Vol. 110, No. 23, June 15, 1990. 12 pages. View this issue
Plans for the June 1990 JACL National Convention in San Diego filled the front page. On June 22, a Redress Celebration themed “We Honor the People” was to cite those who helped win redress, with each honoree receiving an original work by Robert Ogata, a Sansei artist who was held at Gila River as a child. Dr. William G. Ouchi was named keynote speaker, Roger Kennedy was to receive the Masaoka Public Service Award, and Art Morimitsu of Chicago was named JACLer of the Biennium.
Elsewhere, Alberto Fujimori’s election as president of Peru drew a news story and an editorial. Cherry Kinoshita defended the JACL Legacy Fund, and Donald T. Nakahata wrote on the same subject. Paul Igasaki’s column looked at redress and civil rights, and Harry K. Honda reported on Asian American candidates in California’s primary. Bill Hosokawa described a Tokyo charm school for bachelors.
What’s in this issue
JACL
- Robert Ogata Art Piece to Be Memento for LEC Honorees Being Cited June 22, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL/LEC Redress Celebration on June 22 in San Diego will honor individuals who contributed to redress, with each receiving an original artwork by Sansei artist Robert Ogata, a former internee at Gila River. Honorees include senators, congressmen, commission members, and veterans representatives such as Rudy Tokiwa and Min Yasui.
- Dr. Wm. Ouchi to Keynote JACL Convention at Opening Session, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. William G. Ouchi, UCLA professor and author of Theory Z, will keynote the 1990 National JACL Convention opening session in San Diego, focusing on outside forces affecting Asian Americans and JACL. National President Cressey Nakagawa will respond with a challenge to the organization following the two-year long range planning survey.
- Smithsonian Museum Director Kennedy to Receive Masaoka Public Service Award, by Karen Seriguchi, page 1. Roger Kennedy, director of the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, will receive the Mike M. Masaoka Distinguished Public Service Award for making possible the exhibit on Japanese American internment, “A More Perfect Union.” JACL will also pay posthumous tribute to Robert Pirosh, Edward Ennis, and Spark M. Matsunaga at the same banquet.
- JACL Legacy Fund: Tear Down or Build?, by Cherry Kinoshita, page 9. This lengthy piece defends the JACL Legacy Fund proposal against critics who want a greater share of funds allocated to chapters, tracing the fund’s origins to a 1988-89 ad hoc committee discussion about JACL’s financial survival. The author argues a strong national organization requires dedicated funding and urges the National Board to move forward with a professional staff person to organize the fundraising drive.
- JACLer of Biennium: Art Morimitsu—Chicagoan Who Solicited Veterans Nationally for Redress to Be Honored, by Karen Seriguchi, page 9. Art Morimitsu of Chicago, who marshalled support from 33 Nisei veterans organizations during the redress campaign and helped block anti-redress resolutions by the American Legion and VFW, has been named JACLer of the Biennium. He will receive a gold medallion and scroll citation at the national convention, recognizing his decades of leadership in the Chicago Nikkei community.
National
- Many Asian Names Appear in Cal. Primary, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. California’s June 5 primary results showed numerous Asian American candidates, including Secretary of State March Fong Eu and her son Matt Fong, running for state offices, with many advancing to November general elections. Congressional incumbents Robert Matsui and Norman Mineta won their primaries unopposed or with large margins.
- Fujimori Wins Presidency in Peru Decisively, page 1. Alberto Fujimori, the first person of Japanese ancestry elected president of a nation, won Peru’s presidency in a landslide over novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. The 51-year-old Nisei inherits a bankrupt nation facing massive inflation, foreign debt, and insurgent violence.
- Two Charged in Beating of Japanese Students Mistaken as Hmong Refugees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two La Crosse, Wisconsin men face battery charges for an April beating of two University of Wisconsin-La Crosse students from Japan. The victims, Taro Imamura and Yasushi Kikuchi, were attacked by a group of four men in a parking ramp.
- Sen. Akaka v. Rep. Saiki Grabbing Headlines as Campaign Underway, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rep. Pat Saiki, urged by President Bush to run for Hawaii’s vacant Senate seat, has drawn attention with her proposal to extend Hawaii’s political boundaries to remote Pacific islets. Interim Senator Dan Akaka is meanwhile working to protect the local sashimi industry from federal fish-freezing regulations.
