SACRAMENTO – Japanese Americans, including World War II veterans and citizens interned and wrongfully fired from state employment, will gather at the State Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 19, for the Day of Remembrance.
On the floor of the Assembly Chambers, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) will recognize these Japanese Americans and lead a vote on his resolution recognizing Day of Remembrance in California.
Before the floor presentation, Muratsuchi will be joined by Assemblymembers Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) and Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) for the announcement of the first legislative resolution officially apologizing for the firing of Japanese American state employees in California.
Authored by Pan, the Assembly concurrent resolution will apologize for the passage of SCR 15 by the 1942 legislature, which led to the firing of hundreds of Japanese American state employees by the State Personnel Board.
Joining the Day of Remembrance events will be Priscilla Ouchida, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, and Yosh Uchida, who was a CSU San Jose professor when he was fired because of SCR 15.
As legislative aide to then-Assemblymember Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton) in 1982, Ouchida was instrumental in passage of legislation granting payments to the fired employees.
After the war, Uchida became head judo coach at San Jose State, and a building on campus has been named in his honor.
The Day of Remembrance and apology resolutions were scheduled to be presented at 11 a.m. in the Capitol’s Eureka Room. A Day of Remembrance presentation on the Assembly floor was scheduled for noon.