JACL Board studies its WWII record; Bush veto on Chinese students stands

Vol. 110, No. 4, February 2, 1990. 12 pages. View this issue

The JACL National Board met in San Francisco from Jan. 19 to 21 and took up a proposed study of the organization’s actions during World War II, scheduled for presentation by April. Also on the front page, the Senate sustained President Bush’s veto of a bill protecting Chinese students by four votes, with Rep. Robert Matsui criticizing the response. Commentary came from Bill Hosokawa, who wrote about dying watch batteries, and Bill Marutani, who compared Japanese American soldiers to the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Dale Minami looked back a year after the Stockton schoolyard shooting.

Elsewhere, Masakazu Iwata’s book excerpts traced Issei farmers, including the rice growers of Texas, across three pages. A campaign opened for a memorial bust of Minoru Yasui, and the Oshogatsu Festival was held in San Francisco’s Japantown. Editorials covered Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s illness and Japan’s labor shortage.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• Study of JACL’s Actions During WWII Due for April Presentation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL National Board met in San Francisco Jan. 19-21 to discuss numerous matters including a proposed study of JACL’s WWII-era actions and responsibilities, scheduled for presentation by April. The meeting also covered convention site selection, the Nikkei Service Center, personnel changes, and other organizational business.

National

• Chinese Immigration Relief Act Veto Sustained; Bush’s Executive Order Rules, page 1. The House voted overwhelmingly to override President Bush’s veto of a bill protecting Chinese students, but the Senate sustained the veto by four votes. Rep. Robert Matsui criticized Bush’s response as insufficiently strong against Chinese government repression following the Tiananmen Square massacre.
• Dr. Yamauchi Heads Arkansas’ Human Services Department, page 1. Terry Yamauchi, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was named by Gov. Bill Clinton to lead the state’s Human Services Department. Yamauchi, born in Portland, Oregon, is known for his work on AIDS, herpes, and infectious diseases.
• Japanese Emigres Seek Quality Life Styles Overseas, by Hideko Sakuma, page 2. Japan Times writer Hideko Sakuma reported that Japanese emigrants today leave the country seeking a higher quality of life rather than to escape economic hardship, citing examples in Australia and Canada. Emigration figures for 1988 showed 2,529 Japanese acquired permanent visas, a steady rise since the postwar low.
• First Asian-American Republican Leadership Meeting Held in D.C., page 3. More than 180 Asian American Republican activists met with President Bush and cabinet members at a conference sponsored by the Republican National Committee, the first such meeting by a major political party. RNC Chairman Lee Atwater urged attendees to encourage more Asian Americans to seek elected office.
• Supreme Court Rules on Tenure Case of Chinese American Prof, page 10. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that universities accused of discrimination in tenure decisions must make personnel files available to federal investigators, in a case involving Rosalie Tung, a Chinese American professor denied tenure at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Tung alleged discrimination based on her research focus and ethnicity, and the ruling requires disclosure of peer review materials to the EEOC.

Community

• Oshogatsu Festival Held in San Francisco’s Japantown, page 1. Richard Eijima and Greg Marutani made mochi at the annual Oshogatsu Festival held at Christ United Presbyterian Church on Jan. 20 in San Francisco’s Japantown. The event is a traditional New Year celebration in the community.
• AADAP Receives $15,829 from Nancy Reagan Group, page 2. The Nancy Reagan Foundation awarded the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) a grant to fund drug prevention, education, and intervention programs. The funds will support displays and printing of bilingual drug education brochures in multiple Asian languages.
• Honorees at Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute’s Testimonial Dinner, page 3. The Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute held its annual Testimonial Dinner honoring individuals for community service, including Mas Fukai, George Arakaki, Kiyoshi Kay Iizuka, Yoshio Minami, Don K. Nakajima, and the late Choji Yuge. Local officials attended to congratulate the honorees.
• Sen Nishiyama Compares Heritage and Human Rights in U.S.-Japan Relations at Selanoco Fete, by Harry K. Honda, page 3. Sen Nishiyama, a well-known Japanese-American interpreter, addressed the Selanoco JACL installation dinner on heritage and human rights in U.S.-Japan relations, drawing on his personal experiences with discrimination. Harry Kajihara installed Ruth Mizobe for a second term as chapter president during the event attended by about 150 people.
• Tri-State Buddhist Temple Meets a $500,000 Goal, page 3. The Tri-State Buddhist Temple in Denver completed its campaign to raise $500,000 to establish the Rev. Yoshitaka Tamai Memorial Professorship at the Institute for Buddhist Studies. The campaign was completed last fall, according to Jim Kanemoto.
• Asian Americans in Chicago to Mark Lunar New Year Feb. 17, page 10. The Seventh Annual Asian American Coalition of Chicago Lunar New Year Banquet will celebrate the Year of the Horse on Feb. 17 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. The event, hosted by the Chicago Japanese American Council, is expected to draw over 1,500 attendees as the largest organized Asian American community event in Chicago.

Military & Veterans

• U.S. Vets: VFW Nisei Post 8985 Marches in Columbus Day Parade, page 2. The color guard of VFW Nisei Post 8985 of Sacramento marched in last year’s Columbus Day Parade, drawing mixed reactions from onlookers. Despite occasional confused comments, the unit is greeted with applause at the reviewing stand where the history of the 100th/442nd and MIS is presented.

