Memorial Day

May 30th

A Memorial Day service was held for Nikkei veterans at the Boyle Heights Green Cemetery.

At the ceremony they read war time letters that World War II and other soldiers had written to their families before they died. Visitors quietly listened to the soldiers’ thoughts about their families.

After the letters were read, Nikkei veterans and representatives took turns placing memorial flowers at the foot of the 442nd monument. Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights was used by the Nikkei community since before World War II, but since the war it's been there that many Nikkei soldier were laid to rest.

Help! Japan! 311 Charity Culture Festival

Usually, it would cost about $200 to be fitted in a kimono by a professional, but today it only costs $10.

That's because this was in an effort to collect donations for the Japan relief efforts by students and teachers from a private high school in Torrance. This event was full of ideas thought up by the students. Printers and adorable stuffed animals were sold at the flea market area.

These students have been working to raise funds from the day the earthquake happened on March 11th until now and this event marked the culmination of their efforts. The group raised a total of $1,853 in donations and will be sent to Japan through the Japanese Consulate General's office.

Peace Run 2011

There is more than 5,000 km to travel from coast to coast in the United States. Yet there is a man in his 50's who plans to tackle that distance...on foot. Takashige Katsuhiko, a retired English teacher who started the “Peace Run” project in which he runs for the hope of peace. Last year he ran across the Japanese islands from Hokkaido to Okinawa. At 8 in the morning, his friends watched him off as he started his journey towards his destination in New York. Takashige has a goal of running 50 to 60km per day until he reaches New York.

Nissan Child Seat Demonstration

On May 24th, Nissan held a demonstration workshop on the proper usage of child safety seats. At the workshop, it was explained that 90% of all fatal accidents involving child safety seats were fatal because the seats were used improperly. A police officer was there to demonstrate the proper installation of a child seat. In Los Angeles, children 6 year old and under or weighing less than 27kg are required to be placed in a safety seat by law. They say that in order to protect the lives of our little ones, adults need to have the proper knowledge.

Japanese Speech Contest

A Japanese Speech Contest was held for American high school students who have a fascination with Japanese culture.

This is the 8th year the Japanese Language Scholarship Foundation Aurora has organized this contest. Fourteen speech contest winners from across the United States gathered to demonstrate a high level of Japanese-language ability.

This year's winner was Shin Yon Kim, who gave a highly expressive speech about the differences she noticed in Korean and Japanese “keigo” through watching Korean dramas in Japanese.

For winning the contest, Kim won $1,000 scholarship and a chance to represent the United States in the upcoming speech contest that will be held in Tokyo this summer.