Credit for the camp years: testimony on the Mineta bill

Vol. 85, No. 13, September 23, 1977. 12 pages. View this issue

Federal civil service credit for Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II led the news. Wayne Horiuchi of JACL and Muts Furiya of the Committee for Internment Credit testified before a House subcommittee in support of Rep. Norman Mineta’s bill, joined by eight members of Congress. A mark-up session was set for Sept. 26, and Horiuchi’s column on HR 6412 urged members to keep writing their representatives. The JACL Executive Committee also met, and Karl Nobuyuki’s review of the Japanese American Friendship Act was presented to district councils.

Elsewhere in these 12 pages, Bill Hosokawa took on a New York Times story about Gardena, and Yuzuru Takeshita reviewed NBC’s Farewell to Manzanar. Joe Oyama wrote about a Young People’s Christian Conference reunion, and Gloria Kumagai wrote on Asian women in America. A Poston pilgrimage was announced, and reviews covered In Movement and Edwin Reischauer’s The Japanese.

What’s in this issue

National

• JACL and CIC testify for evacuee credit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL representative Wayne Horiuchi and CIC co-chair Muts Furiya testified before a House subcommittee in support of Rep. Norman Mineta’s bill granting federal civil service credit to Japanese Americans interned during WW2. Several members of Congress also testified, and a mark-up session is scheduled for Sept. 26.
• New plan to start for immigration, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A new U.S. immigration quota system beginning Oct. 1 will distribute visas more equitably across six priority categories by guaranteeing a percentage to lower preferences. The total number of immigrants allowed is unchanged.
• Greenpeace sights very few whales, Eskimo to resist ban on bowhead, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Greenpeace vessel Ohana Kai returned from a save-the-whales mission in the North Pacific having sighted few whales, which may indicate population decline. The IWC cut whaling quotas by 36% and fully protected the bowhead, a ruling Alaskan Eskimos are resisting.
• JACL looks at U.S.-Japan Friendship Act, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National Executive Director Karl Nobuyuki presented his critical review of the 1975 Japanese American Friendship Act and its Okinawa reversion trust fund to district councils. He proposed splitting the $3 million annual interest among academic, capital and grant uses, with more benefit to Japanese American projects.
• Carter names Tang to court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Carter nominated Phoenix attorney Thomas Tang to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Senate must act by Oct. 5. Tang is a former Maricopa County Superior Court judge and recently elected president of the Arizona State Bar.
• Matsunaga hails Panama Canal pact, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sen. Spark Matsunaga praised the new Panama Canal treaty as the best way to protect U.S. interests and preserve canal neutrality. He noted the canal’s historic importance to Hawaii’s trade.

JACL

• EXECOM actions colored ‘Gravenstein’, by Harry Honda, page 1. The JACL Executive Committee met in San Francisco and approved financial measures, including authority to borrow up to $100,000, as the organization’s cash position was tight. National Executive Director Karl Nobuyuki’s State-of-the-Art report proposals for restructuring JACL operations were endorsed.

Military & Veterans

• 27th annual Ohye trophy air race set to take off, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The 27th annual Henry Ohye Air Trophy Race will launch from Long Beach Municipal Airport with amateur and professional pilots competing for Kabuto trophies. Ohye, the first Nisei commercial pilot, founded the race in 1950 and is profiled along with this year’s queen, Susanne Ishimine.

Community

• Reparations survey underway, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Two-thirds of the chapters in the NC-WNDC district are distributing a reparations questionnaire to members and non-members. Completed forms are due to the district committee by Oct. 31.
• Fuji Festival dinner Sept. 25 for JASC, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The seventh annual Fuji Festival benefit dinner sponsored by the Japanese American Service Committee will be held Sept. 25 in Chicago. Entertainment will feature George Takei and other performers.

Incarceration & Redress

• Poston Pilgrimage slated, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A pilgrimage to the former Poston WRA camp in Parker, Arizona, is scheduled for Sept. 29 to Oct. 2, with festivities including Indian Day programs. Organizers say the event is growing with greater participation from tribal and federal partners.

