Redress moves forward, plus Day of Remembrance in Sacramento

Vol. 110, No. 10, March 16, 1990. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress led the news in this eight-page issue. At two congressional hearings, the Department of Justice reaffirmed its commitment to the redress program, and officials testified that payments were expected to begin in fiscal year 1991. A report on Aleuts receiving $12,000 payments for their wartime evacuation, and a story on the Nihonmachi Legal Office helping families document their eligibility, followed the same thread. Toko Fujii described a Day of Remembrance in South Sacramento where more than 350 people heard Rep. Robert T. Matsui trace the redress movement and saw a slide presentation on Tule Lake.

On the JACL side, Karen Yoshitomi became Pacific Northwest District director, and the Latin America Chapter held its installation brunch. Columns by Bill Hosokawa and Bill Marutani look at Nikkei achievement and the idea of Japanese Americans as bridges to Japan. Harry K. Honda reviewed three books, and the Letters page carried a debate over camp newspapers.

What’s in this issue

National

• Congressional Hearings Underscore Justice Dept.’s Commitment to Redress, by P.C. Staff, page 1. At two congressional hearings, the Department of Justice reaffirmed its commitment to move forward with the redress program, with the Senate Judiciary Committee recommending confirmation of John R. Dunne as assistant attorney general for civil rights. Officials testified that ORA has identified over 119,300 eligible Japanese Americans and expects to begin issuing payments in fiscal year 1991.
• Nisei Candidate for Presidency of Peru, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Alberto Fujimori, a Nisei, is a candidate for the presidency of Peru in this year’s election and is a former rector of a national university. He leads as many as 30 candidates in the race.
• Corporate Japanese Strategies Changing, Says Economist, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A new wave of massive Japanese corporate investment, reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, is set to challenge companies worldwide as Japan plans to spend 22.3% of its GNP on capital investments this fiscal year. Economist Kenneth Courtis said Japanese firms now aim to design and market new products faster and cheaper than ever before.
• Five Asian Teenagers Attacked by Gang of White Youths in N.Y., by Robert Wone, Asian Week, page 3. Five Asian teenagers were savagely attacked by a Queens gang called The Master Race after a dispute over a jacket at a video arcade, resulting in serious injuries requiring 85 stitches for one victim. Community leaders and NY state Sen. Leonard Stavisky criticized the police response and are pushing for a thorough investigation amid a wider surge of anti-Asian attacks in New York.
• The Newsmakers, by P.C. Staff, page 8. This roundup column highlights achievements of various Japanese Americans, including Nobumichi Hara’s appointment as director of human resources for Seattle’s Community Colleges, Dennis Okamoto’s appointment as Washington state revenue director, and Joyce Muraoka’s promotion to deputy regional forester for the U.S. Forest Service. Other honorees include attorney Allen Kato and Whittier Bar Association president Linda Nakamura.

JACL

• Yoshitomi Appointed JACL Pacific Northwest Director, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Karen Yoshitomi of Seattle became the JACL Pacific Northwest District regional director on Feb. 1, praised by national director Bill Yoshino as a bright and enthusiastic addition to the staff. Yoshitomi previously worked as an instructor and recruitment counselor with the Center for Career Alternatives.
• Latin America JACL Installation Brunch: Beginning of International, Multilingual JACL Chapter in 1981 Recounted by Speaker, by Harry K. Honda, page 3. JACL’s Latin America Chapter, a multilingual group with roughly 50 members from Latin American countries, held its installation brunch Feb. 25 at Casa Escobar in Marina del Rey, with Consuelo Morinaga continuing as president. Speaker Harry Honda recounted the chapter’s founding in 1981 and its connection to the Pan American Nikkei Association.
• Pacific Northwest District Honors Friends in Wash. State House for Redress Support, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL Pacific Northwest District Council met in Olympia, Wash., honoring state Reps. Gary Locke and Art Wang for their leadership on redress-related issues. The council also discussed the upcoming National Convention in San Diego and the Minidoka Memorial Dedication planned for May 26 in Idaho.

