Local firsts and the reparation debate, March 1978

Vol. 86, No. 12, March 31, 1978. 12 pages. View this issue

Questions of citizenship, representation and reparation ran through this twelve-page issue. The front page reported a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that states may refuse to hire aliens as police officers, while Pat Tashima examined JACL leaders’ complaints about the Japan-U.S. Friendship Act. Locally, Charles Taguchi and Ron Nishinaka were sworn in as Reedley’s first Japanese American councilmen, and seven Japanese Americans now served as mayors in California. On the opinion pages, Clifford L. Uyeda urged JACL to act on its reparation mandate, and Miles Hamada wrote that American racism was the root of Japanese American troubles.

Elsewhere, Merced County officials backed a marker for the Merced Assembly Center, and the eighth Manzanar Pilgrimage was announced for April 22. Sacramento JACL endorsed a reparation tax credit plan, and Betty Kurotsuchi Inouye recalled a 1942 supper in Reedley on the way to Poston. William Marutani and Bill Hosokawa wrote columns, and Minoru Masuda took up the Bakke case.

What’s in this issue

National

• States may bar aliens as police, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that states may refuse to employ aliens as police officers, reasoning that police exercise broad discretionary public power reserved for citizens. The three dissenting justices argued the ruling would permit excluding members of any group on the presumption they cannot enforce the law impartially.
• Pacific Citizen reports on JACL Okubo-Yamada fund and reparation tax credit plan, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Sacramento JACL endorsed a reparation tax credit proposal offering $10,000 to adults and $5,000 to children evacuated or interned during World War II. The plan is presented as simpler and more palatable to Congress than direct appropriations.

Incarceration & Redress

• Livingston-Merced in push for Assembly Center marker, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Merced County Board of Supervisors endorsed a state resolution to recognize wartime assembly centers as historic landmarks, including the Merced fairgrounds that held about 4,500 Japanese Americans in 1942. Local JACL leader Fred Kishi urged the designation so that the injustice would be remembered and not repeated.
• Manzanar Pilgrimage April 22 to honor WW2 friends, groups, by P.C. Staff, page 10. The eighth Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 22 will honor individuals and organizations, including the NAACP and the ACLU, who opposed the Evacuation. Program details and contact information for suggesting honorees are provided.
• Evacuee recalls 1942 supper in Reedley enroute to Poston, by P.C. Staff, page 10. Betty Kurotsuchi Inouye reunited with Ofammia Solomon, daughter of the Lebanese family who sheltered the Kurotsuchi family in Reedley before their Poston relocation. The reunion was arranged by Mrs. Charles Taguchi.

Community

• Seven Nikkeima yors picked in California, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seven Japanese Americans now serve as mayors in California, with newly named mayors John Kimura of Woodland, Robert Ouye of Marina, and Tom Nagata of Fowler. The article profiles each new mayor and notes Nagata is the second Nisei to lead a Central California city.
• Reedley citizens sworn in as first Japanese American councilmen, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Charles Taguchi and Ron Nishinaka took the oath of office as the first Japanese American members of the Reedley City Council on March 14. A photo accompanies the report of the swearing-in.

In-Depth

• Japan-U.S. Friendship Act: JACL leaders await changes in act, commission, by By PAT TASHIMA, page 1. JACL leaders criticize the Japan-U.S. Friendship Act for lacking Nisei representation on its commission and for funding academic rather than grassroots exchanges. The article describes the act’s origins in Okinawa reversion funds and notes that pressure for change is growing as nominations for vacancies approach.

Obituaries

• Rev. James Sugioka, 71: San Benito County JACL Co-Founder, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rev. James Sugioka, a founding member of the San Benito County JACL and later a Christian church director, died in an accident in Indianapolis. The obituary recounts his prewar engineering career, his ministry to evacuees in Colorado, and his leadership in early JACL.

Commentary

• We Are Not the Problem, by Miles Hamada, page 4. The writer argues that American racism, not Japanese ethnicity, is the root cause of Japanese American troubles, including the Evacuation. He contends equality must mean acceptance of Japanese Americans on their own terms rather than assimilation.
• Views on Trade, by Richard M. Kawanishi, page 4. Letter writer Richard Kawanishi criticizes Japan’s trade policies that keep U.S. goods expensive for Japanese consumers and calls for fair, reciprocal trade rules. He argues Japan should accept the same rules it expects others to follow.
• Bakke Case, by Minoru Masuda, Ph.D., page 4. Masuda criticizes the Justice Department brief and Central California JACL resolution urging reconsideration of JACL’s opposition to the Bakke case. He argues that supporting the white backlash against affirmative action would betray the principle of equal opportunity.
• East Wind: You Have to Be Slightly Crazy, by William Marutani, page 5. Marutani reflects on the demanding role of JACL national president and lists qualities the ideal leader should have, including a national perspective, sensitivity to current needs, and vigorous action. He concludes that the next leader will need to be a bold, if slightly crazy, individual.
• From the Frying Pan: Lee Ruttle’s Novel, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reviews Lee Ruttle’s first novel, The Private War of Dr. Yamada, based on a Japanese military surgeon’s diary from the Peleliu battle. He finds the book provocative and worthy of success for its humanizing portrayal of a Japanese enemy.

JACL

• Time to Move Ahead, by Clifford L. Uyeda, page 4. Uyeda urges JACL to stop deliberating and act on the reparation mandate adopted eight years earlier. He cites past successful campaigns that proceeded without unanimous support as a model.

Military & Veterans

• Pacific Citizen sponsored monument neglected on Okinawa, by P.C. Staff, page 9. A monument to war correspondent Ernie Pyle on Ie Shima, Okinawa, has been neglected and is now on land used by a farmer. Former Pyle typist Marie Belt is seeking to relocate the monument, with suggestions including Indiana and Hawaii.

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