Japantown for Sale, plus new landmarks for Tule Lake and Amache

Vol. 142, No. 4, March 3, 2006. 12 pages. View this issue

The possible sale of San Francisco’s Japantown led this 12-page issue. Two malls, two hotels and a theatre were up for sale, and Caroline Aoyagi-Stom reported on a petition drive begun by Aaron Kitashima that had gathered over 11,000 signatures. Community leaders and Kintetsu’s attorney Don Tamaki gave their views, and the story continued on page 12. Another front-page report said part of Tule Lake and the Granada/Amache camp had been named National Historic Landmarks. John Tateishi’s column urged donations to buy land next to the Minidoka site.

Elsewhere, Senator Daniel Inouye proposed a commission on Japanese Latin Americans held in World War II, and JACL chapters marked the Day of Remembrance. Sports pages followed Apolo Anton Ohno and Shizuka Arakawa at the Turin Olympics. Mine Okubo was honored with a street name, and Lynda Lin profiled the documentary After Innocence.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Notice: Japantown for Sale, by Caroline Aoyagi-Stom, page 1. Several key properties in San Francisco’s Japantown—including two malls, two hotels, and a theatre—are up for sale, worrying community members about the historic district’s survival during its 100th anniversary year. Grandson of the late Sox Kitashima, Aaron Kitashima, has launched a petition drive that has gathered over 11,000 signatures to protest the sale.
• JACL Chapters Observe Day of Remembrance, page 5. JACL chapters nationwide held Day of Remembrance events last month, including a ceremony with Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s office and a Utah event titled ‘Through a Woman’s Eyes’ featuring a film screening and panel discussion with Nisei women survivors moderated by Jeanette Misaka.
• GLAS Chapter Calls for Scholarship Applicants, page 5. The Greater Los Angeles Singles JACL Chapter is seeking applicants for its $1,000 Hana Uno Memorial Scholarship, established in 1992 to honor a longtime GLAS/JACL member and redress movement activist. Applicants must be college-bound seniors of Japanese descent from single-parent families in L.A. or Orange County.
• NJAVC Announces New Study on the WWII Occupation of Japan, page 6. The National Japanese American Veterans Council announced plans for a comprehensive study on the role Nisei linguists played during the U.S. occupation of Japan, filling a gap in JA military history. The study will rely on archival research and interviews with surviving MIS veterans and their Japanese counterparts, and seeks donations to fund the research.
• Gilroy, San Benito County and Watsonville-Santa Cruz Chapters Hold Tri-Installation Dinner, page 6. Three JACL chapters jointly installed new officers at a dinner held at the Masonic Center in Morgan Hill. National JACL president Ken Inouye attended along with newly installed chapter presidents Kurt Kurasaki, Michael Hoshida, and a representative for Paul Kaneko.
• Intercollegiate Nikkei Council Announces Revisions, Youth Conference, page 8. The Intercollegiate Nikkei Council will host its biannual youth conference, Revisions, on May 13 at the Japanese American National Museum, addressing issues facing a new generation of Nikkei youth. The event includes workshops on activism, leadership, and Taiko drumming, plus networking and a closing dance.

In-Depth

• Groups Hope to Raise Preservation Funds for Historic Harada House, by Caroline Aoyagi-Stom, page 1. The Harada House in Riverside, California, site of the landmark 1918 California vs. Harada Alien Land Law case, was badly damaged in recent rains and needs urgent preservation funding. The Riverside Metropolitan Museum, which received the house in 2004, is working with the Harada family and community members to raise funds for repairs and long-term preservation.

