San Francisco’s Japantown is one of three remaining Japanese American ethnic enclaves in the United States. In its more than 100-year history, the Nikkei population in San Francisco’s Western Addition has survived two major social upheavals, the wartime incarceration and urban redevelopment. The JCHESS As a reaction to urban redevelopment in the 1960s through ‘80s, […]
Stakeholders seek community consensus, trust in S.F. Japantown’s future
January 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Two years and still going!
September 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
With this issue, we have officially passed our two-year mark in publication as the first nonprofit ethnic newspaper of its kind in the country. Our first edition of the Nichi Bei Weekly, published on Sept. 17, 2009, featured the “Spirit of Japantown Festival in San Jose? just as today’s special edition does. Launching the Nichi […]
Planning for a better SF Japantown neighborhood
September 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
San Francisco Japantown’s community members convened to discuss the Better Neighborhood Plan (BNP) draft proposals on the morning of Sept. 10. BNP organizers gave a quick presentation of the proposed draft plan to be submitted to the San Francisco Planning Department on Oct. 27. Close to 40 people attended the meeting, held at the Japanese […]
COMMENTARY: What IS the future of SF’s Japantown?
September 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Dear Editor: San Francisco’s Japantown is one of three recognized Japantowns left in the United States. San Francisco’s Japantown in the Western Addition area of the City was decimated twice — first during WWII when Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals were sent to concentration camps; and second in the 1960s when the Redevelopment Agency declared […]
RABBIT RAMBLINGS: The dilemma of defining and preserving a fragmented community
September 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I took some time off to recharge my batteries, to use an old cliché, and now I’m back. In that interval, our nation has gone through such turbulence it is hard to think clearly about the state of politics, the economy, and the future. Well, daily life goes on and we all have to try […]
Concerns over BNP density
September 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
As the Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan (BNP) Organizing Committee finalizes the draft of the BNP for the final public hearing, a new recommendation has raised some concerns among committee members. Revisions to the draft will be presented to the community on Saturday, Sept. 10. Paul Wermer, a Pacific Heights resident in San Francisco who works […]
Better Neighborhood Plan fields community input before revision draft
August 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
San Francisco Japantown community members attended a meeting held at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) on July 31 to discuss potential changes to the Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan (BNP). About 50 people — including project members, city employees and even District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi — attended the event. The […]
Community meetings to address draft Better Neighborhood Plan
May 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The Japantown Organizing Committee will hold three large community meetings to educate the community and receive input on the draft Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan, which will outline the vision of San Francisco’s Japantown. For the past year, the Japantown Organizing Committee has been conducting subcommittee meetings to review the draft Plan written in 2009. The […]
Japantown Plan Moving Forward Slowly: Community Members Have “Second Chance” to Make Their Voices Heard
September 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Community members still have a chance to influence the fate of the Japantown Better Neighborhood Plan (BNP), which, once adopted, will govern how San Francisco’s Japantown will develop over the next several decades. Since property owners have postponed development due to the economic crisis and lack of city funding has slowed the planning process, community […]
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