Remembering Sen. Spark Matsunaga, and Fujimori’s rise in Peru

Vol. 110, No. 24, June 22, 1990. 8 pages. View this issue

A memorial service for Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga at Arlington National Cemetery opened this eight-page issue, with JACL among the co-sponsors and Mike M. Masaoka among the speakers. Alberto Fujimori’s election as president of Peru was the other main story, covered from his ancestral hometown in Kumamoto, from Peru’s economic crisis, and from his plans on aid and anti-drug policy. Columns by Cherry Kinoshita and Paul Igasaki took up racial violence and what JACL should do about it.

Other pages cover a memorial dedication at the Minidoka campsite, headstones dedicated at the Amache cemetery, and the Rohwer center’s nomination for landmark status. There is also news of Little Tokyo development, a Hollywood nightclub’s apology to Asian American students, and a new Asian Pacific American legal consortium. Bill Hosokawa wrote on Tokyo and Chino, and the editorial page praised a Smithsonian exhibit on the incarceration.

What’s in this issue

National

• JACL Co-Sponsors Rites for ‘Sparky’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A memorial service celebrating the life of Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga was held June 10 at Arlington National Cemetery, culminating with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown. The event was co-sponsored by several organizations including Washington D.C. JACL, and featured speeches by Mike M. Masaoka and other dignitaries.
• National Asian American Legal Consortium Formed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Three major Asian American legal organizations announced the formation of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, funded by Philip Morris and AT&T Foundation grants. The consortium aims to consolidate efforts on civil rights cases amid rising anti-Asian sentiment nationwide.
• Japanese Student Scholarships Available, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Applications for the 1991 Japanese Government Scholarship for American graduate students to study in Japan are now available through the Consulate General of Japan. The scholarship, administered by Monbusho, covers transportation, stipend and school fees for eligible U.S. citizens under 35.
• Relatives in Japan Celebrate: ‘Mikan’-Growing Kumamoto Town, Prime Minister Kaifu Congratulate, page 1. The ancestral hometown of newly elected Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori celebrated his victory with sake barrels and flag-waving in Kawachi, Kumamoto-ken. Prime Minister Kaifu congratulated Fujimori, though Japan said it would not provide special economic aid to Peru simply because of his heritage.
• Nikkei Worldwide Worry with Fujimori, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. The election of Alberto Fujimori as president of Peru has drawn global Nikkei attention to Peru’s economic crisis and the challenges facing his government. The article discusses Peru’s hyperinflation, currency devaluation, and Fujimori’s rejection of his opponent’s radical free-market ‘shock treatment’ program.
• Congress to Consider Immigration Reform (HR 4300), Asian Gains Seen, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL Washington Office announced that the House Judiciary Committee will take up the Legal Immigration Reform Act, which contains provisions supported by Asian Americans including preservation of family preference categories. Supporters are urged to write letters to Committee members before the bill’s vote this month.
• Inouye Introduces New Bill for Charity Deductions, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye introduced a bill allowing non-itemizing taxpayers to deduct charitable contributions over $100. Inouye argued lower-income people are often more generous givers but the current tax code favors higher-income itemizers.
• Hollywood Nightclub to Apologize to Asian Students Denied Entry, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The owner of the Florentine Gardens nightclub agreed to apologize to Asian American college students, mostly from Occidental College, who alleged they were repeatedly denied entry due to their race. The club also agreed to post anti-discrimination policies and maintain logs of denied patrons following ACLU involvement.
• Inflation Drives South American Nikkei to Japan, by From the Japan Times, page 3. South American Nikkei workers, fleeing hyperinflation rates as high as 4,000 percent at home, are coming to Japan for steady wages but often face low-paying jobs, culture shock, and exploitative employers. A Committee to Support Latin American Workers has formed to help with complaints, work permits and cultural issues, though on-the-job accidents among these workers have also risen.
• Fujimori Considers U.S. Aid and Anti-Drug Policy, by P.C. Staff, page 8. President-elect Alberto Fujimori proposed using Peru’s armed forces to improve infrastructure in the coca-growing Upper Huallaga Valley and planned to seek U.S. aid, emphasizing crop substitution over military repression. Secretary of State James Baker III noted the U.S. is studying Fujimori’s proposal within the framework of the Colombian anti-drug summit policy.

JACL

• JACLers Witness Chiba-Wisconsin Sister-States Signing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson and Chiba Prefecture Gov. Takeshi Numata signed a Sister-States accord in a ceremony at the Wisconsin Capitol, committing to exchanges in education, business and culture. Milwaukee JACLers Yukio Itoh and Allan Hida served on the steering committee for the historic event.
• Mt. Olympus and Salt Lake Chapters Host Joint Awards, Scholarship Banquet, by Yasuo G. Tokita, page 3. Radio news anchor Tammy Kikuchi-Nakamura spoke at the Mt. Olympus-Salt Lake JACL scholarship dinner, challenging graduates to extend their interests beyond themselves. Community Service Awards were presented to Dr. Dan and Helen Oniki, Tosh Kanegae, and Clara Miyazaki, along with several scholarships to Sansei and Yonsei students.

