Redress hearings ahead, and a court ruling on Japanese firms

Vol. 92, No. 25, June 26, 1981. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress ran through the front page and much of the issue. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed JACL’s redress effort, and John Tateishi credited JACLer Sally Osaki for the resolution. Fr. Ishmael Gromoff recalled the 1942 forced removal of Aleuts from the Pribilof Islands, and Fr. Drinan of the CWRIC awaited the commission hearings. Page 2 carried district-by-district redress reports and Yuji Ichioka’s research on JACL leaders before the war. The front page also reported a U.S. appeals court ruling that C. Itoh & Co. could give preference to Japanese citizens in managerial promotions and pay.

Other pages include President Dr. Jim Tsujimura’s visit with Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki, columns by Bill Hosokawa and Dr. Clifford Uyeda, and Barry Saiki’s look at the Northern Territories dispute. Page 6 brings together chapter scholarship winners from Omaha, Berkeley, Cleveland and San Francisco.

What’s in this issue

National

• U.S. Court Allows Japanese Firm to Hire Nihonjin First, page 1. A U.S. appeals court ruled that a U.S. unit of Japanese trading firm C. Itoh & Co. can legally give preference to Japanese citizens in managerial promotions and pay under a 1953 trade treaty. The decision contrasts with a similar New York case involving Sumitomo Shoji, where an appellate court ruled U.S. job-bias law applies, prompting Sumitomo to ask the Supreme Court to settle the matter.
• Fr. Drinan Has Strong Law Background, page 1. Fr. Robert F. Drinan of the CWRIC expressed sympathy for the redress issue while awaiting commission hearings, having co-sponsored the House bill establishing the commission. The Jesuit priest, first Roman Catholic elected to Congress, built an extensive legal career and was known for opposing Nixon and advocating his impeachment.

Incarceration & Redress

• Aleut Priest Recalls Forced Removal from Pribilof Islands, page 1. Fr. Ishmael Gromoff, an Aleut evacuee himself, recounts how roughly 800-1,000 Native Aleuts were forcibly removed from the Pribilof Islands by U.S. military authorities in June 1942 and held in dismal temporary camps in southeastern Alaska until 1944. Gromoff described deaths, property damage, and vandalism during the Aleuts’ internment, and noted that unlike Japanese Americans, most Aleuts got their jobs back upon return, though redress questions remain unresolved for the community.
• District Redress Updates Reveal Wide Span of Effort, page 2. Reports from JACL’s National Committee for Redress detail varied progress across districts including Pacific Northwest, No. Cal-W. Nev.-Pac., Pacific Southwest, Central California, Intermountain, Midwest, and Eastern districts in fundraising, witness identification, and hearing preparation. Activities range from mock hearings and workshops to media outreach, with districts working toward fundraising goals and CWRIC testimony submissions ahead of scheduled hearings in Washington, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
• Early ’42 Role of Certain JACL Leaders Found Shocking, page 2. Historian Yuji Ichioka presented controversial research at a South Bay JACL forum revealing that JACL leaders in 1940-41 had personal contacts with federal intelligence agencies and reportedly ‘turned in’ Issei and Kibei community members suspected of disloyalty. The presentation, which included testimony from JACL leaders Togo Tanaka and James Sakamoto, drew mixed reactions from the audience ranging from disbelief to affirmation.
• CWRIC Hearing Prelude, page 3. The Manzanar Committee is holding a series on the Japanese American Camp Experience as a prelude to the forthcoming CWRIC hearings, meeting on six successive Wednesdays ending July 15 at JACCC. The sessions cover the historical background to the Evacuation, the camps, and their aftermath.
• South Bay JACL Forum Examines Pre-Evacuation Tensions, page 5. A South Bay JACL forum featured speakers including attorney Fred Okrand, Professor Harry Kitano, and Alan Nishio discussing the legal, psychological, and historical dimensions of the WWII camps and redress. Okrand warned that the Korematsu case remains the law of the land, while Nishio urged community unity in pursuing redress through JACL chapters and the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations.