Arts & Entertainment

• On Location with NBC-TV’s ‘Hiroshima’: Old Kaiser Mill Site in Fontana ‘a Boon’, by Stephen Farber, page 2. The abandoned Kaiser steel mill in Fontana, California, ironically built to protect against Japanese bombing during WWII, is being used as a set for recreating Hiroshima in NBC’s upcoming film. The film, starring Max von Sydow, Judd Nelson, Kim Miyori, Mako and Pat Morita, dramatizes the bombing from the victims’ perspective, with hibakusha Kaz Suyeishi serving as consultant.

Commentary

• Illness Wrecks Spark Matsunaga’s Voting Record in Senate, Missed 27% in ’89, page 2. Hawaii Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s attendance record suffered in 1989 due to various health issues, including a fall, shingles, and prostate cancer, missing 27% of votes. His illness has sparked political speculation in Hawaii about succession scenarios if he steps down before or after July 24, 1990.
• Dead Watch-Battery Blues, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. In his column From the Frying Pan, Bill Hosokawa reflects on the evolution of watch technology from wind-up to self-winding to battery-operated models, prompted by his own watch battery dying unexpectedly. He muses on how his life has been governed by deadlines throughout his newspaper career.
• Glory, by Bill Marutani, page 4. In his East Wind column, Bill Marutani draws parallels between the WWII experiences of Japanese American soldiers and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an all-Black Civil War unit that suffered discrimination and violence. He reflects on how this history, highlighted by the movie ‘Glory,’ was largely unknown to him despite its similarities to Japanese American wartime experiences.
• Spark Matsunaga (Editorial), page 4. This editorial praises Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s record of service and dedication despite his recent health struggles with prostate cancer. It highlights his advocacy for redress for Japanese Americans and his interest in space, energy, and peace issues, wishing him a speedy recovery.
• Population vs. Employment (Editorial), page 4. This editorial discusses Japan’s labor shortage despite its economic strength, noting that many underemployed workers from developing Asian nations are entering Japan illegally to fill low-paying jobs. It draws comparisons to the United States’ historical experience with immigration, suggesting Japan could benefit similarly from embracing immigrant labor.
• Letters to the Editor: Rockefeller Plaza, Redress Post-Mortems, and the Singles Issue, by EJ Suyama, Sam Alley, Jo Okura, Mark T. Nojiri, page 4. Multiple letters address various topics including criticism of Bill Hosokawa’s column on Japanese business practices, gratitude for the passage of redress legislation, and concerns that JACL is not adequately addressing the needs and concerns of Japanese American singles. Writers include EJ Suyama, Sam Alley, Jo Okura, and Mark T. Nojiri.
• The 1990s: Japan’s Decade, by Kimindo Kusaka, page 5. In this translated Japanese press piece, Kimindo Kusaka argues that Japan’s perceived hardships—high prices, small housing, long work hours—actually contain hidden benefits and quality-of-life advantages often overlooked by Western critics. He predicts Japan will lead a new industrial revolution combining high technology with a creative service economy in the coming decade.
• Stockton: A Year Later, by Dale Minami, page 5. Dale Minami reflects on the anniversary of Patrick Purdy’s mass shooting at a Stockton elementary school that killed five Southeast Asian children, situating it within a history of anti-Asian violence in California. He discusses other hate crimes against Asian Americans, including the deaths of Vincent Chin, Jim Loo, and Navroz Mody, and calls for greater vigilance against racial hatred.

Incarceration & Redress

• Campaign Opens for Minoru Yasui Memorial, page 3. The Mile-Hi JACL Chapter and Nisei Post 185 of the American Legion organized community groups to sponsor a memorial bust of the late Minoru Yasui to be placed in Sakura Square, along with scholarships in his honor. Yasui, honored multiple times by JACL, was instrumental in the passage of the 1988 Civil Rights/Redress Bill.

In-Depth

• Planted in Good Soil: Issei History of U.S. in Agriculture, by Masakazu Iwata, page 6. This excerpt from Masakazu Iwata’s book examines the history of Issei immigrants who became agricultural pioneers in the American West, driven by a strong work ethic rooted in Shinto-Confucianist-Buddhist values. It highlights notable figures like George Shima, the ‘Issei Potato King,’ and discusses the cultural and economic contributions of Japanese immigrant farmers despite facing discriminatory laws.
• Issei Farm Rice in Texas; They Came in Spite of Reputation of Being ‘Jigoku’, by Masakazu Iwata, page 6. This chapter details the history of Japanese immigrants who settled in Texas to grow rice despite the state’s reputation as a humid, mosquito-infested ‘hell.’ Pioneers like Seito Saibara, a former Japanese Diet member, established successful rice farming operations that achieved considerable financial success in the early 20th century.
• Texas Rice Growers: Kishi, Iwamura, Onishi and Other Pioneer Operations, by Masakazu Iwata, page 7. This continuation details the significant rice farming operations of various Issei pioneers in Texas, including Kichimatsu Kishi’s large 3,500-acre farm at Terry and Rihei Onishi’s plantation at Mackay. These farmers combined Japanese agricultural knowledge with American mechanization techniques to build highly successful rice enterprises before eventually facing decline.

Obituaries

• Dr. George Muramoto, 78, Prewar Sacramento JACL President, page 10. Dr. George Goro Muramoto, a longtime Sacramento dentist and former Sacramento JACL president, died Jan. 5 at age 78. He served in the Army during the Korean War, was interned during WWII, and was active in numerous community organizations including the Buddhist Church and Hiroshima Kenjinkai.

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