Community

• Asian American Voters League Gears Forum to Grassroots, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A forum sponsored by the League of Asian American Voters and UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies will be held March 24 in Berkeley to teach Asian American communities how to get organized in politics at the grassroots level. JACL national president Cressey Nakagawa and various Asian American political leaders are participating.
• Seattle Asian-Pacific Counseling Center State-Approved for Funding as One Facility, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Washington State’s House of Representatives approved $100,000 in funding to remodel and consolidate the Asian Counseling and Referral Service Center in Seattle. The nonprofit center, founded in 1973, serves over 20,000 meals annually to elderly Asian community members and provides educational and job-placement services.
• Pacemaker Recipient Donates $100,000 to Hospital, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roy Sakioka and his family presented $100,000 to the White Memorial Center Foundation in Los Angeles, where Sakioka, now 91, received pacemaker surgery in 1988. The funds will be earmarked to benefit the hospital.
• Calif. Japanese as Second Language Speechfest Offers Japan Trip to Top Adults, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The fourth annual Japanese Speech Contest for non-native speakers will be held March 18 at CSU-Los Angeles, with adults and students competing in separate categories. The grand prize for the adult category is a trip to Japan sponsored by the Japan Overseas Enterprises Association.
• Nine Awards Offered to Japan Studies Scholars, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Japan Studies Scholarship Fund is seeking applicants for annual awards totaling $3,000, including four $500 awards for undergraduate students and five $200 awards for Japanese language school students. The deadline for applications is May 4, with a presentation ceremony set for Aug. 24 in San Francisco.
• Author Ron Takaki to Address LEAP Forum, by P.C. Staff, page 2. UC Berkeley Professor Ronald Takaki, author of ‘Strangers From a Different Shore,’ will discuss the Asian immigrant experience at the LEAP Forum on March 17 at USC. The forum is sponsored by AT&T, USC, and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.
• Dance Club in Sacramento Opens for Members, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Eileen Otsuji heads the newly organized Nikkei Ballroom Dance Club in Sacramento, which will sponsor a summer dance and a semi-formal holiday ballroom dance. Membership costs $25 per person.
• East West Theatre Slates Benefit Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The East West Players will hold an ‘L.A. Dance’ benefit dinner and dance on April 14 at the Hyatt Hotel by LAX to raise funds for their new theatre facility in the former Union Church in Little Tokyo. The evening will feature comedian Charlie Labonte, dancer Darrell Yoshihara, and music from a San Francisco band.
• Nihonmachi Legal Office Assisting Redress Families, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Nihonmachi Legal Office in San Francisco is helping Japanese Americans respond to Office of Redress Administration requests for documentation to confirm redress eligibility, especially for elderly and Issei applicants with missing records. NLO offers free assistance and Japanese-speaking translators by appointment.
• O’Leary Terasawa Cited for Excellence, by P.C. Staff, page 3. O’Leary Terasawa Partners, AIA Architects, were honored Feb. 22 by the American Institute of Architects for their design of the library learning center at Marymount High School and renovation of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in West Los Angeles. The firm is now also designing a large mixed-use development with a 500-room hotel in Little Tokyo.
• Business Profile of Seattle JACLer Tomio Moriguchi: Mom & Pop Store Shaped Into Huge Enterprise, by Himanee Gupta, Seattle Times (excerpted), page 5. Tomio Moriguchi, former Seattle JACL president and national JACL treasurer, has helped grow Uwajimaya from a small grocery into one of the largest Nikkei family-owned food businesses in the country, now employing 280 people with $35 million in annual sales. The company includes retail stores, a wholesale division, food processing, and mail-order operations, with leadership divided among five Moriguchi siblings.

Incarceration & Redress

• Aleuts Receiving $12,000 Redress Payments for WWII Internment, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Aleuts evacuated and interned by the U.S. government during WWII have been receiving $12,000 redress payments following 1988 congressional authorization of $20 million in payments, along with funds for a trust fund and church rebuilding. The CWRIC found that while the evacuation itself was justified, the subsequent treatment of the Aleuts in camps, where conditions were filthy and one in ten died, could not be justified.
• WWII Nikkei Internment Program Begins Its Third Year at High School, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Newark Memorial High School in Fremont, Calif., is holding its Third Annual Internment Program from March 12-20, featuring former internees speaking about their camp experiences. Speakers include Mas Yamasaki, Chizu Iiyama, Col. John Sadanaga, Dennis Hayashi, Fred Korematsu, and Dave Tatsuno.
• Rep. Matsui Traces Redress Movement: 6 JACL Chapters in Sacramento Valley in Rally for a Day of Remembrance, by Toko Fujii, page 2. More than 350 people attended the 1990 Day of Remembrance in South Sacramento, co-sponsored by Rep. Robert T. Matsui and six JACL chapters, featuring a slide presentation on Tule Lake and performances by the Shasta Taiko group. Keynote speaker Rep. Matsui traced the history of the Redress movement, citing key legislators who helped its passage.