JACL

• San Francisco Board of Supervisors Endorses Redress, page 1. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution supporting JACL’s redress effort on June 15, urging remedial government action and monetary compensation. JACL redress coordinator John Tateishi credited JACLer Sally Osaki for the resolution’s success, calling it the first major city endorsement exclusively supporting monetary compensation.
• Yasui to Appear on TV Show, page 2. Min Yasui, JACL National Redress Committee chair, will appear on KNXT-TV’s ‘2 With You’ program on June 28 as part of the station’s First Amendment Month series. Also appearing will be John Saito and Michiko Machida, a former internee of Arboga, Tule Lake, and Amache.
• Cliff’s Corner: Lorrie Inagaki, by Dr. Clifford Uyeda, page 5. Attorney Lorrie Inagaki, who served as JACL’s Legal and Program Director and later Associate Director since 1977, left her position on May 31 to pursue another field. Dr. Uyeda praises her significant contributions to JACL’s legal research, constitution redrafting, and advocacy, while noting her hopes for JACL to take bolder stands and greater inter-ethnic Asian sensitivity.

Community

• ‘Crime Mob’ Story on L.A. Koreatown Upsets Koreans, by Peter Imamura, page 1. A Los Angeles Times article claiming police identified a ‘crime syndicate’ leader in Koreatown has angered many Korean community members who call the report exaggerated and harmful. Community leaders like Tong Suhr and K.W. Lee argue the story sensationalizes isolated incidents and unfairly casts suspicion on the entire community’s leadership.
• Sansei Named to L.A. Court Bench, page 1. Jon Michael Mayeda, a 34-year-old Sansei and Los Angeles deputy city attorney, was appointed to an L.A. Municipal Court judgeship by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Mayeda is a graduate of UCLA Law School and serves as vice-president of the Minority Bar Association of Southern California.
• AADAP Offers Community Workshops, page 2. The Asian American Drug Abuse Program and Little Tokyo Service Center will offer five community seminar workshops on Japanese American interpersonal experiences, both historical and current. The series runs five consecutive Wednesdays starting July 8, facilitated by Noreen Matsushima and Paul Chikahisa.
• Pet Bill Killed by Assembly Committee, page 3. A bill that would have prohibited killing domesticated dogs and cats for food was defeated 7-0 by a California State Assembly committee, pending further study. JACL had opposed the bill as anti-Asian, with national director Ron Wakabayashi arguing it falsely implied widespread pet-eating and prioritized animal welfare over Asian community welfare.
• Rules Announced for Hayakawa Award, page 3. The outstanding Japanese American high school teenager in California will receive the Sen. S.I. Hayakawa Merit Award during the Miss Teen Sansei Pageant on July 18 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Applicants must be under 19, of Japanese ancestry, and apply by July 1 with transcripts and personal achievement statements.
• Latin American Chapter Focus on Hispanic Nikkei, page 5. JACL’s newest chapter, Latin American, based in Los Angeles, serves Spanish-speaking members of Japanese ancestry with Latin American roots, organized by Luis Yamakawa. The chapter promotes human rights advocacy and has generated interest among Nisei in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil for an upcoming Pan-American Nisei Conference in Mexico City.
• Volunteers Fix Up and Add to San Mateo Office-Annex, page 6. Volunteers refurbished the San Mateo JACL Community Center and its annex, which was donated office space from local attorneys Jim Ono and Peter Hom. The center hosts various community activities including the Bay Area Japanese Senior Centers meeting.
• Omaha JACL Holds Scholarship Night, page 6. James Kiyo Kawamoto of Omaha’s North High School received the $200 Chapter Scholarship for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement, ranking 8th in his class with a 3.95 GPA. He plans to attend the University of Nebraska and major in business administration.
• Berkeley JACL Scholarship Winner Named, page 6. Derek Furuichi, a Berkeley High School graduate, received the $300 Berkeley JACL scholarship for 1981 and plans to study aeronautical engineering at San Jose State. The award is based on scholarship, extracurricular activities, references, and financial need.
• Cleveland JACL Honors Graduates, page 6. The Cleveland JACL and Japanese American Association jointly honored area high school and college graduates at an event featuring remarks from Father Schubert Dyson of John Carroll University. The newsletter listed 20 graduates receiving recognition for their academic achievements.
• S.F. JACL Awards Scholarship to Lowell High Grad, page 6. Donna Keiko Ozawa, a recent Lowell High School graduate and daughter of the Koji Ozawas, was named winner of the 1981 San Francisco JACL scholarship. She plans to major in nutrition or pediatrics as a pre-med student at Mt. Holyoke College.
• Bank Funds Program for Problem School, page 7. The Bank of Hawaii provided $100,000 for a three-year plan of extracurricular activities at King Intermediate School in Kaneohe, which had a notorious reputation for drug abuse problems in 1976. The program, the first privately funded one in Hawaii, includes a campus newspaper, dances, concerts, and field trips, with continuation depending on its success.
• Fishing Group Named After Canadian Nisei, page 7. A non-profit conservation society, the Suzuki Foundation, was named after the late Tatsuro ‘Buck’ Suzuki, a Canadian Nisei union gillnetter who died in 1977 and was an authority on the Fraser River estuary and industrial pollution. Suzuki was also a founding member of the Japanese Canadian Fishermen’s Association, which fought racial discrimination in fishing franchises.
• JACCC Receives Grant from Santa Anita, page 7. The Santa Anita Foundation made a $3,000 grant to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, marking the fourth consecutive year of contributions totaling $11,000. The funds came from charity days held during the Santa Anita Park racing season.

