictorial history book on Torrance documenting the Issei-Nisei community during WWII.
Arts & Entertainment
- Tinsel Town Courage Described by Actor, page 2. Actor Sam Waterston praised producer David Puttnam’s courage in making ‘The Killing Fields,’ a film about the Cambodian war, without major stars and with a first-time director. The film features Cambodian refugee Haing S. Ngor playing the friend of Waterston’s New York Times reporter character.
- From the Frying Pan: Review of ‘The Twilight Years’, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. The columnist reviews Sawako Ariyoshi’s novel ‘The Twilight Years’ about a Tokyo family caring for an increasingly senile elderly father-in-law, a bestseller in Japan that sold a million copies. He connects the novel’s themes to JACL’s aging and retirement concerns, noting the universal difficulty of caring for elderly relatives whose minds have deteriorated.
Obituaries
- Shigeru Hongo, 64, page 7. Shigeru Hongo of Portland, Ore., died Nov. 12 while vacationing in Reno, Nev. He was a retired pharmacist, longtime Portland JACL chapter president in 1956, and member of the MIS and Oregon Nisei Vets, survived by his wife Lily and other family members.
- Florence Tayeko Hori, 82, page 7. Florence Tayeko Hori, daughter of potato king Kinji Ushijima and widow of Japan Consul Tomokazu Hori, died Nov. 3 at a convalescent home in San Pablo, Calif. She attended Vassar and USC graduate school, married Consul Hori in Los Angeles, and lived in Shanghai and Nanking before returning to Berkeley in 1946.
- Masataka Kobayashi, 45, page 7. Masataka Kobayashi, chef and co-owner of Masa’s Restaurant, died violently Nov. 11 in San Francisco, with his body found in his ransacked apartment two days later. His wife and three children were reportedly in New York at the time, where Mrs. Kobayashi planned to enroll a child in school.
- Roy Chiharu Morita, 56, page 7. Roy Morita, a San Jose-born cartoon artist employed at Walt Disney Production and resident of Granada Hills, passed away Nov. 14 at Kenneth Norris Jr. cancer hospital after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife Alice, two children, his father, two brothers and three sisters.
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