AJA a tribute to long-standing tradition

Editor’s note: This letter is Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr.’s response to Glenn Mickens’ recent column in The Garden Island regarding the Americans of Japanese Ancestry Baseball League.

The Department of Parks and Recreation receives many requests from different organizations regarding the coordination of recreational leagues at county facilities with different eligibility criteria.

For example, some leagues require that members be part of a specific labor union, work in a particular geographic location or have attained a certain age, while some leagues are coed.

The Kauai Americans of Japanese Ancestry baseball league was formed about 86 years ago during the Plantation era when other ethnic leagues were established and competed against each other. In the years following World War II, the other leagues folded, but the AJA has continued to thrive in all four Hawaii counties.

I don’t view the AJA as being racially discriminating, but rather one that pays tribute to a long-standing tradition set by their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

Hawaii is a beautiful place with many ethnic groups, each with its own traditions … traditions that are not intended to harm, but rather to honor.

I would also like to note that the board members of AJA are very active members of our community who collaborate on many endeavors for the greater good of our island.

For example, Tom Shigemoto, AJA board president, also serves as a volunteer on the American Red Cross Advisory Committee, Boy Scouts of America, Kauai district board of directors, and Kauai United Way board of directors. Over the years, he has been on nearly every volunteer board on the island, generously donating his free time for the benefit of the people of Kauai.

It is my hope that we as a community can continue to respect the traditions of one another and live in harmony as our forefathers did.