Nisei citizenship bill clears Congress, and the fight over claims

Vol. 39, No. 3, July 16, 1954. 8 pages. View this issue

A bill to restore U.S. citizenship to Nisei who lost it by voting in Japan’s postwar elections cleared the Senate and went to the White House. Sen. Arthur V. Watkins wrote it, and the Japanese American Citizens League had asked for it. Mike Masaoka, the JACL representative in Washington, was making sure it was signed, and more than 2,000 Nisei stranded in Japan could benefit. Masaoka also told a Senate subcommittee that vested bank deposits and property should go back to Issei and Nisei depositors and other owners, and the editorial “Dollar for Dollar” made the same case. A supplemental bill would pay $74,795.88 to 14 claimants in evacuation claims.

Elsewhere in the eight pages: Larry Tajiri’s profile of furniture designer George Nakashima, who spent time at Minidoka, and Henry Mori’s report on the Nisei Week queen race. Columns by Bill Hosokawa, Harry Honda, Lawrence Nakatsuka and Tamotsu Murayama fill the commentary pages, and the Nisei Relays results are on page six.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Election Bill Sent to White House, by P.C. Bureau Special, page 1. The Senate concurred in a House amendment to the Watkins bill, clearing it for the President’s signature. The bill would restore U.S. citizenship to Nisei who lost it by voting in Japanese postwar elections during the occupation.
• Ghost Out of the Past Unfurled, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Lt. Gen. John L. DeWitt was among 11 World War II officers nominated for four-star rank by Congress. DeWitt, who ordered the evacuation of Japanese Americans in 1942, is recalled alongside other commanders under whom Nisei soldiers served.

Incarceration & Redress

• $74,795 in Evacuation Claims Due 14 Claimants in Special Appropriation Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A supplemental deficiency appropriations bill would pay $74,795.88 to 14 claimants whose evacuation claims were awarded in April and May. JACL Washington representative Mike Masaoka said the House Appropriations Committee is considering the bill.
• Issei, Nisei Yen Debt Claimants in U.S. Deserve Returns First, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka told a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that dollars vested from pre-war Japanese banks should be returned to the 17,500 Issei and Nisei depositors on a pro-rata basis rather than to foreign principals. He argued that dismissing these claims would affront citizens and resident aliens.
• Urge Passage of Dirksen Bill to Return Vested Property, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Mike Masaoka told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee that property confiscated from Japanese and German nationals during the war should be returned to its owners. He proposed an alternate program covering small vested accounts as a first step.

JACL

• Miss JACL Crowning Sunday, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Three finalists for Miss National JACL were selected aboard the APL President Wilson from seven candidates. The queen will be crowned Sunday at the PSWDC pre-convention rally at Brookside Park, and will host the 13th Biennial National JACL Convention in September.

National

• Refugee Relief Act in Operation for Japanese, 34 Get Entry Visas, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Thirty-four Japanese refugees have received visas under the Refugee Relief Act, according to Mike Masaoka. Administrative difficulties in processing assurance forms have led several groups to ask Masaoka for help.
• GI Marriages in Japan Valid in Utah Despite Ban, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Utah’s Asst. Atty. Gen. Earl Spafford ruled that overseas marriages between Utah GIs and Japanese girls are valid under a statute recognizing marriages solemnized in other countries. He noted the protection might not apply to marriages obtained solely to evade the anti-miscegenation law.
• Private Bill Would Grant Japanese Bride Immigrant Status, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A private bill introduced by Rep. Charles Gubser would grant quota immigrant status to Sugako Nakai, a Japanese bride of George O’Neill of Gilroy. The marriage was not legalized because O’Neill failed to complete required forms, leaving her unable to join him.
• Dirksen Bill-Continued: Return Vested Property, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Masaoka urged that vested property be returned on a pro-rata basis without regard to exchange rates and proposed distinguishing among classes of war criminals. He argued that restoring property to Japanese owners would demonstrate support for democratic government in Japan.

