Redress, the Hayakawa debate and Toyo Miyatake honored

Vol. 87, No. 8, September 1, 1978. 8 pages. View this issue

Redress and its public debate ran through this eight-page issue. The Senate unanimously passed HR 9471, sponsored by Rep. Norman Mineta, which grants civil service retirement credit for time spent in World War II camps. Gardena councilman Vincent Okamoto and the Milwaukee Journal both answered Sen. S.I. Hayakawa’s remarks on the forced removal, while Bill Hosokawa wrote a satirical open letter to JACL. On the front page, Friends of Little Tokyo Arts gave photographer Toyo Miyatake its first cultural achievement award at a Los Angeles dinner for 650 people.

Also inside: eleven women named to chair national JACL committees, Clifford Uyeda on the Kawakita and Toguri treason cases, a new installment of “A Case for Redress” on Japanese immigration, Nisei Week’s pioneer honorees, and Hawaii’s primary ballot with nearly 100 Nikkei names. Bill Marutani writes on Nisei cooking, and Richard Yamasaki reports from Tokyo.

What’s in this issue

Arts & Entertainment

• Friends of Little Tokyo Arts honor photographer Miyatake, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Friends of Little Tokyo Arts presented its first cultural achievement award to photographer Toyo Miyatake at a Los Angeles dinner attended by 650 people. Proceeds will fund ceramic tile reproductions of early Little Tokyo photographs for the redeveloping district.

Incarceration & Redress

• Senate votes unanimously to pass civil service retirement bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate unanimously approved HR 9471, sponsored by Rep. Norman Mineta, granting civil service retirement credit to Japanese Americans for time spent in World War II internment camps. The bill now returns to the House for concurrence on Senate amendments.

Community

• Close to 100 Nikkei names appear on Hawaii primary election ballot, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nearly 100 candidates with Nikkei surnames filed for Hawaii’s Oct. 7 primary, including several for governor’s race, state legislature, and the board of education. Notable changes include Lt. Gov. Nelson Doi not seeking re-election.
• Sansei seek seats in Washington state legislature, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Christine Yorozu and incumbent Paul Shinoda, Jr. are running as Republican candidates in Washington state legislative races. Yorozu would be the first Japanese American woman seeking that nomination in her district, while Shinoda expressed confidence in re-election.
• CCDC seeking regional director, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Central California JACL District Council announced an opening for a full-time regional director. Applications are due by Sept. 30.
• Nisei Week honors three pioneers of community, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Yutaka Kubota, Frank W. Takasugi and Paul C. Takeda were honored at the 1978 Nisei Week Pioneer Luncheon in Los Angeles. The article details their careers in mortuary work, Japanese language education, and community leadership.
• New York workshop to focus on being Japanese American, by P.C. Staff, page 3. New York JACL announced a Japanese American Awareness Workshop for Sept. 30-Oct. 1 at Stony Point Conference Center. The program includes a keynote by Judge William Marutani, small group sessions, and an original play.

National

• State funding of private vocational schools hit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A state auditor’s report requested by Assemblyman S. Floyd Mori found public schools profiting millions through vocational contracts with private schools. Mori criticized the practice as creating windfall profits, with most funds flowing to cosmetology training.

JACL

• 11 women to head national committees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. At the Aug. 26-27 Executive Committee meeting in San Francisco, new National JACL officers under Dr. Clifford Uyeda named eleven women to chair national committees, the most in recent memory. The meeting also approved four National Board appointees.
• Endowment Fund committee filled, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The National JACL executive committee filled two vacancies on the Endowment Fund committee, naming Dr. Roy Nishikawa and Tomio Moriguchi. Other members include Yone Satoda, Tom Masuda, and a new chairman to be elected.

Commentary

• Gardena councilman blisters Hayakawa’s views on evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Gardena councilman Vincent Okamoto wrote a sharp letter criticizing Sen. S.I. Hayakawa’s remarks calling JACL’s redress proposal ridiculous and describing evacuation as understandable. Okamoto argues the internment was unconstitutional and urges greater sensitivity about camp experiences.
• Dissimilar ‘Treason’ Cases, by Clifford I. Uyeda, page 4. Dr. Clifford Uyeda argues that the treason cases of Tomoya Kawakita and Iva Toguri d’Aquino are fundamentally different. He contends Toguri remained loyal to America while Kawakita renounced his citizenship and took Japanese citizenship.
• Home from Hiroshima, page 4. A letter writer reflects on attending anti-bomb ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, arguing the atomic bombings were cruel and unnecessary since Japan was already defeated. The writer recalls meeting mayors of both cities at the United Nations.
• An Open Letter to JACL, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Columnist Bill Hosokawa critiques the JACL’s redress push in a satirical column, questioning the timing and approach. He mocks the proposal’s reach and asks how the organization will prevent a windfall for undeserving claimants.
• Editorial on Hayakawa and internment, by Milwaukee Journal, page 5. The Milwaukee Journal editorial criticizes Sen. S.I. Hayakawa’s opposition to JACL redress efforts. It argues that the internment should not be forgotten because it can help Americans avoid repeating such injustices.
• Tips on Panama, by Frank Fukazawa, page 5. Frank Fukazawa offers travel advice for visiting Panama, warning that Spanish is essential and that visitors face crime and tourist-targeted overcharging. He recounts being robbed and advises a cautious approach.
• Three Impressions, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa shares three impressions from the National JACL Convention in Salt Lake City: older leaders dominate, Nisei overstate their expertise on Japan, and Japanese Americans are politically naive. He calls for JACL to attract young members.
• Nisei Soul Food, by Bill Marutani, page 6. Columnist Bill Marutani writes humorously about his tastes in food, skeptical of artichokes but fond of traditional Nisei cooking. He lists unusual vegetables he enjoys and praises Nisei women cooks.
• No Kanji on T-Shirts, by Richard Yamasaki, page 7. Sansei fellowship recipient Richard Yamasaki describes his experiences as a third-generation Japanese American in Tokyo. He notes that young Tokyo students wear English-lettered T-shirts and that his limited Japanese language ability sometimes causes confusion.

Obituaries

• Maryknoll sister to mark 50th year, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Friends of Maryknoll Sister M. Bernadette will honor her 50th year of work with the Japanese community on Sept. 24 in Los Angeles. She is noted as an Issei nun who was mentioned in the book Farewell to Manzanar.

In-Depth

• A Case for Redress, Section 3: Japanese Arrive, page 4. This installment traces Japanese immigration to America beginning in the 1880s, when labor shortages led to recruitment for Hawaii and California farms. It describes how Japanese farmers’ success provoked anti-Asian violence and discriminatory laws.

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