National

• Tule Lake, Granada/Amache Are Officially Named National Landmarks, by P.C. Staff and Associated Press, page 1. Part of Tule Lake Segregation Center and the Granada/Amache Relocation Center have been officially designated National Historic Landmarks by the Department of the Interior. Preservation advocates including Jimi Yamaichi and Hiroshi Shimizu celebrated the long-awaited recognition, with a formal ceremony planned for July at the Ross Ragland Theater in Klamath Falls, Oregon.
• Maritime Museum Criticized for One-Sided Telling of WWII History, by Lynda Lin, page 1. Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in South Carolina is under fire for showing a WWII propaganda film and offering a flight simulator that encourages children to shoot down Japanese enemy planes. JACL Executive Director John Tateishi and a Japanese American family who visited called the program racist and dangerous, while museum officials defended it as historically accurate.
• Woman’s Miscarriage May Point to Failures in Immigration Law, by Lynda Lin, page 1. Zhenxing Jiang, a pregnant undocumented Chinese immigrant, suffered a miscarriage after being forcibly detained by ICE officials attempting to deport her, sparking outrage from Asian Pacific American and civil rights groups. Critics say her case exemplifies dangers posed by a pending immigration bill, HR 4437, which could increase similarly harsh enforcement actions.
• Inouye Wants Panel to Probe WWII Internment of Japanese Latin Americans, by P.C. Staff and Associated Press, page 3. Sen. Daniel Inouye has introduced legislation to create a commission studying the WWII and postwar internment of Japanese Latin Americans and recommend remedies. Between 1941 and 1945, roughly 2,300 Japanese Latin Americans were arrested and used for prisoner exchanges, with many later denied re-entry to their home countries.
• Mike Honda Named to Special Task Force on Hurricane Katrina, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rep. Mike Honda has joined a Democratic task force on Hurricane Katrina and plans to introduce legislation requiring federal programs to better serve limited English proficiency communities in the Gulf Coast. He recently traveled to Houston with other Congressional caucuses to evaluate post-Katrina relief efforts.
• Utah Monument Gets More Respectful Name, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 3. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names unanimously approved renaming Chinaman’s Arch in Utah to Chinese Arch, capping a two-year campaign by Asian Pacific American groups to remove derogatory names from geographic sites. The change followed similar successful efforts to rename Texas’s ‘Jap’ Road and Lanes.
• School Collects Stories from WWII Camps, by Associated Press, page 3. Seventh-graders at Harmon Middle School in Aurora, Ohio, have spent years interviewing and documenting the stories of Japanese Americans who were interned during WWII through a project called ‘Honor for All.’ The students have published 17 booklets so far, preserving survivor testimonies as the aging internee population dwindles.
• Inada Named Oregon Poet Laureate, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 4. Poet Lawson Fusao Inada, known for his internment-themed poetry collection ‘Before the War,’ was named Oregon’s poet laureate. The two-year appointment includes an annual stipend and program grant.
• Pioneering Ethnic Studies Scholar to Receive Honorary Doctorate from Whitman, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 4. Ron Takaki, a UC Berkeley ethnic studies professor and author of ‘Strangers from a Different Shore,’ will receive an honorary doctorate and serve as keynote speaker at Whitman College’s commencement. He has taught over 10,000 students during his 32-year career.
• Post Office Renamed for Late Congressman, by Pacific Citizen Staff, page 4. A Temecula, California post office was renamed in honor of Dalip Singh Saund, the first Asian Pacific American elected to Congress. Saund, born in India, served three terms before suffering a stroke and died in 1973.
• National Newsbytes, by P.C. Staff and Associated Press, page 4. Radio host Adam Carolla apologized on-air for an offensive ‘Ching Chong’ skit mocking the Asian Excellence Awards, while the controversial game show ‘Banzai’ is set to return on G4 TV despite past protests. Also, the family of a Vietnamese newspaper publisher is asking Westminster, Calif. officials to halt discussions of renaming a street in his honor after the proposal caused community rifts.
• Notice: Japantown for Sale (continued) — Community Responds to Kintetsu Sale, page 12. Community leaders including Paul Osaki, Patty Wada, and Allen Okamoto are pushing for Kintetsu to sell its Japantown properties to community-backed buyers rather than outside investors, fearing loss of cultural identity. Kintetsu’s attorney Don Tamaki argues the community’s pension-fund-based offer is not sustainable long-term, while city officials including Mayor Gavin Newsom have pledged to ensure any new owner preserves Japantown’s cultural significance.

Commentary

• The Home Stretch for Minidoka, by John Tateishi, page 2. JACL Executive Director John Tateishi recounts how a 2003 initiative by Dan Sakura led to Minidoka’s designation as protected land under the Antiquities Act. He urges readers to donate before the March 17 deadline to raise the remaining $250,000 needed to purchase 120 acres adjacent to the camp site.
• Letters to the Editor, page 2. Readers wrote in with various items including a search for former Santa Rosa High School students interned during WWII, praise for the Holiday issue of the Pacific Citizen, a call for donations to maintain a Japanese cemetery in Portland, and a suggestion that Mitsuye Endo be included in a planned Eugene WWII memorial.
• ‘Havin’ Fun’ at the Welcome Mixer, by Ted Namba, page 5. JACL 2006 National Convention organizer Ted Namba previews the Western-themed Welcome Mixer planned for June 21 in Chandler, Arizona at Rawhide Western Town. The event will feature barbecue, line dancing, and a best-dressed cowboy/cowgirl contest.
• Twenty Years, and We’re Still Going Strong, by Yumi Sakugawa, page 8. UCLA student Yumi Sakugawa reflects on her involvement with the Nikkei Student Union’s 20th annual Cultural Night, a production featuring odori dancing, taiko drumming, and hip-hop. She describes the intense commitment required and shares a conversation with a fellow performer about the meaning behind the tradition.

Arts & Entertainment

• College Names Street After JA Artist, Alumnae, page 5. Riverside City College honored the late artist Mine Okubo posthumously with a street renaming ceremony, reception, and debut performance of a play about her life. Okubo, known for her book ‘Citizen 13660’ depicting her family’s internment at Topaz, graduated from RCC in 1935 and died in 2001.
• Proving Innocence, by Lynda Lin, page 9. Filmmaker Jessica Sanders directed ‘After Innocence,’ a documentary examining wrongful convictions overturned through DNA evidence, following seven exonerees including a former Pennsylvania death row prisoner. The film won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance and is set to premiere on Showtime later in the year.

Sports

• Another Win for the Goateed American, Plus a Bronze, by Paul Newberry, page 7. Speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno won his second Olympic gold medal in the 500-meter short track race at the Turin Olympics, leading wire-to-wire for a clean victory. He also helped the U.S. relay team capture bronze, making him the fourth U.S. Winter Olympian to win three medals in a single Games.
• Arakawa Wins Women’s Gold, Cohen Gets Silver, page 7. Japan’s Shizuka Arakawa won the women’s figure skating gold medal at the Turin Olympics with an elegant, technically brilliant performance, upsetting favorites Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya. She became the first Japanese Olympic gold medalist in figure skating.
• Dawson Tries to Find His Birth Parents, page 7. American freestyle skier Toby Dawson, who won an Olympic bronze medal in moguls, is cautiously searching for his birth parents after being adopted from South Korea as a toddler. He has received multiple unverified claims from people asserting to be his biological parents.

Obituaries

• In Memoriam — 2005-2006, page 11. This section lists numerous Japanese American community members who recently passed away, including their surviving family members. Entries include George Arakawa, Roy Tetsuo Takai (a WWII MIS veteran), and several others from across California and beyond.
• Death Notice: Shigeo Wada, page 11. Shigeo Wada, 94, of Antioch, California, passed away January 24, joining his late wife Grace. He is survived by his brother George, three children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

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