Commentary

• Bureaucratic Sabotage of Law, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rep. Francis Walter argues that State Department refusal of a Miss Universe candidate is bureaucratic sabotage of the McCarran-Walter Act meant to make it look silly. The editorial contends that nearly all headlined exclusion cases could have occurred under earlier laws.
• Tokyo Topics: Serious-Minded Americans, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 2. Murayama contrasts American seriousness in fighting Communism and building youth character through the Boy Scouts with Japan’s Red-controlled teachers union. He observes that Japan’s Scouting movement remains in its infancy.
• Very Truly Yours: Briars for Milady, by Harry Honda, page 2. Honda discusses a American Cancer Society report showing pipe and cigar smoking carries lower mortality risks than cigarettes. He speculates on whether women may switch to pipes and how advertising shapes smoking habits.
• Mental Blocks Hold Back Nisei Careers, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Nakatsuka argues that many capable Nisei stall in their careers because of self-created mental blocks, especially fixation on past racial discrimination. He urges them to focus on present opportunities as job discrimination diminishes.
• Specs Improve Looks, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Hosokawa recounts his son Mike’s reluctant acceptance of eyeglasses and its implications for his hopes of becoming a navy pilot. He reflects on his own experience wearing glasses since eighth grade and notes improvements in frames and lenses.
• Dollar for Dollar, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The editorial praises JACL’s role in settling evacuation claims and urges that confiscated Japanese property, including pre-war bank deposits, be returned on a pro-rata basis. It argues this would reflect American principles of property integrity and national self-interest.

Community

• Statewide Exchange Club Movement Being Planned, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A movement has begun to have California’s 165 Exchange Clubs leave the national organization over its policy excluding members of Chinese ancestry. The Golden Gate Exchange Club voted to surrender its charter in defiance of national policy.
• Write-In Candidate Wins School Position, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mrs. Hiroto Uno was elected treasurer of the Roggen, Colo. school board as a write-in candidate. She is the first Nisei ever elected to office in the Roggen area.
• Nisei Honored in Various Achievements, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Several Nisei were recognized for academic, artistic, and professional accomplishments, including Harry Kawagoe’s pharmacy prize and Ruth Ota’s appearance in the Denver Post summer opera. David Toguri received favorable comment for his Canadian ballet dancing.
• Japan Society Grants for 29 Students, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japan Society awarded grants-in-aid enabling 29 Japanese students to continue studies in the United States. Noritake Kobayashi will be Harvard Law School’s first candidate from Japan for an LL.B. degree.
• Canadian Nisei Chess Star Chalks Up Win Over Russian Grand Master, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Jack Tadashi Kagetsu, a University of Toronto graduate student, defeated Russian grand master Alexander Kotov in a simultaneous chess match in Toronto. It was Kotov’s first defeat of his tour.
• Northwest Airlines Adds Another Tourist Flight, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Northwest Orient Airlines doubled its air tourist service between Seattle and Manila, with stops at Okinawa and Tokyo. The added flight was made possible by acquiring another DC-6B.
• Chapter Memo, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Chapter news from several JACL groups including San Luis Valley, South Alameda County, Eden Township, St. Louis, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Arizona. Events include graduation dinners, picnics, and fundraising activities.
• Nisei Win 1954 Nisei Relays, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Nisei Trading’s track team won the third annual JACL Nisei Relays championship at Rancho Cienega stadium. Henry Kawamoto of the Lords broke a 21-year-old half-mile record with a time of 2:04.
• Nisei Week Queen Race Starts, by Henry Mori, page 7. Ten candidates are competing in the 14th annual Nisei Week queen contest, with public voting for five finalists ending August 10. The queen will be selected August 13 and crowned at the Coronation Ball August 15.
• Mt. Hermon Camp Has Record Crowd, by P.C. Staff, page 7. About 350 delegates from several states and Canada attended the fifth annual Nisei Christian Conference at Mt. Hermon. Speakers stressed the need for dynamized Christianity rather than theoretical religion.

Arts & Entertainment

• Larry Tajiri Profiles George Nakashima, Modern Furniture Designer, by Larry Tajiri, page 7. Tajiri profiles George Nakashima, a Nisei architect who became a nationally known furniture designer after his wartime evacuation. The article traces his path through Tokyo, India, Minidoka, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

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.