Keiko Fukuda
@fukudaKeiko Fukuda was born in Oita, Japan. After graduating from International Christian University, she worked for a publishing company. Fukuda moved to the United States in 1992 where she became the chief editor of a Japanese community magazine. In 2003, Fukuda started working as a freelance writer. She currently writes articles for both Japanese and U.S. magazines with a focus on interviews. Fukuda is the co-author of Nihon ni umarete (“Born in Japan”) published by Hankyu Communications. Website: https://angeleno.net
Updated July 2020
Stories from This Author
Part 3: The North American Post, first published in 1902, is the oldest Japanese newspaper still in existence in the United States
Sept. 13, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
90% of the pages are in English The oldest Japanese newspaper in America is The North American Post, based in Seattle, Washington. However, when it was first published, its name was The North American Times, and its first publication dates back to 1902. The paper was established in Seattle, where the Japanese community has long been formed, by its first publisher, Kiyoshi Kumamoto, and several other first-generation Japanese. Until the war, the paper was a daily Japanese-language paper with a …
Part 2: Weekly NY Life, launched in 2004 – a free newspaper that continues to provide original reporting
Aug. 30, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
As long as there are readers Weekly NY Life, a Japanese publication with a circulation of 20,000 copies on the East Coast of the United States, mainly in New York, was launched in 2004. People who have lived in the United States for a long time may be surprised that the paper has been around for less than 20 years. I am one of them. The reason is that both the publisher and CEO of the magazine, Ryoichi Miura, and …
The 1st issue: Lighthouse, launched in 1989, a lifestyle magazine for Japanese people living in the US
Aug. 16, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
To solve the reader's problems I moved to the United States in 1992. I remember that the Japanese print media published in Los Angeles, where I still live, at that time were "Rafu Shimpo," "Gateway USA," "US Japan Business News," "TV FAN," "Bridge USA," and "Lighthouse." I joined "Lighthouse" six months after moving to the United States and worked there as an editor for 11 years until I went independent. For me, Japanese media in the United States are a …
Yoshiyasu Fujii traveled to the United States in 1989 and is spreading Japanese calligraphy and spirit in America.
July 5, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
Building on the foundations Fujii Yoshiyasu, who teaches calligraphy and has classes in Seattle, Washington, Portland, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, moved to the United States in 1989. He recalls that his purpose at the time was to be a bag carrier for his teacher, Akashi Shunpo, who was to teach at the University of Washington and the University of Michigan. In 1991, in response to a request to open a permanent classroom not only at universities but also in the …
Actor Eiji Inoue moved to the US in 1992 with the goal of winning an Academy Award
June 21, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
After retiring from teaching, he went to Hollywood. Your life is made up of choices, decisions, and actions. If you know what kind of person you want to be and what makes you happy, then you can move in that direction. Eiji Inoue, a 56-year-old Japanese actor with 30 years of experience in Hollywood, wanted to become an actor who could express his acting skills to the world. Following his heart, he left his stable job as a teacher and …
Moved to the US in 1991 and lives in both Japan and the US - Akiko Shimizu
June 2, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
When I went to the US, I was determined to never return to Japan. Akiko Shimizu is a feng shui consultant who has been active in the US and Japan since the 1990s. Her original job was in IT. After working in Germany from Japan, she has been living in the US since 1991. However, she now lives mainly in Japan, occasionally returning to her home in the suburbs of Los Angeles. She first came to the US at the …
Living in Kyoto after 40 years in the US - Lana Sofer
May 17, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
The reason for traveling back and forth between Japan and the U.S. was the change in the U.S. political situation Lana Mariko Sofer came to the United States in 1975. Based in Los Angeles, Lana has been involved for many years in the production of subtitles and dubbing for movies mainly shown in airplanes. Since she lives close to my house, we would occasionally have lunch together, but it was through social media that I learned that she also had …
Scott Tsumura, the legendary game creator who moved to the US in 1988
April 28, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
Initially, he plans to stay in the U.S. for one year. When I was looking for active seniors for a magazine project, a friend living in Seattle introduced me to Scott Tsumura, saying, "I know a senior who is as active as you can get, and I respect him." I'm not familiar with games, so I didn't know who Scott was, but when I searched his name, I found out that he is a legendary creator in the gaming world, …
Jun Yoneda, working to promote Japanese vegetables in the United States
March 22, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
The Great East Japan Earthquake was a turning point Jun Yoneda is the CEO of Food's Style USA, which distributes Santouka Ramen in the United States. I remember that I received a sudden contact from him around spring 2020. He had read an article I had written in Discover Nikkei about a Japanese vegetable farm in Southern California and had asked for the farm's contact information. This led to us interacting on social media. Then, in February 2021, I saw …
Charanporan Association, run by the senior generation Shin-Issei
March 8, 2021 • Keiko Fukuda
"I have to do something." One day, an acquaintance of mine, Shinya Miyata, a former president of an advertising agency, posted on social media about a Japanese-language publication aimed at seniors. It was the newsletter "Kawaraban" of the "Charan Poran no Kai," an organization he is a member of, which was founded by a core group of new generation seniors living mainly in Los Angeles. When I looked at the online version, I found it to be very rich in …
