Affirmative action, immigration reform and redress funding

Vol. 108, No. 25, June 30, 1989. 8 pages. View this issue

The front page carried a Wall Street Journal-based story on Roland Lee, a Chinese American San Francisco firefighter who said affirmative action left him with a stigma among white coworkers, along with news of Supreme Court rulings that made some discrimination suits harder to pursue. Beside it were Senate Judiciary Committee action on a compromise immigration bill, a Hong Kong visa proposal from Rep. Norman Mineta and Sen. Paul Simon, the House’s 368-47 vote on the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, and $2.1 million for the Office of Redress Administration. The search for the gunman who killed Japanese exchange student Ai Toyoshima in San Jose was also reported.

Inside are scholarship announcements from JACL chapters in Arizona, San Jose, San Diego, South Bay and elsewhere, plus the Hawaii Onizuka fund. Bill Hosokawa wrote on the name of a mountain in Alberta, Bill Marutani on Japanese civics, and Lillian Kimura on the search for a new editor. Jude Narita’s one-woman play and the 15th anniversary of San Jose Yu-Ai Kai are also covered.

What’s in this issue

National

• S.F. Asian Helped by Affirmative Action Has Different View, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roland Lee, a Chinese American firefighter in San Francisco, admitted that affirmative action has created a stigma among white coworkers who question his qualifications. The Supreme Court also issued rulings this term making it harder to pursue discrimination lawsuits under civil rights laws.
• Search Continues for Gunman of Japanese Exchange Student, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A gunman who killed 16-year-old Japanese exchange student Ai Toyoshima on June 16 in San Jose remains at large after trying to steal a car and terrorizing a couple. This was the second slaying of a Japanese exchange student in the Bay Area this year.
• Simon’s Compromise Immigration Bill Strikes ‘Points for English’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a compromise immigration reform bill combining elements from Sen. Paul Simon’s plan with one from Kennedy and Simpson, striking a provision that would have given extra points to English-speaking applicants. The bill preserves the fifth preference category widely used by Asian Americans for sibling immigration.
• Hong Kong Immigration Status to Change?, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Norman Mineta and Sen. Paul Simon co-sponsored legislation to reclassify Hong Kong’s immigration status from a colony to a separate foreign state, which would increase its visa allocation. The bill comes amid concerns about the situation in mainland China and Hong Kong citizens supporting Beijing’s pro-democracy protesters.
• Hate Crimes Statistics Act Passes House 368-47, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House approved the Hate Crimes Statistics Act requiring the Justice Department to collect and publish nationwide hate crime data, with the Senate to consider a similar measure. Rep. Robert Matsui spoke during the debate about rising violence targeting people based on race, religion, or sexual orientation.
• Nebraska Suing to Revoke Ranch Ownership by Japanese Nationals, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nebraska is suing to void the purchase of a 3,680-acre cattle ranch by two Japanese businessmen and their Japanese American partner, citing a century-old state law barring land ownership by foreign nationals. Partner Katsunori Hashimoto defended the purchase as beneficial to local farmers, while officials maintain the lawsuit is about enforcing foreign ownership law, not race.
• Asian ‘Soldiers of Fortune’: Japan’s Future Defenders?, by Toru Ando, page 5. Japan’s Defense Agency is reportedly considering recruiting Asian migrant workers into the Self-Defense Forces to address declining enlistment, a controversial proposal first raised in 1985. Declining birth rates and young Japanese people’s reluctance to join due to low pay and restrictive conditions are cited as driving the recruitment crisis.

Community

• KSCI-TV Surveys Southland Asian Communities, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A KSCI-TV survey released June 20 found crime, drugs, and violence to be the top concerns among Japanese American households in Southern California. Over 400 heads of households across several counties were surveyed about community issues and media habits.
• Traditional Calligraphy on Ceramics on Exhibit, by P.C. Staff, page 2. An exhibit titled ‘Visual Poetry: Japanese Traditional Calligraphy on Ceramics’ by Narae Mochizuki is on display through Aug. 31 at San Francisco State University’s J. Paul Leonard Library. Dr. Mochizuki has taught Japanese calligraphy and language at SFSU for 15 years after training in Tokyo.
• Matsunaga Praises Proposed Rules on Reparation/Redress, New Eligible Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sen. Spark Matsunaga praised proposed Justice Department regulations expanding redress eligibility to include armed forces members barred from the West Coast, soldiers barred from visiting relocation camps, and children born in camps. The department is also expected to propose allowing non-Japanese spouses who accompanied family to camps to receive compensation.
• Japan Foundation Backs Cal State L.A. Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. Kazumitsu Kato, founder of the Center for Japanese Studies at Cal State L.A., received a $1,500 donation of materials from the Japan Foundation for the second consecutive year. The gift will expand the center’s Japanese language collection of audio, video, and books.
• Japanese Canadians Redress Fund to Rebuild Communities, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The National Association of Japanese Canadians is shifting focus from individual redress payments to community rebuilding projects funded by a $12 million community fund. Over 1,400 B.C. residents have received individual redress payments following Prime Minister Mulroney’s 1988 apology and compensation package.
• San Jose Yu-Ai Kai Celebrates 15th Year, by P.C. Staff, page 6. San Jose Yu-Ai Kai celebrated its 15th anniversary with a gala at the Fairmont Hotel’s Imperial Ballroom attended by over 560 guests, featuring silent and oral auctions that raised over $20,000 for senior programs. Actor Mako served as master of ceremonies, and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi drew the raffle winner.

