Vol. 99, No. 8, August 24, 1984. 12 pages. View this issue
The Senate hearing on redress bill S 2116, held Aug. 16 in Los Angeles, led this issue. J.K. Yamamoto reported on the anti-redress witnesses, beginning with former senator S.I. Hayakawa, who argued that Japanese Americans showed honor by complying with the World War II incarceration (often called internment) orders. Pro-redress testimony was set for the following week. Commentary on Redress and the Civil Liberties Act debate came from Bill Marutani, Judge Raymond Uno and Fred Y. Hirasuna, while the Philadelphia and Watsonville city councils and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) were among those endorsing redress.
The JACL national convention in Honolulu is covered too: Frank Sato narrowly defeated Min Yasui for national president, Sen. Spark Matsunaga spoke at the Aloha Banquet, and Floyd Shimomura gave his biennial report. Elsewhere, Harry Honda reviewed the story of the Harada House in Riverside, and a feature traced one family’s path from the lost town of Walville, Washington, to Manzanar.
What’s in this issue
National
- Hayakawa Testifies Against Redress Payments, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 1. At a Senate hearing on redress bill S 2116 in Los Angeles, former senator S.I. Hayakawa argued that Japanese Americans demonstrated honor by complying with internment orders and that the experience ultimately benefited Nikkei by breaking down ghettoization and prejudice. He criticized Sansei pushing for redress and, in a post-testimony interview, said other minorities would be upset if reparations were awarded, dismissing the internment’s impact by noting ‘Japan started the war.’
- Another Hearing on HR 4110 Scheduled, page 2. Reps. Robert Matsui and Norman Mineta announced that the House Subcommittee on Administrative Law and Governmental Relations will hold another hearing on redress legislation Sept. 12 in Washington, D.C. Scheduled witnesses include internment-era officials Edward Ennis and Karl Bendetsen, plus a panel of former internees; Rep. Richard Lehman also became the 104th co-sponsor of HR 4110.
JACL
- Sato Edges Yasui by Scant 58½/56½ Vote, page 1. At the JACL National Council meeting in Honolulu, Frank Sato narrowly defeated Min Yasui for national president, while Kaz Mayeda won vice president for public affairs over incumbent Chuck Kubokawa. The council also adopted the Program for Action and budget, moved redress funding and staff to the Legislative Education Committee, and rejected a proposal for direct-to-national dues payment.
- Matsunaga Kicks Off Honolulu Convention Activities, page 2. Sen. Spark Matsunaga addressed 600 attendees at the JACL national convention Aloha Banquet, praising Hawaii’s multi-ethnic harmony as a model for healing the wounds of internment through his redress bill S 2116. The banquet also honored community leaders including Steere Noda, Earl Nishimura, and others who fought for Issei naturalization rights, plus JACLers of the Biennium Cherry Kinoshita and James Shimoura.
- A Growing Maturity, by Floyd Shimomura, page 6. In his biennial report to the National Council in Honolulu, outgoing JACL president Floyd Shimomura reviews the organization’s achievements in redress, U.S.-Japan relations, PANA involvement, combating violence against Asians, and new programs for women, leadership, and singles. He emphasizes that JACL membership remained steady around 26,500, the organization closed the biennium financially balanced, and calls for JACL to evolve into an international civil rights organization for the 1980s.
Incarceration & Redress
- Witnesses Claim Most Nikkei Were Traitors, page 1. At the Aug. 16 Senate redress hearing in Los Angeles, anti-redress witnesses including Charlotte Elam, Frederick Wiener, and Henry Kane argued that Japanese Americans were disloyal during WW2 and that the CWRIC report was biased and inaccurate. They cited alleged financial support for Japan, repatriation requests, and Nisei serving in the Japanese army as evidence against redress claims.
- Redress Gets More Endorsements, page 2. The Philadelphia and Watsonville city councils both passed resolutions endorsing JACL’s redress efforts, with the Philadelphia resolution presented in honor of Gordon Hirabayashi. The American Psychiatric Association and American Orthopsychiatric Association also voted to endorse resolutions supporting the CWRIC’s findings and redress legislation.
- Christian Church Restates 1942 Position Against Internment, page 3. The general board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) unanimously passed a resolution supporting CWRIC recommendations and redress bills, reaffirming its wartime 1942 resolution that opposed the internment as contrary to American justice. The resolution was introduced by David Kagiwada, a former Poston internee, and echoes the church’s historical stance condemning mass internment based on race and ancestry.
- Santa Clara to Pay Back County Workers, page 3. The Santa Clara County board of supervisors voted to set aside $50,000 for Japanese American county employees who lost their jobs due to WW2 internment, along with funding for an oral history project and historical markers. Former county nurse Elsie Inouye, 77, is so far the only identified eligible former employee and will receive $5,000 once her employment is verified.
- Redress Money Donated to Community, page 5. Three Nikkei who received $5,000 each in compensation from the city of Seattle for losing their jobs during WW2 donated large portions of their redress money to community organizations including Seattle JACL, Washington Coalition for Redress, and Keiro Nursing Home. The compensation legislation, sponsored by Councilwoman Dolores Sibonga, addressed Nikkei civil servants who lost jobs due to their ancestry, separate from federal internment redress.
