JACL nominations, redress testimony and a Medfly dispute with Japan

Vol. 94, No. 3, January 22, 1982. 8 pages. View this issue

The front page opened the call for JACL national officers for the 1982-84 biennium: president, four vice presidents and secretary-treasurer, with nominations due April 30, 1982. John Tateishi described the 365-page JACL testimony prepared for redress hearings before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians. Other front-page stories covered a California task force hearing on violence against minorities, JACL’s protest of cuts to low-income housing aid, and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s decision on Michael H. Ishikawa.

Inside are columns by Bill Hosokawa on the Japanese in Brazil, Bill Marutani on New Year’s customs and Ron Wakabayashi on a proposed boycott tied to Japan’s Medfly quarantine. A letter from Russell Bearden asked for accounts of Rohwer camp in Arkansas. Little Tokyo news included a halted expansion plan, a foiled robbery and a new senior day care center, and chapter installation notices fill page 3.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Nominations Open for JACL National Offices, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL announced that nominations are now open for national president, four vice presidents, and secretary-treasurer for the 1982-84 biennium, with a deadline of April 30, 1982. Candidates must be at least 18 (25 for president) and the nominating committee listed district contacts and new ethics provisions for campaigning.

National

• JACL Applauds Reagan Task Force on PSI, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL sent a letter applauding President Reagan’s creation of the President’s Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives, which aims to encourage voluntary and private-sector partnerships to address social and economic needs. The task force’s five mandated goals include identifying successful private initiatives and government obstacles to them.
• DA Won’t Prosecute Ishikawa But Doesn’t Exonerate Him Either, by Pete Imamura, page 1. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office declined to prosecute former county affirmative action officer Michael H. Ishikawa for allegedly misusing county resources for his private business, citing insufficient admissible evidence. However, the DA recommended denying Ishikawa reinstatement and pursuing recovery of lost funds, while his secretary Nancy Apeles faces no criminal charges but possible administrative removal.
• Task Unit Investigates Anti-Minority Violence, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California’s Governor’s Task Force on Civil Rights held a three-day hearing examining increased violence, vandalism and discrimination against blacks, Asians, Latinos and Jews. Witnesses described KKK recruitment, anti-Vietnamese refugee violence in Orange County, rising anti-Semitic incidents, and racism faced by Asian Americans in politics and employment.
• JACL Protests Cut in Low Income Housing Aid, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL co-signed a letter with over 900 organizations protesting the Reagan Administration’s proposed cuts to housing assistance for the poor in the 1983 budget. JACL Washington Representative Ronald Ikejiri emphasized the importance of housing funds for the aging Japanese American community.
• Reagan Alters Stand; Biased School Tax Urged, by P.C. Staff, page 2. President Reagan announced he would ask Congress to deny tax exemptions to racially discriminatory private schools, reversing an earlier controversial IRS decision. The reversal followed backlash over restoring tax-exempt status to Bob Jones University and granting it to Goldsboro Christian Schools, both of which discriminated against Black students.
• Supreme Court Ruling Excludes Aliens From Public Employment, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld in a 5-4 ruling a California law requiring law enforcement officials to be U.S. citizens, allowing states to exclude legal aliens from certain public jobs. Dissenting justices argued the decision revived harmful state parochialism, while an attorney for immigrants’ rights warned it could jeopardize thousands of legal aliens’ state jobs nationwide.
• Brown Asks Japan to Lift Quarantine, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. asked Japanese agricultural officials to lift their Medfly quarantine on California produce, arguing that only fruit from small quarantine zones should require fumigation. California growers have threatened to boycott Japanese goods if the quarantine, in place since last summer, is not lifted.

