HAWAII: The AJ.A.s: Fast-Rising Sons

Television news clips of Japanese Emperor Hirohito's arrival at Honolulu International Airport last week probably left many viewers across the U.S. wondering momentarily whether they had heard the anchor man right. Was it Hawaii, the final leg of the Emperor's U.S. tour—or was the royal couple back in Tokyo? After all, practically all of the smiling and handshaking officials greeting Hirohito and Empress Nagako seemed to be Japanese. And so they were: Americans of Japanese ancestry. Few mainlanders realize the extent to which AJ.A.s, as they are known in Hawaii, have flourished in the islands and now dominate their...