Cultural elements reinterpreted for Peace Plaza renovation

San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department and the Japantown Task Force held a virtual community briefing Feb. 28 to discuss the cultural elements that will be implemented in the Japantown Peace Plaza. The plaza, which will undergo a $32 million renovation expected to start in the spring of 2024, will reinterpret several key cultural elements […]

Committee presents 12 notables for history mural as community debates

The San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League held its fifth public meeting Jan. 30 on the proposed history mural at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California in San Francisco’s Japantown. Advisory committee members announced a slate of 12 people that they suggested the chapter board consider depicting on the […]

S.F. J-Town mural team narrows down nominees for depiction amid criticisms

As the San Francisco chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League works to further its plans for a mural commemorating the history of the city’s Japantown, community members gathered for the fourth installment in a series of meetings. The latest community meeting, focusing on the selection process of notable figures from the ethnic enclave to […]

SF: 17-year-old arrested in Muni attack that injured elderly woman

Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy who allegedly kicked an elderly woman as he was getting off a Muni bus last month in San Francisco’s Japantown. Video of the incident showed the 79-year-old woman boarding the 38 Line coach at Geary Boulevard and Laguna Street at about 11:20 a.m. on Dec. 3, and the suspect […]

6 treated for possible overdoses on Christmas Day at Japantown home

Emergency crews treated six people on Christmas Day for possible drug overdoses at a home in San Francisco’s Japantown neighborhood. Firefighters responded at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 25 to a home in the 1700 block of Post Street, according to San Francisco Fire Capt. Jonathan Baxter. Five people found at the home were hospitalized — two […]

Buchanan YMCA in S.F.’s J-Town set on fire

The Buchanan YMCA caught fire during the afternoon of Nov. 27. According to the San Francisco Fire Department, the fire damaged the exterior of the building and two floors inside. Danielle Jones, director of public relations and communication for the YMCA of San Francisco, said the structure and interior of the building itself sustained minor […]

Japantown community discusses potential impacts of San Francisco Housing Element

With the San Francisco Housing Element due to be finalized in January of next year, the Japantown Task Force hosted a community meeting Nov. 30 to discuss how the ethnic enclave will likely be affected by the latest “road map” for housing in San Francisco. The Housing Element is a document that is updated every […]

Countering misinformation on COVID-19 boosters among parents and seniors

More than one million people in the U.S. have died due to COVID-19. And yet, as of Nov. 16, only 32.4% of eligible seniors in California have been vaccinated and received their bivalent booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website. As of Nov. 16, 12.9% of Asian Americans have received the […]

S.F.’s Japantown proclaims queer pride

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 […]

Mark Izu’s ‘Songs for J-Town’ evokes memories and hopes

Mark Izu assembled performers from across the United States and spent years putting together “Songs for J-Town,” but he only expected around 60 people to attend the April 23 world premiere at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco when he scheduled the show during the height of the omicron surge. Instead, more than 400 people […]

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