Community

• John Nakaoka to Seek Irvine City Council Seat, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Irvine school board trustee John Nakaoka announced his candidacy for Irvine City Council, becoming the first to enter the spring race as two seats become open. The 29-year-old USC graduate and Xerox marketing executive plans a grass-roots, door-to-door campaign.
• Nikkei Among N.C. Rainstorm Death Toll, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Keiko (Suzuki) Work, a 39-year-old employee of Sanppo Restaurant in San Francisco Japantown, was killed in a mudslide during a disastrous Northern California rainstorm. Another Asian American, CSU professor Kai-Yu Hsu, also died when his Tiburon home was swept away by a landslide.
• Calif. Asian Pacific Leaders to Meet in Sacramento Feb. 12-14, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The first annual statewide conference of California’s Democratic Asian Pacific community leaders will be held in Sacramento, expecting over 300 participants including Reps. Bob Matsui and Norm Mineta. Caucus Chair Maeley Tom emphasized the need for unified political voice among the state’s growing Asian Pacific population.
• Li’l Tokyo Expansion Plan Halted, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A dispute between the Community Redevelopment Agency and Alameda-1st Street property owners led to suspended CRA planning activities and an agreement to survey community needs. Developer Bruce Kaji said his planned high-rise office condominium would proceed regardless of CRA involvement, while siding with property owners who felt left uninformed.
• Police Foil Daylight Robbery Attempt in Little Tokyo, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Two LAPD officers happened upon and foiled an attempted armed robbery of kendo expert Tamio Uyemura in front of a Little Tokyo bank. The 57-year-old victim was disappointed that no bystanders intervened despite a crowd gathering during the scuffle.
• Little Tokyo Senior Day Care Center Due, by P.C. Staff, page 3. An adult day care center for elderly Issei will open at Union Church of Los Angeles in February, operating Tuesday through Thursday. The center was announced by the Japanese Community Pioneer Center.
• Marina Installation Jan. 30 in La Habra, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Marina JACL will hold its 1982 installation dinner at Lord of the Ribs Restaurant in La Habra, featuring cornish game hen and teriyaki steak at a restaurant owned by chapter member Don Nakasaki. Ed Goka, the incoming 1982 president, reminded members of the chapter’s regular meeting schedule.
• South Bay to Host PSWDC Quarterly, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The South Bay JACL Chapter will host the first quarterly meeting of the Pacific Southwest District Council at Sushi Katsu Restaurant in Torrance. The event includes continental breakfast and lunch for $7.50 per person.
• Ventura JACL to Hear Wakabayashi, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Ventura County JACL Chapter will hold its 1982 installation of officers at the Lobster Trap Restaurant with JACL National Director Ron Wakabayashi as keynote speaker.
• SF to Celebrate Chinese New Year, by P.C. Staff, page 3. San Francisco will host carnivals, beauty pageants, parades, and cooking and art exhibits from Jan. 23-30 in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Information is available through the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau.
• Ayumi Seeks Missing Contributors, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japanese American Anthology Committee is seeking the whereabouts of several contributors to ‘Ayumi’, a collection of graphics and writings that took five years to compile and print. A list of missing individuals was provided for readers who might have information.
• ‘Taxi’ Producer to Speak at Diablo Valley, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Richard Sakai, co-producer of ABC’s ‘Taxi’ and son of 1000 Clubber H. Quintus Sakai, will be guest speaker at the Diablo Valley JACL 1982 installation dinner. The UCLA film school graduate will speak at the China Pavillion Restaurant event.
• Tateishi to Speak at Stockton Installation, by P.C. Staff, page 6. JACL National Redress Coordinator John Tateishi will give an update on redress activity as guest speaker at the Stockton JACL’s 1982 installation at Minnie’s Restaurant.
• Nishimoto to Keynote Carson Installation, by P.C. Staff, page 6. PSWDC Governor Cary Nishimoto will be guest speaker at the Carson JACL’s 1982 installation on Feb. 6 at Del Conte Restaurant.