- The Newsmakers, by P.C. Staff, page 6. This roundup profiles several Japanese Americans in the news, including Madeline Ong-Sakata appointed to Phoenix’s Pacific Rim Advisory Council, Judge Lance Ito reappointed to a California criminal justice panel, teacher Joseph Oyama Jr. nominated for a presidential teaching award, Fred Wada set to receive the Pacific Pioneer Award from JACCC, engineer Robert Tsutsui recognized by Aerospace Corp., and bowler Allison Odaguchi winning a youth athlete award.
- Killer of San Fernando Valley Sansei Girl in 1987 Found Guilty, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Roland Comtois was found guilty on all eight felony counts, including first-degree murder, for the 1987 abduction, sexual assault and murder of 14-year-old Wendy Masuhara in Chatsworth. The victim’s surviving 13-year-old friend testified during the trial about the abduction and shooting, and Comtois faces sentencing June 18.
Community
- Anheuser-Busch Awards Grant to CCDC Senior Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Central California JACL District Council received a $1,000 grant from Anheuser-Busch to support the Nikkei Service Center’s senior van program in Fresno. The program has assisted over 400 senior citizens per year since its founding in 1975.
- 1000 Club Reception: A Whale of an Event, by P.C. Staff, page 2. JACL’s 1000 Club reception at Sea World on June 17 kicks off the National Convention in San Diego, sponsored by Anheuser-Busch and Sea World. An estimated 200 JACL members and families were expected to attend the opening event.
- St. Louis JACLers Active in Sister Cities Programs, by Nikki Hara, page 3. St. Louis JACL members set up an art display from Suwa, Japan at a Sister Cities exhibit and hosted a potluck dinner for the Suwa soccer team during a soccer tournament. Other Sister City art at the event came from Nanjing, Stuttgart, Lyon, and Galway.
Sports
- Go for the Gold—39th Annual PSWDC JACL Nisei Relays, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The 39th annual PSWDC JACL Nisei Relays will be held June 24 at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, with a contingent from the Northern California JACL Jr. Olympics expected to participate. Entry forms are available through the JACL Office.
Military & Veterans
- Names on Veterans Memorial Controversy: Alternate Concept Favored by 57-41 Pct. Margin, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Nisei Veterans Coordinating Council survey found members favored an alternate concept for a Japanese American WWII Veterans Memorial in Little Tokyo, listing only Medal of Honor recipients and KIA/MIA names rather than all 13,000 who served. The original proposal had drawn objections in the vernacular press before the council’s ballot count of 1,461 votes settled the dispute.
Commentary
- Fujimori’s Victory, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial celebrates Alberto Fujimori’s historic election as president of Peru, the first person of Japanese lineage to lead a sovereign nation, while cautioning that he faces immense challenges of inflation, guerrilla subversion and drug trafficking. The piece notes Japanese Americans can take pride in his rise from humble origins while recognizing he is fundamentally Peruvian, not Japanese American.
- More on Legacy Funds, by Donald T. Nakahata, page 4. A letter to the editor argues that the JACL Legacy is an idea and tradition of public service built by dedicated volunteers since the 1920s and 30s, listing achievements like citizenship restoration and redress. The writer calls for creating an educational fund controlled by Japanese Americans to build a funding base to maintain the organization’s tradition of service.
- A Sensitive Issue, by Damon M. Senaha, page 4. A letter to the editor criticizes the Pacific Citizen for treating Okinawan-origin Issei differently from other Japanese by omitting “Japan” after Okinawa in a May 4 article, despite Okinawa’s 1973 return to Japan as a prefecture. The writer, whose father is Nisei of Okinawan descent, recounts historical prejudice against Okinawans by mainland Japanese and notes both groups fought together in the 442nd and 100th.
- ’18 Steps to Make You a Man of Great Charm’ (in Tokyo), by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. This Frying Pan column describes a Tokyo firm called Marriage Co. that teaches Japanese bachelors social skills and charm through 18 weekly classes costing over $1,000. The column recounts anecdotes of awkward conversation exercises among class participants seeking help finding wives.
- Lessons of Redress and Civil Rights, by Paul Igasaki, page 4. This JACL Window on Washington column argues that the redress campaign succeeded because Japanese Americans built coalitions with other civil rights and Asian American groups rather than acting alone. Igasaki contends this lesson obligates JACL to now support other groups’ civil rights struggles, citing ongoing work on the Civil Rights Act of 1990.
Obituaries
- Goro Tanamachi, 70, 442nd Veteran, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Goro Tanamachi, a longtime Dayton JACL member of Fairborn, Ohio, and 442nd veteran, died May 22 after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his wife Yuriko, children, grandchildren and siblings.
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