- Hearing Witnesses Deny Camps Were Internment, by J.K. Yamamoto, page 9. Additional anti-redress witnesses at the Aug. 16 Senate hearing, including Lillian Baker, Rachel Kawasaki, and David Lowman, testified that Japanese Americans were never truly interned, that camps provided financial opportunities, and that intercepted ‘Magic’ cables proved Nikkei espionage for Japan. Kawasaki, a Caucasian woman who accompanied her Japanese husband to camp, angrily denied that internees were ever incarcerated or mistreated.
Community
- Nurse’s Invention Wins Top Award, page 2. Public health nurse Kiyo Sato-Viacrucis received a $2,000 award from the RN Foundation for Excellence in Nursing for developing the Blackbird Vision Screening System, which replaces the traditional Snellen E test for screening young children for lazy-eye. The new method uses blackbird flight pattern pictures and an accompanying story to engage non-reading preschoolers effectively.
- Chapter Pulse: West Valley, Seattle, Washington, page 6. West Valley chapter announced its first annual golf tournament in Coyote, Calif., limited to 32 players. Seattle chapter reported results of its 13th annual 1000 Club golf tournament winners, and Washington D.C. area chapter announced an ‘arigato’ picnic thanking members for their support.
Commentary
- The Symbolism of Seashells, by Bill Marutani, page 4. In his East Wind column, Bill Marutani argues that monetary redress is merely a necessary symbol of apology, similar to a hypothetical gesture like tossing seashells, and should not be dismissed as purely fiscal. He emphasizes that the overwhelming testimony from internment victims themselves called for individual redress, and that honor for Nikkei, Issei, and the nation is at stake.
- Witnesses Mistaken, by Judge Raymond Uno, page 4. Judge Raymond Uno responds to Ken Masugi’s testimony, arguing that the fundamental issue in redress is the equal application of the Bill of Rights to all persons, citing Justice David Davis’s Ex Parte Milligan opinion. He also challenges Harry Kubo’s testimony against compensation by reminding readers of the enormity of the wrong done to 120,000 interned Japanese Americans without trial.
- Most Favor Redress, by Fred Y. Hirasuna, page 4. Fred Hirasuna argues that Harry Kubo’s anti-redress views do not represent the sentiments of most Japanese Americans in the San Joaquin Valley, based on sampling of local opinion. He states that wrongful imprisonment under American law is compensable and that seeking redress payments does not reflect poorly on ethnic pride or self-respect.
- Author’s Correction, by Joe Oyama, page 4. Joe Oyama corrects an error in a previous July 6 article about Nikkei senior citizens and diet, clarifying that the correlation discussed was between salt intake and hypertension, not heart attacks as originally printed.
- The Concept of ‘Blood’ in Futatsu no Sokoku, by Raymond Okamura, page 9. Raymond Okamura critiques the novel/drama ‘Futatsu no Sokoku/Sanga Moyu’ for promoting the false concept of ‘Japanese blood’ binding all persons of Japanese ancestry to Japan, explaining that no such biological or racial distinction exists. He argues Japanese Americans are not Japanese under any meaningful definition and warns that such racial mystique has historically been used as a tool of oppression, including by General DeWitt to justify internment.
In-Depth
- Walville, Wash., page 5. The article traces the story of the Umehara family, Japanese immigrants who worked at a lumber mill in the now-vanished town of Walville, Washington, before moving to Seattle and then Los Angeles ahead of WW2 internment at Manzanar. Daughter Bette’s husband Pat Sano made several trips back to Walville over decades to uncover fragments of the family’s and other Japanese immigrants’ forgotten history there.
- Never No. 1 Economically, by Barry Saiki, page 8. In his Nisei in Japan column, Barry Saiki argues that despite predictions Japan will become the world’s top economic power, it can never truly be No. 1 economically because of its fundamental dependence on imported resources and international trade. He attributes Japan’s success to industriousness, trading networks, and the need for survival rather than unfair competition.
- ‘No Other Place’: The Harada House Story, by Harry Honda, page 12. Harry Honda’s Little Tokyo Life column reviews Mark Rawitsch’s monograph on the Harada family of Riverside, who won a landmark 1918 alien land law case when a judge ruled their American-born children could legally own the family home despite their Issei father’s ineligibility. The column traces connections between the Harada case and other land law cases, including the 1956 Masaoka case that ultimately found the alien land law unconstitutional.
Arts & Entertainment
- University Gives Seattle Sculptor Tsutakawa Highest Award, page 11. George Tsutakawa, a UW Class of 1937 graduate and internationally renowned sculptor known for his fountain designs based on Tibetan ‘Obos’ rock piles, was named 1984 Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus by the University of Washington. Born in Seattle and raised partly in Japan, Tsutakawa taught at UW for decades and received Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun Award in 1981.
Obituaries
- George Tsunayoshi Kaneda, 95, page 11. George Tsunayoshi Kaneda, a 95-year-old native of Kagoshima, Japan and former Stockton, Calif. resident, died Aug. 11 in West Chester, Penn. He is survived by three daughters, three sons, a sister in Tokyo, 15 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.