Redress funding, Tule Lake plaque, and a class action win

Vol. 88, No. 46, June 8, 1979. 12 pages. View this issue

JACL’s work on redress ran through this 12-page issue. The National JACL Board met at headquarters and asked chapters to affirm its actions, including a financial campaign to meet a $420,000 annual budget for redress education, as reported by Harry Honda. A front-page story covered the plaque dedication at the former Tule Lake camp, where speakers called for continued pursuit of redress, and Jerry J. Enomoto’s keynote speech appears on page 4. Also on the front page, a federal court ruled Spokane JACL an adequate representative in a class action suit against Washington State University.

Elsewhere, Sen. S.I. Hayakawa drew boos at UCLA, and Craig Kusaba and Mas Odo wrote about him in the commentary pages. Bill Hosokawa’s column looked at dual citizenship, and Joseph D. Harrington’s Yankee Samurai excerpts on pages 9 and 10 follow Military Intelligence Service Nisei. Page 8 reports a groundbreaking for new housing near Little Tokyo Tower.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• National JACL Board meets at Headquarters, by By HARRY HONDA, page 1. The National JACL Board met at headquarters and asked chapters to affirm its actions, including a financial campaign to meet a $420,000 annual budget for redress education. Budget readjustments were required due to low 1979 membership renewals.

Community

• JACL ruled as ‘adequate rep’ in class action suit vs. WSU, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A federal court found Spokane JACL adequately represented Asian American students in a class action suit against Washington State University. The ruling was considered a major hurdle before the case is heard on its merits.
• JACL supports boycott of Squibb to fight ‘Opium’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL announced support for an Organization of Chinese Americans boycott of Squibb Corp. products over its marketing of the perfume ‘Opium.’ The boycott protests the name’s exploitation of Chinese history and culture.
• Fujimoto bows in school board poll, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sam Fujimoto lost the Los Angeles Board of Education runoff to John Greenwood, missing becoming the first Asian American elected to the board. Fujimoto said he learned much about voters and plans to stay involved in school district matters.
• Dr. Eng wins in Oakland runoff, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Incumbent Oakland Councilman Raymond Eng won the May 15 runoff for District 3 over challenger Elijah Turner. Eng overcame an early deficit to secure the victory.
• Prewar Isletonian reunion set July 28, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A prewar Isletonian reunion is planned for July 28 at the Sacramento Japanese United Methodist Church. Reservations are requested by June 30 through the listed contacts.
• Hayakawa, Tule Lake dedication context, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A brief piece covers events and community news, including free films at the Asian Community Library and cultural events in Los Angeles. It also lists several community activities scheduled in June.
• Idaho marks Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week, by Genie Arcano, page 3. Pocatello, Idaho, held a downtown window display and JACL honor dinner for the first Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. Journalist Genie Arcano profiled four women whose families’ stories illustrate Asian American heritage.
• Illinois marks Heritage weekend, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Illinois Governor James Thompson proclaimed May 18-19 as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Days. The state’s Asian population was reported to have grown to 200,000.
• Fr. Nishimura heads Maryknoll in LA, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Father Bryce Nishimura became the first Nikkei to head the Maryknoll Mission in Los Angeles. He has two decades of experience in Japan, including pastoral and youth work.
• Groundbreaking for new housing held, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Groundbreaking was set for a 100-unit subsidized housing development east of Little Tokyo Tower. Priority occupancy goes to residents displaced by redevelopment, especially from the Tomoye and New York hotels.
• Mitsui Fudosan buys high-rise, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Mitsui Fudosan agreed to buy Crocker Plaza in downtown Los Angeles for $79 million, the largest office building purchase in California history. It is Mitsui’s first major US investment.
• Arthur Takei promoted at Retail Clerks Union, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Los Angeles-born Nisei Arthur Takei was named Director of Organizing for Retail Clerks Local 770, the largest retail clerks local in the country. The appointment is one of the highest positions in local labor achieved by a Japanese American.

