Hawaii’s governor race and the redress campaign, October 1978

Vol. 87, No. 13, October 6, 1978. 12 pages. View this issue

Hawaii’s Democratic primary for governor led the news. George Ariyoshi, the only Nikkei governor in the U.S., and Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi were in a dead heat, and a racial angle had entered the race. The redress campaign ran through the pages as well. A report said Senator Alan Cranston expressed interest in redress legislation, Ted Matsushima defended the JACL action in a column, and a legal series on the Hirabayashi, Yasui, Korematsu and Endo cases reached its Supreme Court installment. Another story covered President Carter signing a bill that gives civil service retirement credit for time spent in World War II internment camps.

Also in this issue: the Sept. 25 San Diego air collision that killed two Japanese Americans, JACL President Clifford Uyeda on membership, Harry K. Honda on Bill Hosokawa’s new book, and reviews of a play and several books.

What’s in this issue

National

• Racial Angle Enters Race, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Hawaii’s Democratic gubernatorial primary between incumbent George Ariyoshi and Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi has become a dead heat, with a racial dimension emerging. A controversial editorial by Ryuso Hirai and a response letter from Fasi’s Nikkei cabinet members have fueled the debate.
• Two Nikkei Aboard Ill-Fated PSA In Mid-Air San Diego Crash, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two Japanese Americans, Kenji Nakanishi and Richard Oshiro, were among the 151 killed in the mid-air collision between a PSA 727 and a Cessna 172 in San Diego on Sept. 25. It was the worst U.S. air disaster to date.
• Gov. Brown Names Two Asians to Law Revision Commission, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Governor Edmund Brown Jr. appointed Ernest M. Hiroshige and George Y. Chinn to the nine-member California Law Revision Commission. Both appointments are subject to state senate confirmation.

Community

• Shinoda Garners Over 5,100 Votes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Paul Shinoda Jr. won the Republican primary in Washington’s 39th District with 5,182 votes and will face Gary Scott in November. Asian American candidates John Sy Eng and Christine Yorozu also appeared in the Seattle-area primaries.
• Brown Campaign Names Asian Coordinator, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Gardena City Council member Mas Fukai has been named Asian American coordinator for Californians for Brown, supporting Governor Jerry Brown’s re-election. Fukai currently serves as senior deputy to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.
• Nisei Turnout for Retirement Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 1. About 200 people attended the Southern California Nisei Conference on Sept. 30 in Los Angeles, where speakers addressed aging and retirement among Nisei. Speakers Sharon Fujii and Mike Suzuki urged Nisei to remain active rather than retire to rocking chairs.
• Oriental Exhibit Set at Cal State L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Oriental Mystique, an exhibit exploring Oriental imagery in contemporary art, will be displayed at the Cal State LA Exploratorium in October. Artists include Steve Baba, Joanne Hayakawa, and Wayne Kuwada, and admission is free.
• Stanford-Takahashi Lectures to Feature Talks on Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Stanford-Takahashi Lectures, funded by a gift from the Takahashi family, begin Oct. 25 in San Francisco with talks by Columbia’s Paul Varley and the University of Washington’s Roy Miller. Both lectures are free and open to the public.
• Gov. Ray Appoints Commission Director, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Seattle attorney Diane YenMei Wong was appointed executive director of the Washington Asian American Affairs Commission by Governor Dixy Lee Ray. She previously worked in Chinatown legal aid and taught at the University of Washington.
• Asian American Dolls on Sale to Reaffirm Image for Nikkei Tots, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Japanese American Curriculum Project has made available a Japanese American baby doll pair designed to provide a reaffirming image for Nikkei children. The dolls are offered by mail order from San Mateo at a modest price.
• New York Church Marks 25th Year, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Japanese American United Church in New York celebrated its 25th anniversary the weekend of Sept. 22-24. The church traces its history to about 1894, when missionaries held meetings for Japanese seamen near the Brooklyn Naval Yard.
• Congressional Intern Kim Hatamiya, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kim Hatamiya, a Stanford senior, served as a summer congressional intern for Rep. Norman Mineta of San Jose. She had previously been a youth intern at National JACL Headquarters.
• Chapter Pulse, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Multiple JACL chapters report local activities including an Eden Township potluck and films, Imperial Valley golf tournament plans, a Monterey Peninsula Jazz Festival booth, a Philadelphia fall outing, and a San Diego installation dinner-dance. Other chapters announce scholarship and fundraising events.
• Talent Registry Seeks Name, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Talent Registry of Japanese Americans is seeking a new name because the word talent suggests vaudeville rather than a directory of prominent Japanese Americans. Suggestions may be sent to Eastern District Governor Seiko Wakayashi.
• Billionaire’s Donation Discovered on Nara Temple Tile, by Yomiuri Daily News, page 12. Authorities at Nara’s Todaiji Temple discovered a tile donated by American billionaire George Morgan and his Japanese wife Yuki, a former Gion geisha. The tile is being preserved as a cultural asset.
• Tourists From Japan Crime Targets in Isle, by P.C. Staff, page 12. The Japan-Hawaii Economic Council adopted a resolution calling for action against crimes targeting Japanese tourists in Hawaii, following robberies in Waikiki hotel elevators. The group warns that unchecked crime threatens Hawaii’s tourism economy.

Obituaries

• CCDC Leader Kubota Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. James K. Kubota, Fresno attorney and former Central California JACL district governor, died of a heart attack on Sept. 19 at age 58. He was remembered for his public service, legal work for rural municipalities, and Buddhist lay leadership.

