LOS ANGELES — On June 19, Okaeri, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ Nikkei, held their first “Queer O-bon” at the Terasaki Budokan in the city’s Little Tokyo. Colorful origami chains hung from the tall concrete walls as attendants munched on fresh inari and sipped cold milk tea and chewy boba. “‘Queer O-bon’ came out […]
FINDING YOUR NIKKEI ROOTS: LGBTQ+ genealogy – Be proud of your ancestors
June 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment
“All genealogists strive to reconstruct family histories or achieve genealogical goals that reflect historical reality as closely as possible.1” We gather data, evaluate and analyze information, and often, we tell a story. We try to avoid bias, prejudice and presentism. Identifying LGBTQ+2 ancestors and telling their stories is no different from sharing the information of […]
S.F.’s Japantown proclaims queer pride
July 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Amy Sueyoshi never imagined that the rainbow Pride flag would be raised in San Francisco’s Japantown. The dean of the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University told the audience at the “Raise the Pride Flag at Peace Plaza” event June 4 she never thought “community leaders (would) see queer stuff as a […]
THE GREAT UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN GREAT: Prewar attitudes toward queer sexuality in Japanese-language press
June 23, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This is the 16th year that I have had the pleasure of presenting my annual queer history column. I want to start today’s installment by acknowledging the 2020 online J-Sei exhibit “Seen & Unseen: Queering Japanese American History Before 1945,” co-curated by Nichi Bei Weekly columnist Amy Sueyoshi and Stan Yogi. It was a landmark […]
Court says ban on same-sex marriage constitutional
June 23, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — A Japanese court ruled June 20 that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage does not violate the constitution, and rejected demands for compensation by three couples who said their right to free union and equality has been violated. The Osaka District Court ruling is the second decision on the issue, and disagrees with […]
Exhibit promotes ‘accepting’ Queer Nikkei in S.F.’s JA community
May 26, 2022 by Leave a Comment
In December 2021, Elena Nielsen, a Japanese American Citizens League San Francisco chapter board member and Japantown Rainbow Coalition member, approached Tomo Hirai to help solicit support for the JACL’s LGBTQ Pride flag raising project. It will celebrate Pride next month in San Francisco Japantown’s Peace Plaza. In asking for support from the National Japanese […]
Tokyo same-sex partnership plans highlight road ahead for LGBTQ rights
January 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment
TOKYO — Many welcomed Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike’s recent announcement that a same-sex partnership system would be introduced for all of Tokyo in fiscal 2022. But some LGBTQ activists have pointed out that much more work needs to be done to reach true equality in Japan. Currently, 12 of the 62 municipalities in Tokyo have […]
Creating Space For Queer Nikkei: Okaeri holds online conference to educate and form community
December 9, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Delayed by about a year, and held wholly online, Okaeri Los Angeles held its fourth conference to connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Nikkei and their allies from across the country. The two-day conference, held over Zoom meetings, featured presentations on mental health, the state of the campaign for marriage equality in Japan, and […]
Janice Mirikitani, poet, Glide Memorial Church leader, dies
August 5, 2021 by Leave a Comment
SAN FRANCISCO Janice Mirikitani, a beloved San Francisco poet laureate who together with her husband ran the city’s Glide Memorial Church, which caters to the poor and homeless, has died. She was 80. Mirikitani died suddenly July 29, the church confirmed in a message to supporters who were scheduled to attend a virtual justice event […]
Report: Hate crime laws lack uniformity across the U.S.
August 5, 2021 by Leave a Comment
NEW YORK — More than half a century since they were modernized, hate crime laws in the U.S. are inconsistent and provide incomplete methods for addressing bias-motivated violence, according to a new report by advocates for better protections. The report, first shared with The Associated Press ahead of its July 28 release, is a comprehensive […]
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