a mixed plate of Japanese American news and culture
LOS ANGELES — Keiro Senior HealthCare, the largest nonprofit health care organization serving older Japanese Americans, is celebrating its 50th year of enhancing the quality of life for seniors in the Nikkei community. One in five Japanese Americans is over age 65, almost twice the national average. As the number of senior citizens increases, Keiro, [...]
Kimochi Inc., a San Francisco Japantown-based nonprofit that provides culturally sensitive care to San Francisco’s seniors, invited the Alzheimer’s Association to present on the disease during a community event. Through a PowerPoint presentation at an event held in Japantown July 18, Edie Yau, director of diversity and inclusion for the association, described the disease, which [...]
Keiko Fukuda, at the age of 98, continues to practice judo, an art she has honed for more than 70 years. While she is often confined to a wheelchair, following a health checkup in May, her doctor described her as healthy as can be. According to her friend and caregiver, Shelley Fernandez, Fukuda has survived [...]
As part of the ongoing dedication to hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombings during World War II, the 18th biennial medical examinations of American survivors of Japanese and Korean descent was held on July 16 and 17 at the Sister Mary Philippa Health Center at St. Mary’s Medical Center San Francisco. Since 1977, the Hiroshima [...]
A mother, retired school teacher and caretaker to those around her, Robin Ohara is as giving as she is compassionate. Now in her greatest time of need, however, those closest to her are unable to give her what she needs the most: a kidney transplant. Today, more than 26 million Americans over the age of [...]
From a fresh edamame to even an aged, fermented bean, soybeans in every form have been lauded as a health superfood for centuries. Packed with proteins and antioxidants, it comes as no surprise that it’s often considered a near-perfect food, nutritionally. It’s the only non-meat food known to have all nine amino acids needed for [...]
Megumi Natto It’s sticky, stringy and it’s stinky (but in a good way). Like the ripest of natto will shock people initially, but reward those that don’t shy away from it with its depth of flavor and multiple health benefits. Often found on a Japanese sushi maki menu, if you haven’t heard of it [...]
HIV and AIDS may often be associated with the homosexual male demographic, but ethnic minority awareness groups are bringing light to the increasing rise in HIV infection in an unexpected minority group — heterosexual Asian and Pacific Islander women. May 19 marked the seventh annual National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Awareness efforts [...]
SEATTLE — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Feb. 14 that Dr. Tachi Yamada will retire as president of the Global Health Program, a position he held for five years. “Tachi has done a great job of focusing our ability to create and deliver vaccines and other interventions to the people who need them [...]
An Urgent Plea for Bone Marrow Donors: You could be the one to save a life
There have been many recent victories in sports and politics (e.g. my hometown San Francisco Giants winning the World Series; Jean Quan elected the first Asian American and female mayor of Oakland), but a real victory would be finding a bone marrow donor match for my dear friend, Sheri, and others (Asians and other ethnic [...]