Mar 26th 2017 O.A.
Love to Nippon
Sunday, March 5th was “Love to Nippon”, a memorial gathering for the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. The gathering was held at the LAPD HQ in Downtown LA. Love to Nippon is an earthquake relief support found by Masako Unohara, based on her disaster experience and they hold memorial gatherings every March. At the event, prefectures that suffered the disaster and organizations from the US and Japan participated with their own booths. They promoted their prefectures and had performances like taiko drumming and martial arts. Marking the 6th year, participants all prayed under the chants of the LA Buddhist Temple Federation for the lost souls of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and the Kumamoto Earthquake that struck last year. Battalion Chief of the LA county fire department, Anderson Mackey stated “We must be well prepared for the great earthquake that may hit us in the future, by learning from these two earthquakes.” Lastly, the members of Nikkei Choral Federation of SoCal sung 2 recovery support songs and finished the event. This memorial gathering will be annually held until the year 2021.
the gala dinner of the Japanese American Bar Association
Friday, March 3rd was the gala dinner of the Japanese American Bar Association (JABA) held in Downtown LA. The JABA was founded in 1976. They are a group of Japanese and American lawyers, dealing with various law related issues and provide many community services. About 550 members attended the dinner. Inaugurations of new board members were held as well as Toyota Motor North America and former NFL Superbowl champion, Scott Fujita was awarded. Toyota Motor North America has contributed to many community through their HQ in Torrance. Scott Fujita is a former NFL Superbowl champion. He was raised by a Japanese American father who was born in the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona, and a grandfather that fought in the war as a soldier. Also, American Civil Liberties Union representative, Susan Helman discussed the ongoing issues of discrimination and racism at her keynote speech. Chairman, Mark Furuya discussed the history of Japanese Americans and concentration camps, saying “It is important for us to cooperate with other organizations and create a strong bond.”