Arts & Entertainment

• Kabuki actor ends tradition, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke III broke tradition by applying his stage make-up in public during a dress rehearsal at the Beacon Theater in New York. The Grand Kabuki tour continued to Washington, New York, Montreal, Ottawa and Chicago.
• Michigan Sansei returns from west coast to find niche in art, by Joy Hakanson Colby, page 7. Detroit artist Keith Aoki, a Wayne State undergraduate, completed a commissioned mural for the University Center Building using pin-striped intersecting lines. The article describes his mixed-media explorations and his new work for a Detroit art patron.
• East West Players announces 77/78 season, by P.C. Staff, page 9. The East West Players will open its twelfth season with three repertory productions focused on Asian American themes. The season includes Points of Departure and Bunnyhop, Once Upon in America, and O-Men by Karen Yamashita.
• A pictorial history to call ‘Our Own’, by Harry Honda, page 10. Harry Honda reviews In Movement, a pictorial history of Asian America published by Visual Communications, which draws on a half-million photographs. The book is organized into immigration, economic and social sections and includes an introductory essay by Dr. S. Franklin Odo.
• Books on Review: Titles from Tuttle, by Allan Beekman, page 11. Allan Beekman reviews several Tuttle titles, including a novel about feudal Japan, an account of a Japanese company’s management, and books on Hawaii history. The column briefly summarizes each book’s subject and value.
• An authoritative look at Japan today, by Robert Innes, page 11. Robert Innes reviews Edwin Reischauer’s The Japanese, a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Japan by a former ambassador. The review covers Japan’s democratic development, its political system, and the challenges of foreign relations.

Commentary

• Where’s Mayor Harry Cain?, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial recalls Tacoma mayor Harry Cain, who publicly opposed the Evacuation in 1942 and later as senator voted to override Truman’s veto of the Walter-McCarran Act. It notes his later career and calls him a true friend of Japanese Americans.
• JACL Scholarships, by Kazoshiki, page 4. A letter writer praises Mrs. Masaoka for establishing the first JACL scholarship in her son’s memory after he died serving with the 442nd. The writer, a former recipient, urges that her generosity be recognized.
• YPCC reunion—every 50 years, by Joe Oyama, page 4. Columnist Joe Oyama recalls Northern California Young People’s Christian Conference gatherings from his youth, including hospitality in Berkeley homes and the postwar atmosphere among Nisei. He reports on a golden anniversary reunion where speakers and attendees reflected on wartime incarceration and forgiveness.
• Naval History, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A letter notes that after the Civil War twelve Japanese were admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy by special congressional permission, and only five graduated. The writer describes this early history of Japanese in American naval training.
• In Defense of Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A letter urges recognition of Louis Goldblatt, California State CIO secretary, who denounced the evacuation in 1942 and later opposed anti-Japanese discrimination within his union. The writer says the labor leader deserves the same recognition as others who defended Japanese Americans.
• Getting Ready for 1980, by Chiz Satow, page 5. San Francisco JACL members preparing to host the 1980 National JACL Convention met with organizers of the 1976 Sacramento convention to learn planning essentials. The column also discusses retirement and aging issues facing the Nisei generation.
• Mineta Bill: HR 6412, by Wayne Horiuchi, page 5. JACL’s Washington representative describes the congressional testimony supporting HR 6412, including remarks by members who shared personal experiences. He urges JACL members to continue writing their representatives before the Sept. 26 mark-up session.
• ‘Japanese Beachhead’, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa criticizes a New York Times story that conflated Japanese Americans with temporary Japanese nationals in Gardena. He also discusses a Canadian centennial book and Weekend Magazine coverage of Japanese Canadian history.
• Asian Woman in America, by Gloria Kumagai, page 7. Gloria Kumagai argues that Asian American women face the combined oppression of racism and sexism and need cultural roles beyond traditional stereotypes. She calls for Asian men to support women’s leadership and for both groups to work together against discrimination.

In-Depth

• No ‘Farewell to Manzanar’, by Yuzuru Takeshita, page 8. Yuzuru Takeshita reviews NBC’s Farewell to Manzanar and argues the film wrongly portrays those who answered NO-NO on the loyalty questions as disloyal. He contends that both groups acted from commitment to American principles and that the portrayal perpetuates injustice.

Obituaries

• Ringside Seat: The Night of Oh’s 756th, by George Yoshinaga, page 12. George Yoshinaga describes watching Sadaharu Oh hit his 756th home run at Korakuen Stadium while sitting behind home plate. He reflects on the record and the wry circumstances of attending the game.

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