Military & Veterans

• No. Cal. Set for JACL State Track Meet, page 1. 49ers lineman Ken ‘Tarzan’ Bungarda will present trophies at the 4th annual JACL State track and field championship on June 28 at Chabot College. Meet director Jay Sasagawa expressed enthusiasm about having an athlete of Bungarda’s stature honor the young competitors from the JACL Jr. Olympics and Nisei Relays.

Commentary

• President’s Corner: Japan Trip – Portland Meeting, by Dr. Jim Tsujimura, page 4. JACL National President Dr. Jim Tsujimura describes his historic courtesy visit with Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki, where they discussed U.S.-Japan relations and the impact on Japanese Americans. Tsujimura also met with other Japanese government officials who expressed interest in continued communication with JACL to improve relations between the two nations.
• Letterbox: Readers Respond on Redress and JARP Bibliography, by Doris Obata Kumpel, Yuji Ichioka, page 4. A reader asks whether her family’s wartime situation involving her Issei father’s internment and financial hardship would qualify for redress consideration. Separately, Yuji Ichioka corrects a prior column, clarifying that the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, not the JACL-JARP Committee, was primarily responsible for funding and producing the JARP bibliography.
• From Happy Valley: Artistic Hands of Lily Havey, by Sachi Seko, page 4. Lily Havey transitioned from a disciplined career as a classically trained pianist to becoming a respected stained glass artist in the Intermountain region. Her artwork reflects her Asian heritage and personal journey toward defining success and happiness on her own terms rather than her parents’ expectations.
• From the Frying Pan: Things You Can Learn by Reading, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa shares notable items from various publications, including profiles of Japanese American museum curators, an essay on the Evacuation by Richard Drinnon, research by Dr. Kimishige Ishizaka on allergy treatments, and an upcoming children’s book by Yoshiko Uchida. He highlights the breadth of Japanese American accomplishment and contribution across different fields.
• Community Pulse: Reflections on Hate Speech and Redress, page 5. The author recounts witnessing anti-Semitic hate speech on a bus and in a photograph of a hate rally, reflecting on the persistence of bigotry in America. The piece draws a parallel to the upcoming CWRIC hearings on Japanese American incarceration, urging vigilance against similar prejudice resurfacing against Nikkei.

Obituaries

• Joe Takehara, Pioneering Watsonville Issei, Dies, page 6. Joe Takehara, one of the earliest Issei in the nation to apply for naturalization, died at Watsonville Community Hospital. He was active in Boy Scouts leadership, receiving the Silver Beaver Award in 1955, and is survived by his wife Kikue, two daughters, and a brother.
• ‘Choppy’ Suyeoka Dies of Heart Attack, page 6. Suyeoka, known as ‘Choppy,’ died May 18 of a heart attack at Kaiser Hospital in Sacramento, with funeral services held at Sullivan Chapel in Colusa. He was survived by several siblings including Masaru, Teruye Omaye, and Chiyoko Ishida.

In-Depth

• Soviet Game of Chess: The Northern Territories Dispute, by Barry Saiki, page 8. Barry Saiki examines the historical and political dispute over Japan’s Northern Territories, islands ceded to Japan in an 1855 treaty but seized by the Soviet Union after WWII despite agreements limiting Japan to its four main islands. The article contrasts U.S. willingness to return territories like Okinawa and the Bonins with Soviet refusal to discuss returning the Northern Territories, arguing the Soviets’ historical pattern of never relinquishing acquired territory.

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