Commentary

• Raising Our Ethnic Consciousness, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial reflects on the popularity of the Pacific Citizen’s ‘Newsmakers’ column, which highlights Japanese American achievements largely within mainstream American society. The piece cites a Harvard thesis noting Nikkei have a unique ‘dual culture’ identity that both integrates them into American society and preserves an ethnic consciousness essential for community and political success.
• College Admissions, by Glenn Omatsu, page 4. A letter to the editor disputes the Pacific Citizen’s editorial characterization of affirmative action programs as ‘quotas,’ arguing such programs set goals and timetables for equal opportunity rather than rigid quotas. The writer urges focus on unjust policies affecting Asian American admissions rather than blaming affirmative action itself.
• Planted in Good Soil: New Mexico’s Contribution, page 4. A letter references the late Roy Nakayama of Las Cruces, N.M., known as ‘Mr. Chili,’ for his contributions to New Mexico agriculture. It notes his development of chili varieties including the Big Jim chili.
• Nikkei Expectation of Note Snapped, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa’s column reflects on Lizanne Kaiser, a non-Japanese UC Santa Cruz student who won a Japanese-language oratorical contest despite starting with no Japanese knowledge, and Chiyo Ishikawa, a Nikkei named curator of European art at the Seattle Art Museum. He muses that such role reversals challenge ethnic stereotypes and looks forward to more Nikkei achieving recognition outside expected ethnic specialties.
• International Intermediary, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Bill Marutani’s column questions the well-intentioned but naive proposal that Japanese Americans act as cultural bridges or intermediaries between the U.S. and Japan on trade and other issues. He argues that most AJAs, including himself, lack the deep cultural, political, and economic expertise about Japan necessary for such a role.
• Japan Bashing and Earthquake Relief, by Margaret Okubo, page 5. A letter writer thanks the Pacific Citizen for covering Japanese contributions to Northern California Earthquake Relief, viewing it as a useful source to combat ‘Japan bashing.’ She suggests other national newspapers should publish similar information.
• Criticism Unfounded, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa responds to Dr. Suyama’s criticism regarding his tenure as editor of the Heart Mountain Sentinel, clarifying he left the camp in October 1943 before draft resistance became a major issue. He defends the Sentinel’s record of publishing letters from resistance leaders like Paul Nakadate and Frank Emi as well as compliance advocates like Min Yasui.
• J.A. History Room Needed, by Teruko Kachi, page 5. A letter from a Tokyo-based researcher expresses distress over the closing of the Japanese American History Room at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California and the resignation of its director, Seizo Oka. She appeals for continued preservation and accessibility of the collection for scholars of Japanese American history.
• Camp Newspaper Study, by Raymond Okamura, page 5. Raymond Okamura defends Professor Lauren Kessler’s scholarly analysis of concentration camp newspapers against Barry Saiki’s objections, arguing that contemporaneous documents are more reliable than decades-old personal recollections. He states his own independent research confirms that camp newspapers were slanted in favor of the administration due to press restrictions.
• ‘A’ Instead of an ‘E’, by Wilfred H. de Christoforo, page 5. A brief letter corrects a spelling error in the writer’s name from a previous issue. The writer thanks the paper for the correction.

In-Depth

• Planted in Good Soil: Texas Issei Farmers Started With Satsuma Oranges in Mobile, by Masakazu Iwata, page 5. This continuing historical excerpt details Issei agricultural settlement across Louisiana, Alabama, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, including Kosaku Sawada’s Satsuma orange nursery near Mobile and Japanese poultry chick-sexing operations in Minnesota. It also describes early sugar beet farming by Issei families like the Higashi brothers near Belle Fourche, South Dakota.

Arts & Entertainment

• Onomatopes: Cute Words, Cute Meanings in Nihongo, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. The Japan Times has published ‘An Illustrated Dictionary of Japanese Onomatopoeic Expressions’ by Taro Gomi, explaining sound-imitating Japanese words like za-za, nechi-nechi, and biku-biku with quaint pictures. The review notes Japanese has roughly three times as many such expressive words as English.
• Created in Japan: From Imitators to World-Class Innovators, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. This book review covers Sheridan Tatsuno’s ‘Created in Japan,’ which examines Japan’s technological strength and innovation from a business columnist’s perspective. Tatsuno is also the author of other works on Japan’s technopolis strategy and is head of a Berkeley-based consulting firm.
• Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850, by Harry K. Honda, page 8. Historian Roger Daniels’ book compares the immigration and settlement experiences of Chinese and Japanese Americans since 1850. The review notes the book offers a broad historical perspective from the 1960s era of the ‘model minority’ framing, with hopes for further scholarship on the subject.

Obituaries

• Deaths, page 8. A listing of recent deaths in the Japanese American community, including individuals from San Francisco, Fresno, Hayward, and other cities. Names include Fusaye Nishimoto, Shime Matsuzaki, Aichi Mukai, Hisako Mutai, Konami Sasaki, and others.

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