Warren Furutani’s ballot reversal and a teen’s sentence in the Kono case

Vol. 116, No. 11, March 19, 1993. 12 pages. View this issue

Warren Furutani, a Los Angeles Unified School District board member, was put back on the April election ballot after a judge overturned his disqualification over signatures. The same front page reported that Jeremy Brinkley, 19, was sentenced to more than 49 years in prison for the rape and murder of 87-year-old Chiyoko Kono of Selma, Calif. Other national stories covered a Yale law professor, Harold Koh, speaking on Haitian refugees, a California appeals court upholding the state’s hate crime law, and the Census Bureau’s decision not to adjust the 1990 undercount of Asian Americans.

Inside, Legacy Fund grants for JACL chapters were announced, and the Seattle Chapter was named top fund-raiser. William H. (Mo) Marumoto wrote about Asian Americans on corporate boards. Harry K. Honda and Stanley Kanzaki reviewed books by Bill Hosokawa and Maryka Omatsu on Nisei history and redress in Canada. Columns by Bill Hosokawa, Bill Marutani and Kimi Yoshino fill the commentary pages.

What’s in this issue

National

• Furutani Back in Election After Signature Disqualification Overturned, page 1. Warren Furutani, an Los Angeles Unified School District board member, was reinstated to the April election ballot after being disqualified for lacking enough signatures. A judge ruled in his favor, and Furutani called it the result of a grassroots signature-gathering effort by supporters.’
• Teen Gets 49 Years for Murder of Issei Woman, by Staff reports, page 1. Jeremy Brinkley, 19, was sentenced to more than 49 years in prison for the 1990 rape and murder of 87-year-old Chiyoko Kono of Selma, Calif. The sentence came as part of a plea bargain, and JACL regional director Elisa Kamimoto said the Kono family was relieved the ordeal was over though some members felt the sentence was too lenient.
• Arizona Police Handling of Assault Prosecution Criticized, page 1. Arizona State University students met with Tempe police to discuss the handling of the beating of Chinese graduate student Lang-Sheng Yun, criticizing insensitivity toward Asian Americans. Police upgraded the assault to a felony after Yun suffered broken bones, but denied it was a hate crime due to lack of racial slurs.
• Get Involved in Issues, Law Professor Says, page 1. Harold Koh, a Yale law professor who represented Haitian refugees before the U.S. Supreme Court, spoke at the 21st anniversary celebration of the Asian Law Caucus about what it means to be a ‘discreet and insular minority.’ Koh urged Asian Americans to become involved in causes like that of Haitian refugees, noting parallels to historic discrimination against Asian Americans.
• California Hate Crime Law Upheld, page 1. A California state appeals court upheld for the first time that California’s hate crime law does not violate free speech rights. The ruling came in a case reported by the Los Angeles Times.
• Undercount of Asian Americans Stands, page 1. Census Director Barbara Bryant announced that 1990 census figures undercounting Asian Pacific Americans and other minorities will not be adjusted, citing difficulty in accurately adjusting substate population estimates. Advocacy groups had pushed for incorporation of Post Enumeration Survey data showing significant undercount rates for minority populations.
• Filipino Amerasian Children Sue U.S. Government, page 3. Four children born to American servicemen and Filipina women in Olongapo, Philippines, filed a class-action lawsuit seeking child support and admission to the U.S. The suit seeks $68 million for thousands of children allegedly abandoned by fathers who served with the U.S. Navy and Marines.

JACL

• Grants Available to Chapters, page 1. A total of $12,000 in Legacy Fund grants is available to JACL chapters this year, according to Trisha Murakawa, JACL vice president for planning and development. In 1992, nine chapters received grants for projects including anti-Asian violence conferences, school curriculum work, and cultural programs.
• Seattle Top Fund-Raiser, page 1. The Seattle Chapter, JACL, was the top fund-raiser for the Legacy Fund, raising $278,315 as of Jan. 20, 1993. The chapter will receive $1,651.44 as its 1992 share of Legacy Fund revenue.
• Vancouver, B.C., to Host 7th PANA Conference, page 5. For the first time, the Pan American Nikkei Association (PANA) will hold its convention in Vancouver, B.C., July 1-4, hosted by the National Association of Japanese Canadians. The convention will feature workshops on comparative social histories, youth networking, and the ‘dekasegi’ issue among Nikkei communities in the Americas.
• Fresno Chapter Helps Fund Japanese Garden Project, page 5. The Fresno JACL chapter was acknowledged at the March 20 opening of Shin Zen Garden’s new entrance for donating proceeds from its annual Shin Zen Run to fund the project. Over the past seven years, the chapter has donated more than $16,000 toward the garden’s development.

Community

• Asian Americans Asked to Remember King’s Message of Non-Violence, Equality, page 3. The Asian Pacific Americans for a New Los Angeles-Community Relations Committee asked Japanese American and Asian Pacific Islander communities to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination with messages of non-violence. JACL regional director Jimmy Tokeshi said the request comes amid tensions surrounding the retrial of officers in the Rodney King beating case.
• University of Nevada Rejects Japan Gift, page 3. The University of Nevada Board of Regents rejected a $2 million gift from Japanese gaming manufacturer ACE Denken Co., Ltd. to UNLV’s College of Hotel Administration in a 5-5 tie vote. The rebuff angered Japanese negotiators who had sought to establish a Ph.D. program.
• Newspaper Helps Immigrants with Citizenship, page 3. The Patriot Ledger’s New American literacy program in Quincy, Mass., has helped hundreds of Asian immigrants become U.S. citizens since 1989 by combining English as a second language instruction with citizenship preparation. Editor William Ketter believes it may be the first program of its kind.
• Personally Speaking: Community Achievements and Honors, page 6. This roundup column covers various Japanese American community members’ achievements, including promotions, awards, and honors. Highlights include Alice F. Kasai’s induction into a Utah hall of fame, playwright Velina Hasu Houston’s commissioned PBS work, and various medical and legal professionals’ career milestones.

