‘Ukulele Strikes a Chord with San Jose Japantown Music Instructor

JAMMIN’ —  Rodney Takahashi is the instructor at Ukulele Jams, a store in San Jose’s Japantown. photo by Erin Yasuda Soto/Nichi Bei Weekly

Originally trained as a computer hardware programmer, Rodney Takahashi has turned his passion for the ‘ukulele into a successful career as a music instructor. Takahashi teaches lessons at his store, Ukulele Jams, at 565 North Sixth Street in San Jose’s Japantown. The classes cover ‘ukulele picking, strumming and music theory. Takahashi, who originally operated his [...]

Seeking Nisei Honorees for the California Nisei College Diploma Project

More than 2,500 students of Japanese ancestry are estimated to have been in California colleges and universities during World War II, with the Nisei — or second-generation Japanese Americans — comprising the largest number. Assembly Bill 37, authored by California state Assemblymember Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach), bestows honorary degrees to Japanese Americans, living or deceased, [...]

Seven Decades Late, Japanese Americans to Get their College Diplomas

FULFILLING A PROMISE — Kimiko “Kimi” Yamaguma (at microphone) and Edith Tanita (seated), who were robbed of their education due to their wartime incarceration. At left is California state Assemblymember Warren Furutani (D-Long Beach), who authored legislation to grant honorary diplomas to the Nisei. photo by Kenji G. Taguma/Nichi Bei Weekly

Prominent members of the Nikkei community gathered in San Francisco’s Japantown on Nov. 12 to address “unfinished business” and announce a statewide project to confer honorary degrees to former students of Japanese descent who were forced out of college campuses nearly seven decades ago. Run by the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, [...]

Shasta County School Adopts Anti-Bullying Policy After JA Teens Allegedly Harrassed

BURNEY, Calif. — Several months after the parents of two multiracial Japanese American teenagers alleged that their children were being subjected to racial slurs and a physical threat, Fall River Joint Unified School District has approved an anti-bullying policy at Burney Junior Senior High School. The policy, which the District’s board of trustees approved on [...]

LETTERS: Helping to Fund the Nichi Bei Weekly

Dear Editor, I’m very glad that the Nichi Bei Weekly is publishing, as it has a critical role and responsibility in maintaining the Japanese community in San Francisco and the Bay Area. I am a recent subscriber of this newspaper and everyone else who wants to have a viable Japanese community needs to also subscribe. [...]

High School Could Be Named After Fred Korematsu

HERO  — A school campus could be named for Fred Korematsu. photo courtesy of the Korematsu family

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — A campaign has been launched to name San Leandro High School’s new ninth grade campus after the late Fred Korematsu — whose challenge of the forced relocation during World War II and efforts to throw out his wartime conviction decades later ultimately led to the Japanese American Redress Movement. Stephen Cassidy, [...]

Taking Heart: Japanese American Medical Student Develops iPhone Application to Study Heart Murmurs

STOCKTON NATIVE — Michael “Fuj” Fujinaka, a third-year medical student at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, has created iMurmur. With a reported 10,000 downloads thus far, the iPhone application has become one of the most popular medical applications ever created for the iPhone. photo courtesy of Christie Fujinaka

When Michael “Fuj” Fujinaka started medical school two years ago he received a stethoscope. But he was not taught how to use it until his third year of school. “Basically every medical student uses a stethoscope. But you don’t learn how to use it until your third year,” said the Stockton, Calif. native, who is [...]

Japanese Tea Garden Getting Makeover: Japantown Businesswoman Takes Charge of Concessions

HISTORIC TEA GARDEN GETTING RENOVATED — The Hoji-Cha set with fruit-flavored mochi, made at Cafe Hana in San Francisco’s Japantown. Carol Murata now runs both establishments.

It’s a sunny fall afternoon at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. The wooden teahouse, overlooking a small tree-lined pond, is bustling with visitors. The soothing sounds of a waterfall rise up whenever a moment of quiet punctuates the chatter. At one table, a group of four MBA students visiting from Miami, Fla., [...]

Three Asian Americans Elected to Office in NYC

NEW YORK — In New York City’s Nov. 3 election, Councilman John C. Liu was elected city comptroller, making him the first Asian American to be elected to a citywide office. As a city councilman, the Taiwan-native represented Flushing, Queens. According to the New York Times, this victory “could quickly make [Liu] a strong contender [...]

LETTERS: Keep JA Press, Culture Vibrant

Dear Editor, I’m very sad to hear the status of the Hokubei Mainichi. However I do like the idea of Nichi Bei Weekly. We as Japanese Americans must be able to keep the Japanese heritage, culture and values alive continuously. Many non-Japanese people do not know things about the Japanese… Newspapers are downsizing and limiting [...]