Incarceration & Redress

• Plaque dedicated at Tule Lake campsite, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nikkei gathered at the former Tule Lake camp on May 27, 1979, for a plaque dedication marking the site of incarceration. Speakers recalled the camp’s troubled history and called for continued pursuit of redress.

National

• Boos, catcalls for Hayakawa at UCLA, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Students greeted Sen. S.I. Hayakawa with boos and catcalls at his UCLA speech on guest worker proposals. Opposition stemmed from his remarks on gasoline prices and his views on wartime Japanese American dispersal.
• Plot to kill Carter not so, FBI says, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Federal prosecutors dropped charges against Raymond Lee Harvey, who was arrested during a Carter speech, citing insufficient evidence of an assassination plot. Harvey had a history of mental illness and was released after three weeks in custody.

Arts & Entertainment

• PBS-TV schedules Japanese series, by P.C. Staff, page 2. PBS will broadcast a three-part documentary series titled Japanese beginning June 10 on KCET. The episodes cover family life, a Japanese actor, and a rural farming family.

Obituaries

• Beaths, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Brief obituaries for Fumi Ige, Toby T. Matsumoto, and Eddie Yasubei Imazu. Ige was a political activist and aide to Hawaii’s lieutenant governor, Matsumoto a former Watsonville resident, and Imazu an MGM art director.

Commentary

• Asbestos on rice, by Clifford Uyeda, page 4. JACL President Uyeda warns that talc coating on California-grown Japanese rice contains asbestos fibers that may pose cancer risks. He notes talc does not improve nutrition and urges consumers to buy non-talc-coated rice.
• $1980 Census, by Taro J. Kawakami, page 4. Kawakami argues that the government’s definition of Asian American for census and employment purposes wrongly includes West Asian groups. He contends this classification is inaccurate and deprives people of self-identification.
• Sen. Hayakawa, by Craig Kusaba, page 4. Kusaba criticizes Senator Hayakawa’s comments blaming poor people for the gasoline shortage and says Hayakawa does not represent most Japanese Americans. He argues Hayakawa has isolated himself from Californians.
• Hayakawa letter on redress tactics, by Mas Odo, page 4. Odo, a 442nd veteran and Gardena Valley JACL president, criticizes the emotional open letter to Hayakawa and urges dignified correction of inaccuracies. He explains the history of the redress plans adopted by JACL and urges unity.
• Higher Education—xill, by Nobuyuki Nakajima, page 4. Nakajima discusses shifting student enrollment in science and engineering after NASA layoffs and the surplus of biologists. He highlights Oberlin College’s model of student-designed study plans.

In-Depth

• Tule Lake keynote speech by Jerry Enomoto, by Jerry J. Enomoto, page 4. Enomoto, director of the California Department of Corrections, delivered the keynote at the Tule Lake plaque dedication reflecting on Nisei sacrifice and the need for redress. He called Tule Lake a concentration camp and urged a legitimate, aggressive demand for vindication.

Military & Veterans

• Dual Citizenship, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa recounts how Japan’s citizenship laws made Nisei dual citizens and how his father filed to renounce his and his brother’s Japanese citizenship in 1940. A family record in Hiroshima later confirmed the renunciation.
• Was the Evacuation Good or Bad?, by Kashiwabara, page 5. Kashiwabara questions whether the Evacuation can be judged good or bad, suggesting it is better understood as individual experiences that varied widely. He satirically proposes scoring individual outcomes to illustrate the point.
• Yankee Samurai excerpt: MIS Nisei in occupation and war crimes trials, by Joseph D. Harrington, page 9. This excerpt from Yankee Samurai describes Military Intelligence Service Nisei who served in the Pacific, including interpreting surrenders and working on war crimes trials. It highlights the contributions of Nisei linguists to ending the war and rebuilding Japan.
• Yankee Samurai: postwar careers of Nisei veterans, by Joseph D. Harrington, page 10. The excerpt traces postwar careers of MIS veterans in education, engineering, business and government. It concludes with reflections on the Nisei’s lasting contributions to US-Japan relations.

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