Commentary

• Redress Phase 3: JACL’s Testimony, by John Tateishi, page 2. John Tateishi describes the JACL National Committee for Redress’s 365-page written testimony submitted to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, compiled from 15 papers on topics from Japanese American history to the psychological impact of camp. He thanks contributors and credits Carole Hayashino for coordinating the year-long project.
• Nat’l JACL Nominations: Continued, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This continuation piece details the JACL nominating committee’s concerns about overzealous campaign tactics and escalating campaign expenses in past elections, prompting new ethics statements on nomination forms. Chairperson Cherry Kinoshita expressed hope for a multiple slate of candidates, encouraging Sansei and women to seek national leadership roles.
• For People Who Write a Diary, by Sachi Seko, page 4. In this personal essay, Sachi Seko reflects on her lifelong diary-keeping habit, from a childhood diary to journals she kept during a difficult year of medical crises in 1981. She recalls her mother’s own secretive diary-writing and concludes that she herself would want to read such a personal record.
• East Wind: A Nisei Lad’s View of O-shogatsu, by Bill Marutani, page 5. Bill Marutani reminisces about New Year’s traditions in his Issei parents’ household, including symbolic foods, all-night house cleaning, and customs around restraint on New Year’s Day. He also recalls neighbors who secretly brewed sake and reflects on a Boston family continuing mochi-tsuki traditions.
• From the Frying Pan: The Japanese in Brazil, 1908-1941, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reviews Dr. Nobuya Tsuchida’s dissertation on Japanese immigration to Brazil, highlighting key differences from the U.S. experience, including the absence of alien land laws and anti-miscegenation laws in Brazil. He notes that unlike in the U.S., most Japanese immigrants to Brazil settled permanently, often arriving as whole families rather than single men.
• Letters: Rohwer Camp, by Russell Bearden, page 5. A social studies teacher writes seeking help gathering personal accounts, manuscripts, diaries and photographs related to the Rohwer, Arkansas internment camp for a planned pictorial history. He notes the lack of published historical records about the Arkansas camps and that many Arkansans remain unaware of the internment experience.
• Letters: Larger Type, by Elsie Renne, page 5. An 82-year-old reader thanks the Pacific Citizen for switching to larger type, making the paper easier to read, and praises the Holiday Issue as very interesting. She renews her subscription and notes she passes issues along to Stanford.
• Musubi: WGA Boycott, by Ron Wakabayashi, page 5. Ron Wakabayashi discusses a proposed boycott of Japanese goods by the Western Growers Association in retaliation for Japan’s Medfly quarantine policy, noting Presidential aide Lyn Nofziger may lead the effort. He raises concerns about the potential impact on Nikkei businesses and merchants in Japantown and Little Tokyo, regardless of the boycott’s intended target.
• Washington Wrap-Up: Voting Rights Act, by Ron Ikejiri, page 6. Ron Ikejiri reports that the Senate will begin hearings on extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a top priority for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, of which JACL is a founding member. He details key provisions of the extension bill, including pre-clearance requirements and bilingual election provisions, and previews JACL’s plan to mobilize chapter support.
• Spartan Beat: Surnames Galore, by Mas Manbo, page 8. Mas Manbo explores the prevalence of common Japanese surnames like Suzuki and Sato, discussing a Wakayama tourism campaign inviting all Suzuki families to visit the prefecture tied to their lineage. He details historical surveys ranking the most common Japanese surnames and first names, and notes the historical context of when commoners were first allowed to adopt family names during the Meiji era.

Military & Veterans

• Lane Tech Meets for Dec. 7 Program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three Chicago Nisei—442nd veteran Sam Ozaki, JACL 1000 Club chair Dr. Frank Sakamoto, and draft resister Jack Tono—spoke to students at Lane Tech High’s Pearl Harbor remembrance program about their WWII and camp experiences. Ozaki had co-authored a teacher’s manual on the evacuation titled ‘Man’s Inhumanity to Man’.

Arts & Entertainment

• Videotapes of Kabuki Masters Available, by P.C. Staff, page 3. NHK-TV videotapes featuring celebrated Kabuki performers such as Utaemon Nakamura and Baiko Onoe are available for rental at the JACCC in VHS format.

Incarceration & Redress

• Correction: ‘Go for Broke’ Narrative, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Pacific Citizen issued a correction regarding authorship credits for the forthcoming pictorial-narrative book ‘Go For Broke’ about the 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team, clarifying that author Chester Tanaka acknowledged various contributors. Publication has been delayed to April 1982, with the corrected list of acknowledged contributors provided.

Obituaries

• Kinuno Shimidzu, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mrs. Kinuno Shimidzu, an 88-year-old Okayama-ken born Issei and naturalized U.S. citizen, passed away Jan. 6 at Community Hospital of Gardena after a prolonged illness. She is survived by two sons, two daughters, 13 grandchildren, and two 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.