Incarceration & Redress

• Congress O.K.s $2.1 Mil for ORA, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Congress adopted a 1989 supplemental appropriations bill providing $2.1 million for the Office of Redress Administration to process redress payments to Japanese Americans interned during WWII, pending President Bush’s signature. Rep. Daniel Akaka helped secure the funding commitment during conference negotiations.
• Morikami’s Ashes Buried in Traditional Manner, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The ashes of George Sukeji Morikami, who willed his Florida farm to become a museum and Japanese garden, were finally laid to rest in a Zen Buddhist ceremony attended by an entourage from his Japanese hometown of Miyazu. Morikami was the last surviving farmer of the Yamato Colony founded in the 1910s.

Arts & Entertainment

• ‘Song for a Sansei’: Jude Narita Brings Back Her One Woman Play, by George Johnston, page 2. Jude Narita’s acclaimed one-woman play ‘Coming into Passion, Song for a Sansei’ has returned to the Los Angeles stage before a planned run in New York, after earlier earning critical acclaim and an AAPAA Jimmie award. Narita discussed an unexpected financial gift from a deceased patron’s estate, changes to the production, and her future artistic ambitions.

JACL

• Arizona JACL Presents Nine $500 Scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Arizona Chapter JACL presented its 28th annual Sara Hutchings-Clardy Scholarship Awards and the Dr. Herbert Jensen Award to nine high school seniors at $500 each. The ceremony was held at the Embassy Suites-Biltmore Camelback.
• Hawaii-Onizuka Fund Gives $6,000 Scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Ryan Noguchi and Derek Fox were selected to receive $6,000 Ellison Onizuka Memorial Scholarships from a fund established in 1986 honoring the late astronaut. The fund has raised over $365,000 to support Hawaii students pursuing careers in aerospace or aeronautics.
• South Bay Naming 3 for Nat’l JACL Scholarships, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The South Bay JACL Scholarship Committee selected recommendations for National JACL scholarships and announced winners of the Kiichi Egashira Memorial scholarships for students in science and related fields. Winners included Alex Fukunaga, Karen Oda, Angela Yamauchi, and Kim Tsujimoto.
• Great L.A. Singles JACL Awards $1,000 to Scholar, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Afion Hirohama of Gardena High School received the Greater Los Angeles Singles JACL $1,000 Scholarship Award and will attend Yale University to study economics. She maintained a 4.0 GPA and was active in school and community activities.
• Ten Prep Scholars Win San Jose JACL Awards, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The San Jose JACL committee announced ten scholarship recipients from area high schools, including awards named for various community members and organizations. A breakfast was held May 20 at the Issei Memorial Building to honor the recipients.
• NC-WN-P Scholars Named for Awards, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The NC-WN-PDC announced recipients of its annual Scholastic Achievement Awards for 1989 high school graduates from families belonging to NC-WN-P chapters. The award, started in 1976, recognizes scholastic achievement and good citizenship as fostered by the Issei generation.
• San Diego JACL Awards Presented to 19 Scholars, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nineteen high school graduates received San Diego Chapter JACL scholarships at the 32nd annual Scholarship award dinner at Tom Ham’s Restaurant. Municipal court judge Gale Kaneshiro delivered the keynote address focusing on crime from the court’s perspective.

Commentary

• China Crisis, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial expresses grief over China’s political chaos and the return to brutal communist rule after the Tiananmen Square crackdown. It calls for Americans to support Chinese students studying in the U.S. who now fear for their families and futures.
• P.C.’s Editor Quest, by Lillian Kimura, page 4. JACL board chair Lillian Kimura updates readers on the search for a new Pacific Citizen editor and business manager, noting only one applicant so far and efforts to broaden the candidate pool. She also discusses the Long Range Planning Committee’s work and plans for a reader questionnaire and desktop publishing upgrades.
• Bowles Reunion, page 4. A letter writer describes the emotional first Bowles Area Reunion drawing nearly 300 participants from across the country, including family connected to her late husband Shigeru Matsuda who taught at the camp’s Japanese school. She reflects on the warmth of former students and the values passed down from the Issei generation.
• Changing Mountain’s Outdated Moniker No Molehill, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa discusses a controversy over an art gallery named ‘Chinaman’s Peak’ in Alberta, Canada, exploring the history of the mountain’s name and whether historically offensive terms should be changed. He concludes that while the name wasn’t meant to offend, terms like ‘Chinaman’ and ‘Jap’ carry painful historical connotations that justify renaming such places.
• Some Japanese Civics, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Bill Marutani recalls his military intelligence training in Japanese language and civics, including learning the structure of the Japanese government and cabinet positions. He connects this to the recent change in Japanese leadership, with Sosuke Uno replacing Noboru Takeshita as Prime Minister, and profiles several current cabinet officials.
• Moshi Moshi: the Old Japan, by Jin Konomi, page 5. Jin Konomi recounts the history of Western-style education in Meiji-era Japan, focusing on American teacher Leroy Lansing Janes who taught at Kumamoto’s Yogakko school starting in 1871. The column reflects on the idealism of early Japanese students who sought Western knowledge to modernize their country, including the notable student Nitobe Inazo.

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.