Incarceration & Redress

• Phase 2 of Minidoka Camp Project Includes Rock Garden, by Ed Suguro, page 2. At the May 26 memorial dedication at the Minidoka campsite, Bureau of Reclamation regional director John Keys III announced Phase Two plans including a rock garden restoration and cost-sharing with JACL to expand the memorial. National JACL President Cressey Nakagawa urged Americans to learn about the camps’ history, and speakers paid tribute to Nisei soldiers and Issei pioneers before a crowd of about 700.
• Rohwer Relocation Center Nominated for Landmark Status, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program has nominated the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Desha County for National Historic Landmark status. The site, which held Japanese Americans during WWII, contains unique surviving structures and cemetery markers built by internees.

Community

• More Highrises on Drawing Board for Little Tokyo Skyline East of Alameda, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two massive development projects are planned for Little Tokyo east of Alameda Street, including a nine-acre Mangrove Estates site with residential towers and commercial structures, and developer Al Taira’s seven-acre ‘First Street South Plaza’ project. The developments are situated near the new Union Depot Metrorail station.
• Sacramento College Teacher Honored For 25-Year Service, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Midori Hiyama was honored at a retirement ceremony at Sacramento City College for 25 years of teaching, during which the reading lab was renamed the Midori Hiyama Reading Center in her honor. She established the college’s reading skills program and the HELP program for reentry students, and helped community college JACL scholarship recipients.
• Festival Committee Seeks ’51 Nisei Week Booklet, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Nisei Week Japanese Festival Committee is seeking a copy of the 1951 Nisei Week booklet to complete its collection ahead of the 50th anniversary of Nisei Week. Chair Frank Omatsu asked anyone with a copy to contact him.

Commentary

• Smithsonian’s Roger Kennedy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial praises Dr. Roger Kennedy, director of the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History, for his role in creating the ‘A More Perfect Union’ exhibit on Japanese American incarceration despite facing criticism. The piece argues the exhibit shows that Nisei suffering was the inevitable product of long-standing discrimination, not a failure of the wartime generation.
• Monitor: Hate Words, by Mary L. Olvera, page 4. A reader letter criticizes the Pacific Citizen for using the phrase ‘Jap bashing’ in a previous article, calling it racist and hurtful given its historical use as a wartime slur. The editor responds explaining the term’s contemporary usage regarding U.S.-Japan trade tensions and defending the quotation marks used to highlight its loathsome nature.
• Green Acres, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa contrasts crowded, expensive Tokyo living conditions—citing minimal housing space, costly condos, and long commutes—with the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere of Chino, a smaller town in Nagano Prefecture. He suggests that Japan’s smaller cities, not Tokyo, represent the best of the country.
• Hate—The Challenge of the ’90s, by Cherry Kinoshita, page 4. Kinoshita catalogs a rising tide of racist incidents nationwide, from racial killings to campus bigotry, and explores theories on why hate persists, including demographic anxiety among white supremacists. She calls for JACL to move beyond redress toward proactive civil rights education and coalition-building to combat hate in the 1990s.
• Wanted: A New Bridge Across the Pacific, by Ryuichi Imagawa, page 5. Imagawa argues that U.S.-Japan relations are fraying as the generation of cross-cultural pioneers who studied abroad in the 1950s retires, leaving younger generations on both sides out of touch with each other. He calls for renewed investment in bilateral student exchanges to rebuild goodwill and understanding, modeled on the postwar GARIOA and Fulbright programs.
• Racial Violence and the JACL, by Paul Igasaki, page 5. Igasaki details a surge of anti-Asian violence and racism nationwide, including the Vincent Chin and Jim Loo cases, and describes JACL’s response through meetings with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. He argues JACL remains vital in fighting hate crimes and advocating for federal prosecution of racially motivated violence.

Obituaries

• Pilgrimage to Amache: Coloradoans Dedicate Headstones at Camp Cemetery, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Thirty-seven Coloradoans and former Amache internees gathered at the Amache campsite memorial on May 19 to dedicate two new headstones and maintain the cemetery grounds as a Denver Central Optimist Club project. Buddhist and Christian clergy led memorial prayers at the event.

In-Depth

• Gamma Globulin Patterns Peculiar to Mongolians and ‘Jinnoki’ of 2nd Century B.C. Presented, by James Oda, page 7. The article discusses Dr. Hideo Matsumoto’s genetic research showing that Japanese, Ainu, Okinawan, Korean and Mongolian populations share closely related gene patterns, suggesting common Central Asian ancestry. It also examines the controversial ancient document ‘Jinnoki,’ which claims to trace Japanese imperial history back thousands of years before the Kojiki.

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