The Region - News from Dec. 24, 1986

California chapters of the League of United American Citizens (LULAC) called for a boycott of all Japanese products because of what the organization charged were Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone’s disparaging remarks about blacks and Latinos in the United States. Mario A. Rodriguez, director of publicity for LULAC’s state office, said in Santa Ana that the boycott is the only option left to the organization because the Japanese leader has refused to meet with its representatives. In a speech last fall, Nakasone said that the level of Japanese society “far surpasses that of the U.S.,” and attributed this to the fact that “there are many blacks, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans whose average level is extremely low.” Nakasone later made a public apology, but LULAC officials said that was not enough.