The Paul Wu verdict in San Francisco, and a monument at Amache

Vol. 97, No. 12, September 16, 1983. 8 pages. View this issue

A San Francisco jury’s verdict in the stabbing death of Paul Wu led the front page, and the Asian community’s reaction was strong. Billy Robinson was convicted of involuntary manslaughter rather than second-degree murder, and the victim’s brother, Frank Wu, compared the case to Vincent Chin’s and criticized a jury with no Asians on it. The issue also followed the Japanese American incarceration and redress story. About 150 people gathered at the former Amache camp site in Granada, Colorado to dedicate a monument to 31 Nisei soldiers, and Bill Hosokawa wrote about his own trip there. Washington State sent its first reparation checks to former state employees dismissed in 1942, and Mary F. Honda’s piece covered a USA Today editorial on an apology.

Inside, Lon Hatamiya described the first National JACL Leadership Program, and Bill Marutani proposed affirmative action for women in JACL’s national leadership. A Topaz reunion in San Francisco, a protest in Canada over Bill C-157, and the fingerprinting case in Japan round out the coverage.

What’s in this issue

National

• Another ‘Vincent Chin’ Case Looming in San Francisco, page 1. Billy Robinson was convicted of involuntary manslaughter rather than second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Paul Wu during a traffic dispute, angering the Asian community in San Francisco. The victim’s brother Frank Wu criticized the all-non-Asian jury and compared the light sentence to the Vincent Chin case.
• Asian American Studies, Like Other Ethnic Courses, Failing, page 1. Asian American Studies programs in Seattle face declining enrollment and funding as they fight against being lumped with other ethnic studies programs. Educators debate whether ethnic studies should remain separate or be integrated into mainstream curriculum.
• Canada Proposes Tightening Security Law; Nisei Protests, page 1. George Imai, former National JCCA president, spoke at a protest rally against Canada’s Bill C-157, warning it could legalize actions similar to the WWII internment of Japanese Canadians. He recalled his own forced removal from his childhood home and urged the government to protect all citizens’ rights.
• Third Hearing in Nikkei Fingerprinting Case Due, page 1. Ronald Susumu Fujiyoshi, a Los Angeles-born missionary indicted for refusing alien fingerprinting in Japan, faces his third hearing at the Kobe District Court. He is one of 31 defendants protesting Japan’s Alien Registration Law requirements.
• Sen. Inouye Insterntalk on Tourism Tax, page 8. Senator Daniel Inouye warned against imposing a hotel room tax in Hawaii given competition in the tourism industry, noting other countries spend far more on tourism promotion than the United States. He cited examples from Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Greece, and other nations’ tourism advertising budgets to illustrate the disparity.
• Fingerprinting Case: Koreans and Others Protest Japan’s Alien Registration System, page 8. The article continues coverage of the fingerprinting protest case, detailing how Japan’s Alien Registration Law disproportionately affects the 670,000 Korean residents in Japan, many descended from forced laborers brought during WWII. Defendant Fujiyoshi argues the practice is degrading and humiliating, while Japanese editorials debate whether the fingerprinting system should be reformed or abolished.

Incarceration & Redress

• Wash. State Sends Out $2,500 ‘Reparation’ Checks to 16 Nisei, page 1. Washington State presented the first reparation checks of $2,500 each to Miyeko Mae Ishihara and Frank Kinomoto, former state employees dismissed in 1942 due to their Japanese ancestry. The bill, sponsored by Sen. George Fleming, provides $5,000 total to roughly 38 former employees affected by the wartime dismissals.
• 150 Trek to Granada to Dedicate Monument, page 1. About 150 Japanese Americans gathered at the former Amache WRA camp site in Granada, Colorado to dedicate a monument honoring 31 Nisei soldiers who died in WWII military service. Bill Hosokawa delivered the keynote address, and the event received front-page coverage in the Rocky Mountain News.
• Amache Monument Is Dedicated, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa recounts his personal pilgrimage to the Amache WRA camp site in Colorado for the dedication of a monument, describing the journey’s parallels to the original forced removal decades earlier. The Denver Central Optimists spearheaded the two-year, $20,000 fundraising campaign to create a lasting memorial and plan to continue developing the site as a place of remembrance.
• Amache Continued: Colorado Gov. Ralph Carr and Wartime History, page 5. The article details Colorado Governor Ralph Carr’s unusual wartime welcome of Japanese American families, contrasting with other western governors, which cost him his 1942 Senate election bid. It also covers Colorado’s failed 1944 anti-alien land bill and a Kansas farmer’s efforts to honor Amache’s war dead after discovering a memorial plaque had been destroyed.