JACL

• Membership, by Clifford I. Uyeda, page 2. JACL National President Clifford Uyeda outlines membership development as a major objective, noting 32,000 dues-paying members representing 21,000 households. He compares JACL’s membership favorably with NAACP and other civil rights organizations.
• Out of the Frying Pan: Thirty-Five Years in the Frying Pan Now Available, by Harry K. Honda, page 3. Bill Hosokawa’s fifth book, Thirty-Five Years in the Frying Pan, selects and comments on columns from his long-running Pacific Citizen column. Published by McGraw-Hill, it chronicles Japanese American postwar life in 275 pages.

Commentary

• Alien Land Bill Up for Hearing in Olympia, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Washington HJR 2721-78, a proposed amendment to the state constitution restricting land ownership by aliens, was scheduled for public hearing in Olympia on Oct. 6. The Asian American community has historically opposed such restrictions, and the resolution would go to a public vote if passed.
• Oregon’s Civil War Debt, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. Oregon seeks payment of a $1.3 million Civil War-era debt owed by the federal government for manning western forts. The editorial links the claim to JACL’s redress campaign as an example of government reluctance to honor old obligations.
• Voter Registration: Calif. Style, by S.S., page 4. California now allows voter registration at commercial establishments, and McDonald’s restaurants statewide serve as registration sites. The editorial commends the program and urges Japanese Americans to register and vote.
• Retirement Bill, by Committee for Internment Credit, page 4. A letter responds to George Oga’s concern about the age-18 restriction in the internment retirement credit bill. The writer explains the legislative history and the restriction’s origin in House subcommittee markup.
• An Attitude from IDC, by Ted Matsushima, page 4. Intermountain District Redress Committeeman Ted Matsushima defends the JACL redress action against critics who say the timing is wrong. He argues that those harmed by the evacuation deserve support and that the effort is worthwhile even if it fails.
• Japan-U.S. Relations Workshop Input, by Chuck Kubokawa, page 4. Chuck Kubokawa clarifies the purpose of the Northern California-Western Nevada JACL workshop on Japan-U.S. relations, arguing that practical experience of Nikkei communities is as valuable as scholarly expertise. He responds to Bill Hosokawa’s column on the workshop.
• Wring Out the Old, Bring in the New, by Paul Tsuneishi, page 9. PSWDC Governor Paul Tsuneishi discusses the new JACL Board’s effort to resolve old business, including the Amy Doi lawsuit and the JARP report. He also calls for greater inclusion of Sansei, Yonsei, and non-Nikkei members in leadership.
• To Our Complainers, by Ronald Shibata, page 9. New Mexico JACL president Ronald Shibata urges members who complain about chapter direction to step forward and run for office. He notes that only 20-30 of 130 members actively help with chapter programs.

Military & Veterans

• Civil Service Internment Credit Becomes Law, by P.C. Staff, page 2. President Carter’s statement on signing H.R. 9471, which grants civil service retirement credit to Japanese American civil servants for time spent in World War II internment camps, is reprinted. The bill extends compensation to federal employees hired after 1952 who were interned after age 18.

Incarceration & Redress

• Curious About Your WRA File?, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Diablo Valley JACL newsletter explains how Japanese American evacuees can request copies of their War Relocation Authority personal files from the National Archives. The cost is about 20 cents per page, and specific identifying information is required.
• Serious Interest Shown by Senator Cranston for Redress Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 3. National JACL Executive Director Karl Nobuyuki reported that Senator Alan Cranston expressed interest in redress legislation for Japanese Americans interned during World War II. Cranston offered to help JACL develop a proposal addressing the constitutional questions involved.
• A Case for Redress: Section 6, The Supreme Court, by P.C. Staff, page 8. This installment examines the Supreme Court cases Hirabayashi, Yasui, Korematsu, and Endo, in which the Court upheld curfew and detention based on ancestry. It concludes that Endo won release only on narrow technical grounds, leaving the constitutional questions unresolved.

Arts & Entertainment

• Film: The Bushido Blade, by P.C. Staff, page 10. A joint American-Japanese film, The Bushido Blade, dramatizes Commodore Perry’s 1854 visit to Japan and the resulting turmoil over a stolen samurai sword. Richard Boone plays Perry and Toshiro Mifune co-stars.
• Yankee Samurai Due in Mid-1979, by P.C. Staff, page 10. Yankee Samurai, a history of Nisei GIs in military intelligence during World War II, is nearing completion and will be published by Harlo Press in time for the 1979 Nisei veterans reunion in Hawaii. Joseph Harrington is the author.
• Bookshelf, by Harry K. Honda, page 10. This Bookshelf column reviews several new and recent books, including the anthology Kodomo no Tame ni on Hawaii’s Japanese American experience, Yoel Hoffman’s translation of Zen sayings, Jack Matsuoka’s cartoon collection Sensei, and June Namias’s First Generation oral histories.
• Review: Voices in the Shadows, by Kats Kunitsugu, page 11. Kats Kunitsugu reviews East West Players’ production of Edward Sakamoto’s play Voices in the Shadows, which explores the generation gap between Nisei parents and Sansei children. The reviewer praises the characterizations while noting the static first act.
• Herb Nicholson Book Review, by P.C. Staff, page 11. A reader notes that the Japanese American experience in Hawaii is documented in an anthology reprinting Hawaii’s Great Japanese Strike from 1960. The strike of 1909 saw 30,000 plantation workers challenge the plantation system.

Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.