The North American Post

Penny and Frank Fukui — Nikkei Community’s Legacy Couple

Frank and Penny Fukui are household names in the local Nikkei (Japanese American) community in Seattle. This is not only because of their successful business, Woodburn Company but also due to their extraordinary generosity in giving.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/interview-07262024/

Penny and Frank Fukui — Nikkei Community’s Legacy Couple

Frank and Penny Fukui are household names in the local Nikkei (Japanese American) community in Seattle. This is not only because of their successful business, Woodburn Company but also due to their extraordinary generosity in giving. Here is their story as they enter a well-deserved retirement.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/interview-07262024/

Calendar from July 26th Print Issue
https://napost.com/2024/calendar-07262024/

Remembrance Gallery Update
In the January 26, 2024 NAP issue, an update was provided regarding a new Remembrance Gallery being planned at the Washington State fairgrounds in Puyallup, Washington.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/news-07122024/

Kazuhiro Kawasaki, Professor Emeritus The Evergreen State College
It has been 60 years since he crossed the ocean at the age of 22 to become a painter. Once drawn to avant-garde (experimental genre) art, the young man became an art historian.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/interview-07122024/

73rd Annual Awards LeadingAge Washington 2024 Award of Excellence in Cultural Diversity
Congratulations to Emiko Mizuki, Executive Director of Kawabe Memorial House in Seattle, Washington for receiving LeadingAge Washington’s 2024 Award of Excellence in Cultural Diversity.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/news1-07122024/

A Granddaughter’s Journey to Her Grandfather’s Art at the Smithsonian
My grandfather, Kamekichi Tokita, died at age of 51 before I was born and could ever meet him. Born and raised in Shizuoka, Japan, he ventured across the Pacific Ocean to Seattle, Washington in 1919.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices1-07122024/

Shiro Kashiba and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays
On July 2, 2024, Shiro Kashiba was honored at the official residence of the Consul General of Japan in Seattle.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/featured-07122024/

Help Restore Destroyed Public Art: Metro Bus Kiosk Restoration Seattle Downtown
Theft and vandalism targeting local businesses and public facilities in downtown Seattle continues to worsen in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/news2-07122024/

Calendar from July 12th Print Issue
https://napost.com/2024/calendar07122024/

Building Stronger Aerospace and Tabletop Gaming Ties with Japan
In April, I was honored to join a team of business owners, the Washington State Economic Development Board and other state representatives on a trade and cultural mission to Japan focused on making connections in the aerospace and tabletop gaming industries.
Read more....
https://napost.com/2024/voices2-06282024/

Advancing Democracy in the Face of Current Threats
In 2016, when Minoru Yasui would have been 100 years old, the Oregon legislature unanimously designated March 28th Minoru Yasui Day. It was March 28, 1942.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices3-07022024/

Keiro Northwest Sustains Support for Assisted Living Community and Programs

Keiro Northwest (Keiro NW), a community-based nonprofit serving Seattle’s Japanese American seniors,announced significant developments recently.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices1-06282024/

Survey on Meydenbauer Bay Park expansion

Take survey now: www.engagingbellevue.com/meydenbauer-bay-park-expansion　
available until July 15th.
Detailes : https://napost.com/2024/news1-06282024/

Survey on Meydenbauer Bay Park expansion With its distinctive curved pier and stunning views, Meydenbauer Bay Park is one of Bellevue’s most popular and iconic destinations. The community has been weighing in on priorities for the park, which have informed the potential designs for the park’s expansion. Shared with community members at...

Vashon Remembers the Day of Exile
A crowd of nearly 100 people visited Ober Park on Vashon Island on May 19 to commemorate the Day of Exile — a time of trauma and betrayal for Vashon’s residents of Japanese ancestry.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/feature-06282024/

Calendar from June 28th Print Issue
https://napost.com/2024/calender-06282024/

442nd Infantry Today

On May 27, the Nisei Veterans Committee (NVC) sponsored the 79th annual memorial service at Lakeview Cemetery in Seattle. Everyone gathered near the Nisei War Memorial monument — a 22-foot-tall granite obelisk with major military campaigns inscribed.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/news2-06142024/

Japanese-Style Gardens Played Key Role in Issei Life

This is a continuation from the May 24th issue.
Plant Nurseries and Greenhouses:
Zenhichi Harui (1886-1974) and son Junkoh Harui (1933-2008)
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices1-06142024/

Celebrating Ehime Prefecture Products

On May 24, the Consul General of Japan Makoto Iyori and his wife, Yuko hosted a reception at their Seattle residence for a group from Ehime Prefecture on Shikoko Island in Japan.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/feature-06142024/

Calendar from June 14th Print Issue
https://napost.com/2024/calendar-06142024/

U.S.-Japan Council and U.S. Department of State Launch Mineta Ambassadors Program

The U.S.-Japan Council is proud to partner with the U. S. Department of State in launching the Mineta Ambassadors Program (MAP), an education endowment program to support exchange opportunities between U.S. and Japanese students.
Read more..

U.S.-Japan Council and U.S. Department of State Launch Mineta Ambassadors Program U.S.-Japan Council and U.S. Department of State Launch Mineta Ambassadors Program By Alison Aadland U.S.-Japan Council The U.S.-Japan Council is proud to partner with the U. S. Department of State in launching the Mineta Ambassadors Program (MAP), an education endowment program to support exchange o...

Story Pole Dedication Ceremony

Readers may recall a dedication ceremony in Kobe, Japan last month. It was attended by several Seattle, Washington delegates from the City of Seattle, Port of Seattle, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association, Washington Secretary of State office, members of the Puyallup Tribe and Lummi Nation, and even the NAP Japan trip participants.
Read more..
https://napost.com/2024/voices-05242024/

Shinka: Evolution Revolution

The new exhibit at the LeMay–America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington explores the evolution of the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) cars and their influence on the global market. There is a familiarity to these cars because who didn’t start out driving a Civic, Accord, Celica or Supra back in the day?
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/artculture-05242024/

Fifth Annual Haiku Winners Celebrated at Mukai Farm & Garden

On April 28, winners were announced at the Haiku Festival Finale at Mukai Farm & Garden on Vashon Island. The festival received 103 haiku from 12 countries around the world.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voice2-05242024/

OMB Updates Language on Ethnic Communities

The White House Office of Management and Budget took some long overdue steps this March to allow ethnic groups to better self-identify when the government collects information on race and ethnicity. It was the first change in rules around data collection in 27 years.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices1-05242024/

Japanese-Style Gardens Played Key Role in Issei Life

Japanese immigrants (Issei) to the Pacific Northwest initially found migratory work in our region’s seasonal, extractive economy, laboring on railroads, in lumber camps, Alaska canneries, and Pacific Northwest hop farms.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/featured-05242024/

2024 Shin Nikkei Jin Invitation Program

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will resume the Shin Nikkei Jin Program that has been suspended for the past several years due to the pandemic.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/news1-05242024/

Calendar from May 24th Print Issue
https://napost.com/2024/calendar-05242024/

Weaving Stories, Building Futures

This year, the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) hosted its U40 Summit in Seattle April 26-27. The theme was “Weaving Stories, Building Futures” which was an appropriate title for the approximately 60 young adult leaders from across the United States under 40 years old (thus “U40”).
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices2-05102024/

Dennis Yamash*ta Honored with Emperor’s Award

On April 16, 2024, Dennis Yamash*ta was honored with the Emperor of Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun with Rosette from the Japanese government.
Read more...
https://napost.com/2024/voices1-05102024/