Community

• Funding Key Issue in San Diego Race, page 1. Vernon Yoshioka, seeking to become San Diego’s first Japanese American elected to public office, is running for the Community College District Trustee Board citing funding as the key issue. His district covers several San Diego communities with an Asian population of around 6%.
• Enomoto, Kitano to Address Topaz Reunion, page 1. Jerry Enomoto and Harry Kitano, former Topaz High classmates, will be featured speakers at the Topaz reunion in San Francisco September 23-25. The reunion includes a mixer, slide show, movies, and a bento lunch picnic at Christ United Presbyterian Church.
• Couple Files $100,000 Suit Over Missing Urn, page 2. The Ishikawa family filed a lawsuit against a Sacramento cemetery for negligence after discovering their parents’ cremated remains urn was missing from a mausoleum. The cemetery’s president denied knowledge of the alleged 1980 theft while acknowledging a separate 1982 burglary.
• Nisei GI Pics in State Capitol, page 3. Over 70 pieces from the Go For Broke/Yankee Samurai Museum exhibit are on display at the California State Capitol through September and October. Governor George Deukmejian and House Speaker Willie Brown attended the dedication ceremony.
• California First Buys More Banks, page 3. California First Bank received approval to acquire 18 Northern California branches from The Bank of California. The expanded network aims to better serve customers according to bank officials.
• Mo Marumoto’s Firm Celebrates 10th Year, page 3. Interface Group Ltd., founded by William H. ‘Mo’ Marumoto, was named one of the nation’s top 50 executive research firms out of over 2,500 companies. Marumoto previously served as the first Asian American on the White House staff at executive level from 1970-73.
• Bay Area AARP to Be Organized, page 3. An organizational meeting for a new Bay Area chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons will be held at the San Mateo JACL Community Center. AARP officials and representatives are expected to attend and discuss membership benefits.
• Bonsai Club, page 3. The San Mateo Bonsai Club will hold its 20th annual exhibit at Central Park Recreation Center over a weekend in September. The exhibit runs Saturday and Sunday with extended hours.
• ESGV Center Launch Drive to Raise $100G, page 3. The East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center launched a campaign to raise $100,000 for a two-story addition and remodel of its social hall. A kick-off party with dinner was held to begin the fundraising campaign a decade after the center’s original dedication.
• Orphan Alumni to Fete Murray Sprung, page 5. Alumni of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York are celebrating Murray Sprung’s 80th birthday with a dinner-dance featuring humorist Art Buchwald as guest speaker. A fund has been established in Sprung’s honor to send needy children to summer camps.
• Japan Chapter Hears Novelist, page 6. Novelist Toyoko Yamasaki addressed the Japan JACL chapter about her saga depicting Issei-Nisei-Kibei experiences, which NHK-TV is adapting into a television series titled ‘Sanga Moyu’. Over 100 attended the meeting where she discussed her five years of research into the Evacuation experience.
• Sequoia Pays Redress Pledge in Full, page 6. Sequoia JACL chapter remitted $3,265 to the National JACL redress fund, fulfilling the $5 per member pledge required by National Council motion. Chapter redress chair James Shizuru confirmed the chapter met 100 percent of its pledge obligation.
• Stockton Spaghetti Feed for Redress Set, page 6. Stockton JACL is sponsoring an all-you-can-eat spaghetti feed fundraiser to support redress efforts. The event is scheduled for a Sunday at the chapter location.

Obituaries

• Nisei Talent Agent Succumbs, page 2. Fred Kiyoshi Ishimoto, 58, a prominent Nisei talent agency owner who helped many Japanese Americans find roles in film and television, died suddenly at the VA Hospital in Sawtelle. He managed careers of stars like Miiko Taka and George Takei, served in WWII, and established a fund for stories about Issei and Nisei experiences.

JACL

• JACL Leadership Development: A Never-Ending Education, by Lon Hatamiya, page 4. The author reflects on his experience at the inaugural National JACL Leadership Program in Washington, D.C., which provided exposure to the American political process and networking opportunities with prominent Japanese Americans. He advocates for continued leadership development programs to prepare Sansei, Yonsei, and Gosei generations for engagement with JACL and American society.
• We Made Our Move!, by Mitsy Kamada, Ron Osajima, B.J. Watanabe, page 6. The Eastern District Council JACL convention in New York focused on redress, Japan/U.S. relations, and organizational advancement through workshops on public speaking and legislative strategy. Key sessions included media training for redress speakers and a strategic planning session led by Grayce Uyehara highlighting the importance of East Coast and Midwest congressional delegations.
• JACL Student Aid Awards Decided, page 6. The JACL National Student Aid Committee, chaired by Helen Mineta, met to award almost $2,000 to students facing financial hardship in pursuing their education. Recipient names remain confidential, known only to the committee and National JACL.

Commentary

• Affirmative Action for JACL, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Columnist Bill Marutani proposes that JACL implement an affirmative action program to address underrepresentation of women in national leadership posts, including the presidency. He argues that since women comprise roughly half the membership and contribute significantly behind the scenes, they deserve equal access to elected positions within the civil rights organization.
• Japanese Americans Deserve an Apology, by Mary F. Honda, page 4. A USA Today editorial recounts the wartime internment experiences of Japanese Americans and supports the National Commission’s recommendation for an official government apology and a foundation to preserve this history. However, it argues that blanket cash compensation is ill-conceived and that the judicial system, through class action lawsuits, is a fairer remedy than congressional payouts.
• Oregon Bar Assn., ACLU to Cite Yasui, page 4. The Oregon State Bar Association will honor Min Yasui with a special award of merit for his civil rights advocacy at its annual dinner. Yasui will also receive the 1983 MacNaughton Award from the ACLU, recognizing contributions to civil liberties, established in memory of publisher E.B. MacNaughton who championed fair treatment of Japanese Americans in 1944.

Arts & Entertainment

• Japan Boy: The Pacific War of Japanese Americans, by Shig Kihara, page 5. A book review of Isao Otani’s non-fiction work ‘Japan Boy’, which chronicles the Tokubo family’s experiences spanning immigration, war, relocation, and the Hiroshima bombing. The review contrasts this intimate documentary approach with Toyoko Yamasaki’s fictionalized saga being adapted for NHK television.

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