Relief for Peru, and a farewell to attorney James Purcell

Vol. 112, No. 8, March 1, 1991. 8 pages. View this issue

Aid for Peru led this eight-page issue. Harry K. Honda reported that First Lady Susan Fujimori and Peruvian Nikkei leaders sent letters of thanks to the Pan American Nikkei Association-USA, whose second 20-ton shipment of relief food awaited port clearance in Callao. A continuation on page 7 covered the group’s New Year’s dinner in Little Tokyo. The paper also marked the death of San Francisco attorney James C. Purcell, who carried the Mitsuye Endo case to the U.S. Supreme Court without fee, and an editorial on page 4 remembered his work.

Bill Hosokawa’s East Wind column compared Saddam Hussein’s die-hard followers to Issei who refused to believe Japan was losing the war, and Bill Marutani’s Legal-Ease looked at Japan’s juku cram schools. The letters page ran on apology, racism and a Montana correction, plus a note of thanks for a marrow donor drive. A page 7 story covered an architecture award for Portland’s Japanese American Historical Plaza.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Pan American Nikkei Group Sends Relief Foods to Peruvians, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. Peru’s First Lady Susan Fujimori and Peruvian Nikkei leaders sent letters of gratitude to the Pan American Nikkei Association-USA for relief shipments organized last summer and fall. A second 20-ton shipment awaited port clearance in Callao, Peru, with goods distributed to children’s charities and the poor.
• Personally Speaking, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This roundup column features brief items on various Japanese Americans’ achievements, including Sam Seno receiving a certificate of appreciation from LA County, Osamu Yamada being named to USF’s board of trustees, and Jonathan Kaji’s appointment to the President’s Export Council by President Bush. Other mentions include Donna Onodera’s appointment to head OWCP’s San Francisco office and Alan Cheung’s election to the Montgomery County Board of Education.
• PANA-USA New Year’s Dinner Details, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. This continuation article details the PANA-USA New Year’s dinner meeting where about 100 people attended, with $70,000 donated to President Fujimori for a Nikkei enterprise development project and self-help home-building village. The event included banzai toasts, remarks from honorary chairman Fred Wade, and video coverage from NHK featuring interviews with Mrs. Fujimori.

National

• Doris Matsui Heads Congressional Club, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Doris Matsui, wife of Congressman Robert Matsui, was named to lead the Congressional Club in Washington. She expressed pride in serving the club’s public service role.
• Lawyer James Purcell Challenged Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Veteran attorney James C. Purcell, 85, died Feb. 13 of a heart attack in San Francisco. He was best known for carrying the Mitsuye Endo case to the U.S. Supreme Court without fee because he was angered by the Japanese American evacuation.
• Personalized Licenses Still Controversial, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL was instrumental in 1973 in having California revoke license plates bearing the offensive epithet ‘JAP,’ with the DMV empowered to recall plates deemed offensive. The controversy continues, as illustrated by a case involving Dr. Kareem Jaffer’s son’s license plate referencing jihad, which DMV construed as offensive despite explanations of its true religious meaning.

Commentary

• Stamp of Disapproval, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Following up on a story about a new 10-stamp sheet commemorating World War II including the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a reader wrote to Linn’s Stamp News expressing concern the stamp language was inflammatory toward Japanese Americans. The reader argued the U.S. Postal Service made a grave error resurrecting negative emotions despite 50 years having passed since WWII.
• Wants More Stories on Business People, by Nancy Nix, page 2. A letter writer requests that Pacific Citizen publish more articles about Little Tokyo business owners and their broader interests and activities. She argues that simply covering their shops does not fully capture their significance to the JACL readership.
• Grateful for Help in Marrow Donor Drive, by Sharon Sugiyama, page 2. A letter thanks volunteers for their help with a marrow donor recruitment drive that brought over 1,000 people to drives in multiple cities, raising the number of Asians in the National Marrow Donor Program to over 8,500. The writer notes the difficulty minority patients face finding matches and urges more Asians to join the registry.
• More Thoughts on Japanese Apology, by Shozo T. Uehara, page 2. Responding to a Bill Hosokawa column on the Japanese apology for Pearl Harbor, the writer argues that events are interconnected and that self-serving apology campaigns like Elbert Watson’s risk appearing hollow unless backed by moral example. He suggests the upcoming Columbus quincentennial would be an appropriate time for Americans to apologize to Native Americans.
• Racism Focus Is Counterproductive, by Mas Odoi, page 2. The writer argues that focusing on racism rather than mutual understanding is counterproductive to improving U.S.-Japan relations, criticizing Bill Marutani’s call for Japanese to understand Japanese Americans as one-sided. He asks what programs JACL has initiated to educate Japanese Americans about their own history and traditions.
• Clearing Up the Record in Montana, by Helen Hagen, page 2. The writer corrects a Jan. 25 article that named Robert Kayama as the first Asian American elected to public office in Montana, noting that Tsugio Ikeda of Great Falls more likely holds that distinction. Ikeda served as a respected elementary school principal and won election as Superintendent of Schools for Cascade County in 1986, running unopposed in 1990.
• Don’t Bury Us Yet, Says Living Vets, page 2. Referencing a Los Angeles Times article about living veterans mistakenly listed among war dead on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the writer warns a similar error may occur with 442nd/MIS World War II veterans. The letter calls attention to the need for accuracy in memorializing veterans.
• RIP: James Purcell, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial honors San Francisco attorney James C. Purcell, who died Feb. 13, as the last of the WWII-era JACL Headquarters team that included Saburo Kido and Mike Masaoka. Purcell is remembered for three major legal programs including the Mitsuye Endo case, the Harue Masaoka California alien land law decision, and the Keisaburo Koda evacuation case.
• Die-Hard Saddam Followers, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa’s East Wind column compares the disbelief of Jordanians and Islamic fundamentalists that Saddam Hussein’s military was truly defeated to Issei internees in WWII camps who refused to believe Japan was losing the war. He recounts historical examples of Japanese who clung to false beliefs of victory long after the war ended, questioning how the Middle East’s political future will unfold after Saddam’s defeat.
• Juku’s and U.S. Professional Schools, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Bill Marutani’s Legal-Ease column discusses Japan’s juku cram schools and draws comparisons to U.S. professional schools, noting that only a small percentage of law exam takers pass despite being drawn from top students at top universities. He notes that Japanese applicants may take entrance exams up to seven times, reflecting on the pressure of repeated failure.

JACL

• PANA-VI Convention in Paraguay, Program and Travel Plans Detailed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Registration details and program schedule for the PANA-VI convention July 25-28 in Asuncion, Paraguay were announced, with registration fees and deadlines specified. The program includes an opening ceremony, seminars, a Sayonara banquet, and various tours for attendees.

Incarceration & Redress

• Japanese American Historical Plaza Wins Architecture Award, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Japanese American Historical Plaza in Portland, Oregon, was selected for a 1990 honor award from the American Institute of Architects and won first place in the ‘People’s Choice Awards.’ Designed by Robert Murase, the plaza features engraved poems, bronze reliefs telling Northwest Nikkei history, and the names of 10 internment camps inscribed on a central stone.

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