Mike Masaoka honored in Tokyo, and JACL weighs civil rights

Vol. 67, No. 20, November 15, 1968. 6 pages. View this issue

Mike Masaoka was the subject of the day. Tamotsu Murayama reported that Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato presented the JACL Washington representative with the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class, in Tokyo. Masaoka was also announced as guest speaker at the Chicago JACL’s inaugural banquet. In his column, National JACL President Jerry Enomoto shared a Leadership Conference on Civil Rights tally of how members of Congress voted on civil rights bills, and in an open letter to Dr. Edwin F. Klotz he answered a speech given at a Northern California-Western Nevada dinner.

Other pages followed the 1968 elections: Hawaii’s Inouye, Matsunaga and Mink won reelection, and Grayson Taketa lost to Rep. Charles Gubser. JACL membership reached 23,453. Little Tokyo merchants won a reprieve from condemnation on East First Street. Seattle JACLers heard local Black speakers, and Patti Dohzen and Jeffrey Matsui contributed columns.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• A great day for Mike and American Nisei, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. National JACL President Jerry Enomoto shares findings from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights showing sharp partisan differences in congressional civil rights votes. He also reflects on the heckling of a speaker at a Northern California-Western Nevada dinner, arguing that the confrontation reflects a real conflict worth confronting.
• Are you a weaver?, by Patti Dohzen, page 4. Patti Dohzen, chairman of the National Youth Council, urges chapters to value the input of every member when installing new cabinets. She compares chapter operations to a weaving process where each member contributes to a finished product.
• Trade issue, by Paul Takagi, page 6. Reader Paul Takagi writes that growing Japanese industrial competition and reliance on defense contracts have eroded American industry. He questions the JACL’s position on trade with Japan as the organization considers its international relations stance.
• Daruma-a doll with a purpose, good luck piece, by Don Estes, page 6. The Daruma doll, a common Japanese souvenir, represents Bodhidharma, a Buddhist priest who meditated for nine years and developed Zen doctrine. The doll symbolizes perseverance and the refusal to accept failure, embodied in the saying Nanakorobi-yaoki.
• Still East Palo Alto, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A ballot initiative to rename East Palo Alto to Nairobi was defeated in the November 5 election. The article discusses the outcome of the vote on the community’s name.
• Sounding Board, by Jeffrey Matsui, page 6. Jeffrey Matsui, a JACL staffer, reflects on the end of the election campaign and his upcoming attendance at the National Association of Intergroup Relations Officials conference in Philadelphia. He contrasts the idealized solutions of campaign rhetoric with the complex realities of civil rights work.

Military & Veterans

• Emperor confers Order of Rising Sun on Mike Masaoka, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 1. Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Sato presented Mike Masaoka, JACL Washington representative, with the Third Class of the Order of the Rising Sun in a ceremony in Tokyo. Masaoka, though younger than the usual recipient age, was honored for decades of work promoting U.S.-Japan relations and Japanese American rights.

JACL

• Mike Masaoka to speak on JACL past, present and future at Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka will be the guest speaker at the 24th Chicago JACL Inaugural Banquet on November 2, speaking on JACL’s past, present, and future. The event includes installation of new officers and recognition of longtime contributors.
• Enomoto sanctions Chicago JACL protest, by P.C. Staff, page 1. National JACL President Jerry Enomoto endorsed the Chicago JACL’s participation in the Joint Action Board’s statement of concern over police violence during the Democratic National Convention. The statement addresses loyalty to Chicago, the right of dissent, and police conduct toward demonstrators.
• Dr. Kengo Terashita of Stockton elected NC-WN district governor, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Kengo Terashita of Stockton was elected governor of the Northern California-Western Nevada District Council at its quarterly session in Sacramento. The council also voted to contribute to a $10,000 fund for the 1969 Issei Centennial commemorating the Wakamatsu Colony.
• Mineta to address CCDC convention, by P.C. Staff, page 1. San Jose Councilman Norman Mineta, winner of the JACL Nisei of the Biennium medal, will keynote the 19th annual Central California District Council convention in Fresno on November 23-24. The convention will also feature installation of new district and chapter officers.
• National JACL members top 23,000 mark, by P.C. Staff, page 4. National JACL membership reached an all-time high of 23,453 in the final 1968 report. Thirty chapters set new chapter records, led by San Jose with 1,765 members.
• Enomoto open letter to Dr. Edwin F. Klotz, by Jerry J. Enomoto, page 6. JACL National President Jerry Enomoto responds to a speech by Dr. Edwin Klotz at the NC-WNDC banquet, which he found filled with distortions and unfair characterizations of students and civil rights leaders. He criticizes Klotz’s treatment of Eldridge Cleaver, the Supreme Court, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Community

• San Francisco elects Wes Doi, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Wesley T. Doi was elected president of the San Francisco JACL for 1969, succeeding Mrs. Yo Hironaka. Doi, who operates Master Cleaners, was among six incumbents re-elected to the chapter board of governors.
• Seattle JACLers hear local Negro militants, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seattle JACL’s human relations committee hosted three meetings with Black community speakers following racial disorders in the city. Speakers urged Japanese Americans to become involved in civil rights and to establish communication with the Black community.
• Washingtonians reject proposed timber law, by Elmer Ogawa, page 1. Washington state voters rejected Initiative 32, which would have regulated export of logs to Japan from publicly owned lands, by nearly two to one. Opponents argued there was no timber shortage and that the measure would harm state industries.
• Gubser re-elected by 2-1 ratio over Grayson Taketa, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Charles Gubser won his ninth term in Congress over Nisei attorney Grayson Taketa, who became the first Nisei in the continental United States to win a major party nomination for Congress. Taketa campaigned against Gubser’s efforts to abolish the Renegotiation Board.
• Little Tokyo merchants on northside of E. 1st St. get reprieve, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Los Angeles city officials agreed to halt condemnation of properties on the north side of East First Street in Little Tokyo until a master redevelopment plan is completed. Property owners had voiced strong opposition to losing their holdings.
• Judge Mikio Uchiyama honored at testimonial dinner, by Thomas Toyama, page 4. More than 300 people attended a testimonial dinner in Fowler honoring Judge Mikio Uchiyama, the first Nisei judge in Central California. The event was co-sponsored by the Fowler JACL and the Central California Judo Black Belt Association.

In-Depth

• Japan’s Nobel Prize writer to be at U.H., by Allan Beekman, page 1. Yasunari Kawabata, newly named Nobel laureate in Literature, will lecture at the University of Hawaii as a Scholar in Residence in February. His talk will focus on The Tale of Genji, often regarded as the world’s first great novel, written by Lady Murasaki in the Heian period.

National

• Inouye, Matsunaga, Mink roll up record setting votes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Hawaii’s Nisei congressional delegation of Senator Daniel Inouye and Representatives Spark Matsunaga and Patsy Mink won reelection by wide margins. Mainland JACL supporters contributed over $12,000 to their campaigns, with checks presented to the three officials.
• Agnew worried over criticism but grateful Nixon refused to be upset, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Vice President-elect Spiro Agnew praised Richard Nixon’s restraint and confidence in him during a campaign marked by criticism of Agnew’s performance. Agnew acknowledged some criticism was justified given his inexperience in national campaigns.

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