MILLIONAIRE'S MISSION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100100101-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 101
• Publication Date: October 8, 1981
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

I
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/03/02 CIA-RDP90-01208R000100100101-0
ARTICLE APPEARE.U
ON PAGE_C,,,_3_
THE WASHINGTON POST
8 October 1981
By Lip LViikahara
It happened more than. d0 years'.
ago, but he still' in't believe it:The
words stride. into a gallop; the voice
rings with: astonishment. as multimil
lionaire Kay Sugahara recounts- the..
incident.
"Some Okies andArkies, wholutd'
moved from the Midwest to the SaI
River Valley near'.,Phoenix;.: were,'
throwing bombs because ;whey,
wanted to get rid o1'their'Japanese
American neighbors,:ivhom'theysaw
as off-the-boat-yesterdar;foreigners.
I was president of'the*Lo&. Angeles'
branch .of the-:'Japanese-American'
Citiaens'.League; so! . went to Phoe
nix.to help investigate. theproblem ,
"A representative of the Japanese=
government and I found out.the Jap=
anese-Americans had" lived' in the
area 50 years and had helped' build
the streetcar system.?'rhe-people in-
censed by .`foreigners', had lived in,
the area only two years.."' :
When the mayor:, asked,' ?':`How-
come I. never see these-people?" Su--
gahara could only say,-"Until some-,
body welcomes you, you're: a, little
timid and stick to your own-cotnmu-
nity."
The ,I0-year-old incident fuels Su-
gahara's- most recent: ambition:.. to
dislodge. Asian-Americans frompsy
chological ghettos" so they may pub ..
licly take credit for their accomplish
meats. But Sugahara himself hasn't.
bowed . on. a national. stage--ever;
though he twice rose from, poverty to
millionaire ..,status,'::-leaving.. behind;
menial labor. to become an oil giant
sometimes called' the. "Nisei Onassis".?
by fellow second-generation Japa
nose-Americans.
Sugahara, relaxed on a cushioned:
wooden chair in.': the!: Presidential'
'Suite of the Hyatt.Regency; is 'Z2'
but looks. 15 years : younger:He %
in town'last weekend-to help. present
young ' Asian-Ameriau~ ~. . with'
.achievement awards hearing his
As was the Greek. Onassis, Sugti-
hara is short in stature and stocky in
build. But as' Onassis never did; Su-
gahatat.shuns the'liinelight. He says
this is not the result of Japanese up-
-bringii)g, exemplified by the i)roverb,
'"rhe nail- that. sticks 'out gets hit,"
but ironically - bectuise of his back-
groimd'in:American'intelligence dur-
ing WVorlid. War' II:: `Bye remaining
anonymous," he`says; "I'm not sub-
ject to attack."
'Born' in Seattle ;to".iinmigrant 'par
ents of modest means, he was ' the
second child ' of :Keiichi Sugahtira,' a..
'descendant of samurai;' the' warrior
Class of Japan.'"My Father was from:'
Sendai, in the northern part o f the
main island, &ugahara,says- North
ern Japanese:stlpposedly make' 'poor
tiusinftgiven"'because.sttmurai ethics
don't: uphold in n ey_or eouence:
The samurai thought money was
dirty and wrapped it when passing it
to each 'other." Because, of religious
influence, "a big hero was' not a big-
talker ,?'
If reared' by his storekeeper- fa-'.
ther.' Siigahara -probably wouldn't
have won oratorical contests in high
school; made' his first million'-at 29
and loudly protested,' in. 'a radio ed-
itorial on - a_ Los Angeles station,- the r:
relocation ~ of " Japanese, Americans
during Worki War' [I.
"I might'. have inherited a fruit
stand or-dry cleaner's," he sitys; "i f I
hadn't ' been "orphaned when, I was;
12:'
Sugahara's'tnother died `at` 26
after bearing .five children.' l Iis fa
ther; before he died; gave him two
piece' of advice:: Go to college' and
don't'get married until you're 25', All
five children got married at ' 25 and
graduated from the University-of
California at Los Angeles.
"Adversity ?is ' the gateway to sue
says Sugahara, who. grew up in
a. Methcxlist mission, where he had
=little 'contact with other Japanese=
Amercnns.: `i was irr a -competitive
atmosphere. My approach to every'