Looking back at the relocation revival, and Wendy Yoshimura’s trial

Vol. 83, No. 23, December 3, 1976. 4 pages. View this issue

A commentary by Dennis Ogawa and Glen Grant opened this four-page issue. They wrote that renewed national attention to the World War II incarceration (often called internment) had a healthy purpose but risked turning into cynical negativism, and that its real lesson was responsible democratic decision-making and public vigilance. Bill Hosokawa described a Denver junior high course on the subject and printed its quiz questions. Chiz Satow asked JACL members to support a presidential pardon for Iva Toguri, and Sachi Seko reviewed Momoko Iko’s televised play Gold Watch.

Other news included jury selection in Wendy Yoshimura’s trial in Oakland, the appointment of Sgt. Jimmy T. Sakoda as a Los Angeles police lieutenant, and a $5.4 million federal loan for senior housing in Chicago. JACL readers also found a rate increase for the JACL-Blue Shield Health Plan and an apology from the organizers of a Reno air show.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• The Relocation Revival Blues, by Dennis Ogawa and Glen Grant, page 1. Ogawa and Grant argue that the renewed public attention to Japanese American wartime incarceration serves a healthy cathartic purpose but risks becoming cynical negativism. They contend the true lesson of relocation is the need for responsible democratic decision-making and public vigilance.
• Do We Care?, by Chiz Satow, page 2. Chiz Satow reflects on Iva Toguri’s wartime ordeal and urges JACL members to support a presidential pardon and restoration of citizenship. She argues that the cause is a matter of fair play for all Americans.
• Sen-elect Hayakawa Factor, by George Shiozawa, page 2. George Shiozawa criticizes the Pacific Citizen for giving less front-page coverage to S.I. Hayakawa’s Senate election than to Wendy Yoshimura’s trial. He calls Hayakawa’s victory unprecedented and notable for Japanese Americans.
• Happy Valley’s golf club, by George Hara, page 2. George Hara responds to Sachi Seko’s column about discrimination at a Utah golf club, urging her to leave the club and suggesting she address more meaningful human rights issues. He dismisses her commentary as juvenile and racist-tinged.
• Gold Watch—An Abandoned Album Aired, by Sachi Seko, page 2. Sachi Seko reviews Momoko Iko’s PBS televised play Gold Watch, which portrays a prewar Japanese farming family in the Pacific Northwest. She praises the play for its raw depiction of family conflict and its recovery of history before Pearl Harbor.
• Can You Pass This Quiz?, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Bill Hosokawa describes a Denver junior high course on the Japanese American evacuation and reproduces its quiz questions. He reflects on whether schools elsewhere teach the subject adequately.
• A Counter-Balancing Column, by Bill Marutani, page 3. Bill Marutani offers a humorous counterpoint to his earlier column about marital bliss, recounting frustrations with home repairs and shopping trips with his wife Vicki. He concludes that the relationship has its own frustrations.
• Earthquake or No, by George Yoshinaga, page 4. George Yoshinaga jokingly describes Japanese folk methods for predicting earthquakes, such as watching catfish and monkeys, after a small Los Angeles tremor. He mixes humor with comments on Tokyo’s seismic risk.

National

• In Line for Lt. Gov. If… and If…, by LA Times, page 1. Carson City Clerk Helen Kawagoe was named one of seven possible successors to Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally under California law. She says she is researching the role seriously while noting frequent mistaken identity with Secretary of State March Fong Eu.
• Ex-premier Tanaka trial date Jan. 27, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka will stand trial January 27 on charges of receiving Lockheed bribes and violating foreign exchange law. He remains free on bail and is campaigning for Diet re-election.

Community

• San Francisco JACL awarded $8,000 prize, by P.C. Staff, page 1. San Francisco JACL received $8,000 among Nihonmachi groups winning Neighborhood Bicentennial Awards from the city. The awards funded neighborhood improvement projects such as trees, parks, and street fairs.
• PNWDC to meet this weekend, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Northwest District Council quarterly meeting is hosted by Gresham-Troutdale JACL with sessions Saturday and Sunday. National JACL President Jim Murakami will attend and the chapter will hold its installation dinner.
• LA. police promotes first Nisei lieutenant, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sgt. Jimmy T. Sakoda became the first Japanese American Los Angeles police lieutenant after 19 years on the force. He had graduated near the top of his Police Academy class in 1959.
• JACL-Blue Shield Health Plan rates being increased Jan. 1, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL-California Blue Shield Health Plan will raise rates 10 percent starting January 1977 while improving several benefits. The changes include removing the calendar-year hospital deductible and lowering the major medical deductible.
• JARP servicing gifts of Bamboo People, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Gift orders for Frank Chuman’s The Bamboo People are keeping the JACL-Japanese American Research Project busy during the holidays. Books can be sent with the gift recipient’s name on the label.
• Reno producers of air show apologize, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Reno Air Racing Association apologized for offensive terms used by announcers describing Japanese planes in a Pearl Harbor reenactment at the National Championship Air Races. The letter responded to a protest from JACL governor Dr. Harry Hatosaka.
• Student activists oppose Narita airport, by Barry Saiki, page 1. Barry Saiki advises JACL charter travelers on arriving at Haneda rather than the forthcoming Narita airport, which faces delays from protests over obstruction towers. He compares travel times, taxi fares, and transit options between the airports and downtown Tokyo.
• West L.A. Auxiliary, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mrs. Milton Inouye was installed as president of the West Los Angeles JACL Auxiliary, succeeding Mrs. Harry Tominaga. The installation dinner was held at the chapter in November.
• $5.4-million senior citizen housing approved for Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A $5.4 million federal loan was approved for a 200-unit senior citizen housing facility in Chicago’s Uptown area through the Japanese American Service Committee. Construction is expected to begin in spring 1977 with occupancy in 1979.
• Jurors sworn in for Wendy trial this week, by Lee Ruttle, page 1. The jury was selected for Wendy Yoshimura’s trial in Oakland after the prosecution used peremptory challenges to remove the lone Japanese American prospective juror. Jurors and alternates were sworn in and the court adjourned until Monday.
• Hotel developers to let merchants stay till shopping center opens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. East West Development Corp. obtained a five-month extension for property near Second and Weller Streets in Los Angeles so merchants can remain until the Specialty Shopping Center opens. The Community Redevelopment Agency voted to extend the conveyance date to December 31, 1977.
• Two Hawaiians among 37 Yanks home from Communist Saigon, by David Tong, page 4. Two Hawaiian men, Yee Leong Ching and Andrew Kaji, returned from Communist Saigon along with 35 other Americans and dependents. They described a dismal economy with inflation, food rationing, and fear of being exposed as Americans.
• Cemetery group holds 75th anniversary fete, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The California Japanese Benevolent Society, which maintains the Japanese Cemetery at Colma, celebrated its 75th anniversary with a dinner attended by about 150 people. Consul General Hidenori Suzuki expressed Japan’s appreciation for the society’s postwar assistance.

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