Vol. 74, No. 2, January 21, 1972. 6 pages. View this issue
Shiro Kashiwa’s swearing-in as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Claims on January 6 led this six-page issue. The paper reported that he was the first American of Japanese ancestry appointed to a federal court, and it noted his earlier years as Hawaii’s Attorney General. Also on page one, George Rosenberg of the Los Angeles INS office urged support for a bill to penalize employers who hire illegal aliens, and the JACL drafted HR 12208 for a Cabinet Committee for Asian American Affairs, introduced by Reps. Glenn Anderson and Spark Matsunaga.
Other pages cover a photo display drawn from the book Executive Order 9066 in San Francisco and Berkeley, a Midwest District Educational Committee described by Ross Harano, and Allan Beekman’s review of Yukio Mishima’s After the Banquet. June Shimokawa reported on The Pride and the Shame, a traveling exhibit. Chapter news from Cortez, Puyallup Valley and Washington, D.C. rounds out the issue.
What’s in this issue
National
- Shiro Kashiwa Sworn In as First Japanese American Federal Court Judge, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Shiro Kashiwa became the first American of Japanese ancestry appointed to a federal court when he was sworn in as Associate Judge of the United States Court of Claims on January 6. A native of Hawaii, he had previously served as Hawaii’s Attorney General and as an Assistant Attorney General in Washington.
- JACL Urged to Support Bill in Congress to Curb Illegal Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. George Rosenberg, district director of the Los Angeles INS office, told the Downtown L.A. JACL installation dinner that illegal alien entries had risen tenfold during the 1900s. He urged support for a bill that would penalize employers who hire illegal aliens, arguing that cutting off jobs is the key to enforcing immigration laws.
- JACL Drafts Bill to Establish Cabinet Committee for Asian American Affairs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL drafted HR 12208, introduced December 13 by Reps. Glenn Anderson and Spark Matsunaga with 23 cosponsors, to create a Cabinet Committee for Asian American Affairs. The bill would grant cease-and-desist and subpoena powers, regional offices, and authority to investigate discrimination by federal agencies.
- Executive Order 9066 Photo Display Draws Crowds in San Francisco and Berkeley, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A photographic exhibit on the wartime evacuation and detention of Japanese Americans, drawn from the book Executive Order 9066, has drawn strong public response in the Bay Area. The exhibit at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco closes February 20, and the Berkeley showing closes a week earlier.
- Richmond School Consolidation Ordered to Combat Segregation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. U.S. District Judge Robert Merhige ordered the forced consolidation of the mostly-black Richmond, Virginia school system with the predominantly white Chesterfield and Henrico county systems to correct racial inequities. The 325-page ruling set off demands for a boycott and appeals.
- Chinese Character Machine Patented by Jersey City Library Worker, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Jersey City library worker Haing Chi Lee received a patent for a machine that scans Chinese characters. The device was developed as an aid for library cataloging work.
Community
- Downtown L.A. JACL Installs Ted Kojima as President, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ted Kojima was re-elected president of the Downtown Los Angeles JACL chapter at its installation dinner, with national treasurer Al Hatuta as installing officer. Kojima said the chapter would step up its membership campaign as an early project of the year.
- New York Times Expert on Japan-East Asia to Address D.C. Installation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Richard Halloran of the New York Times will be guest speaker at the Washington, D.C. JACL installation dinner-dance on January 29 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Halloran, who covers Japan and East Asia, recently accompanied the Prime Minister Sato summit with President Nixon.
- D.C. JACL Pledges $250 to Hagiwara Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Washington, D.C. JACL chapter board pledged $250 to the JACL-Abe Hagiwara Memorial Fund, which has a $25,000 goal based on $1 from each member. Proceeds are earmarked for the JACL student aid program, and national fund chairman Kathy Kadowaki hopes other chapters will follow.
- Issei Rest Home in CCDC Proposed, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fresno JACL president Akira Nishioka has proposed an apartment-style rest home for Issei in the Fresno area. Comments from the community were invited through the Fresno JACL Newsletter.
- Kawabe Memorial House Retirement Home in Seattle Nears Completion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Kawabe Memorial House, a 162-unit retirement home in Seattle, is ready for occupancy and applications are being taken. The building was funded in part by a donation from the late Harry S. Kawabe and features security, medical alarm, and communal facilities.
- Milwaukee JACL Officers Listed; Chapter News, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Officer slates were listed for several chapters including Milwaukee, San Mateo and Washington D.C. JACL. The listings include special activity notes for the chapters.
- Cortez JACL to Award Bass Derby Prizes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Mac Sakaguchi landed a 10-pound bass to win the Cortez JACL year-end fishing contest, with prizes to be awarded at the January 26 chapter meeting. Other winners in the derby were also recognized.
- Puyallup Valley Sells Nearly 800 Pounds of Mochi, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Puyallup Valley JACL held a mochitsuki on December 26 with over 70 participants, pounding and selling some 782 pounds of mochi. Proceeds went to the chapter scholarship fund.
- DC Hosts 225 at Issei Keiro-kai, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Nineteen Issei of the Washington, D.C. area were honored at the D.C. JACL keiro-kai on November 20, attended by about 225 people. The program included Japanese entertainment and remarks by Rep. Spark Matsunaga.
- Seattle Nikkei Community Previews ‘Pride and Shame’ Traveling Exhibit, by June Shimokawa, page 6. The Seattle JACL and State Capitol Museum launched a traveling exhibit, The Pride and the Shame, funded by a $6,600 National Endowment for the Humanities grant, to tell the story of Japanese Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Panelists at the preview stressed the wartime evacuation as the culmination of long-standing anti-Asian discrimination.
Arts & Entertainment
- Shizuye Takashima, Artist-Author, to Visit San Francisco and Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese Canadian artist Shizuye Takashima, author of A Child in Prison Camp about her family’s wartime evacuation from Vancouver, will visit San Francisco and Los Angeles before traveling to Japan. Her book drew bitter reaction in the Canadian press when serialized.
JACL
- Midwest District Governor Ross Harano on Educational Committee, by Ross Harano, page 2. Midwest District Governor Ross Harano describes the new MDC Educational Committee, formed to address the lack of information about Asian Americans in public schools. The committee plans course outlines, textbook work, and local task forces to advise school boards.
In-Depth
- Reversion of Okinawa and JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 2. This installment examines the Okinawa reversion movement, the U.S. rationale for retaining military bases, and the Sato government’s negotiating positions leading to reversion. The article describes Okinawan opposition to the Vietnam War and the ambiguities in Japan’s prior consultation requirements; it is continued in a later issue.
Military & Veterans
- Nisei Policeman Suspended as Jury Investigates Chicago Vice, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Chicago police patrolman Masanobu Noro, a Japanese American, was suspended as federal grand juries investigate alleged payoffs and corruption among police vice and gambling squads. Noro was the first of nine officers suspended after a court ruled the department could take disciplinary action.
Commentary
- Shadows of a Rejected Fiction: Book Review of After the Banquet, by Allan Beekman, page 5. Reviewer Allan Beekman examines Yukio Mishima’s novel After the Banquet, tracing its roots in the real life of Japanese diplomat Hachiro Arita. The review praises the novel’s portrait of a protagonist caught between political ambition and a sharp-tongued, self-made wife.
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