Military & Veterans

• Denver Vets Open Stone-Engraving Fund, page 3. Names of deceased Rocky Mountain area Nisei veterans are being engraved on the Nisei War Memorial dedicated in 1963 at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. Nisei Post 185 is seeking tax-deductible contributions for the engraving fund.
• Cherry Trees to Be Planted in Minnesota for MIS Veterans, page 3. Thirty Japanese cherry trees were scheduled to be planted and dedicated in Minnesota by former MIS Nisei veterans as a gesture of appreciation to the people of Minneapolis-St. Paul for their wartime hospitality. The project was announced by Jim Mita, president of the MIS Club of Southern California, and co-leader Shig Iba.

In-Depth

• Corporate Boards: The Final Frontier for Asian Americans, by William H. (Mo) Marumoto, page 4. William Marumoto presented a survey on the participation of Asian Americans on corporate boards of publicly-held companies at a District of Columbia conference. The report found only a small percentage of Fortune 1000 board seats held by Asian Pacific Americans and detailed which companies had Asian American board members and senior executives.
• Hosokawa Book Back in Print, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Bill Hosokawa’s ‘Nisei: The Quiet Americans’ has been reissued with a new afterword covering the past two decades, including the redress campaign. Editor emeritus Harry Honda reviews the book, noting its continued relevance for readers unfamiliar with Japanese American history.
• Book Shows Canadian Nikkei Redress Struggles, by Stanley Kanzaki, page 7. Maryka Omatsu’s ‘Bittersweet Passage: Redress and the Japanese Canadian Experience’ tells the story of the 22,000 Japanese Canadians affected during WWII and their fight for redress. The book details how Japanese Canadians were treated even more harshly than Japanese Americans under Canada’s War Measures Act, and describes the eventual 1988 redress agreement.

Commentary

• Call for Asian American Cooperation, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Bill Hosokawa writes about the historical role of Japanese Associations (Nihonjin Kai) in prewar communities and their eventual eclipse by JACL after WWII internment. He highlights a recent transition in the Colorado Japanese American Association under new president Tom Masamori, who proposes reaching out to cooperate with other Asian American groups.
• Chikara-Udon, by Bill Marutani, page 8. Bill Marutani muses on modern automated sushi-making machines in Japan and reminisces about traditional mochi-pounding methods using wooden mortars and mallets. He reflects nostalgically on the labor-intensive processes of the past compared to today’s convenient machines.
• Wants More Marutani Columns in PC, by Juliet K. de Cristofaro, page 8. A letter writer requests that Judge William Marutani’s column appear more frequently in the Pacific Citizen, calling it one of the most meaningful columns. The reader also references the Iva Toguri case.
• Time to Show Support for Yamashita, by Oleborg, page 8. A longtime JACL member writes urging support for Bruce Yamashita, who was dismissed from Marine Corps officer training days before graduation. The writer calls for JACL and Pacific Citizen to appeal to the president for a review of the case, comparing it to the vindication of Iva Toguri.
• Wants to Develop Exchange Students, by Francis Feeley, page 8. A Fulbright scholar teaching at the Minsk Pedagogical Institute in Belarus writes about using Asian American studies texts in his American minorities class. He expresses interest in developing student exchange opportunities and asks Pacific Citizen readers to contact him.
• For Youth, Cultural Identity Is Key, by Kimi Yoshino, page 9. In this Crossroads column, UC Davis student Kimi Yoshino discusses the challenges of balancing Japanese and American identity growing up. She reflects on her immersion in cultural activities and the importance of youth understanding their history to shape their future.
• Erasing the Mark of the Yakuza, by Jin Konomi, page 9. Columnist Jin Konomi describes the yakuza practice of finger amputation as punishment and a Fukui City surgeon’s technique for reconstructing lost fingers for ex-yakuza members seeking to reintegrate into society. The piece also discusses Japan’s new anti-gangster law and a police hotline helping members leave organized crime.
• Leadership: A Lesson From the Nov. 3 Elections, by Denny T. Yasuhara, page 9. Denny Yasuhara argues that JACL leadership must better understand and address the needs of its grassroots membership, drawing lessons from the 1992 general elections. He criticizes recent JACL decisions, including Legacy Fund management and organizational restructuring proposals, as examples of elitist, top-down decision-making that alienates chapters and members.

Obituaries

• Chiyo Shimizu Yamato, page 10. Chiyo Shimizu Yamato, 63, of Marina passed away, having served as editor of a Society publication. She is survived by family members including her husband and children.

Sports

• Donna Involved in High School Football Coaching, page 10. A profile piece traces a woman’s path from tutoring student athletes to coaching soccer, calisthenics, volleyball, and eventually calling defensive plays for a high school football team. She aspires to become a varsity football head coach.

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