Controversy Mounts Over Proposed Inscriptions
on Japanese American Memorial

A recent controversy concerning the planned Japanese American Memorial in Washington, DC, has come to the attention of many Japanese Americans.

This memorial to the Japanese American experience during World War II contains a highly controversial quotation as well as a number of inaccuracies that have caused a grassroots debate in the Japanese American community. Many people in California, Hawaii, Washington and other States are voicing their opposition to the memorial as it now reads. Media attention has also increased over the past week.

Clifford Uyeda, former president of the Japanese American Citizen League, wrote, "Unless it is changed...this monument that is rife with controversy, dredges up bad memories, and causes anger and hurt."

A resolution to the Department of Interior which oversees the planned monument is now circulating. The resolution can be signed at the Japanese American Voice website which has both the information on the issue and the resolution. More than 560 people have signed.

The website is at http://www.javoice.com