Koji Steven Sakai

Gina Hiraizumi is one of the hardest working people in Hollywood. I’ve been a big fan of her from afar but recently we were both invited to Japan for a conference and I found out that not only is she a super talented actor/singer, but also one of the most down to earth and funny people I know.

Gina has been in countless television shows, sung the national anthem all around the country, and is currently working on her first music album.

I sat down with Gina for a few moments and asked her 8Questions:

Tell us a ...

Bill Watanabe, for the past 30 years, has been the Executive Director of the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), a multipurpose social welfare agency in the Little Tokyo district in downtown Los Angeles. Starting as a one-person office, Bill, together with the Board of Directors, has developed a comprehensive program of social services, housing and community development activities, with a combined staff of over 150 employees and hundreds of volunteers.

Bill received his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal State Northridge. In 1972, he made a career change and received his Masters in Social Work from UCLA and has ...

My father died in my early twenties. His death devastated me in ways that I am still dealing with today—more than 13 years later. At his funeral, I read his eulogy and told him how much I loved/admired him but the hardest part of it all was that he would never get to hear my letter. I don’t want to make that same mistake with my mother, so this is my attempt to write her eulogy while she can still appreciate it.

My mother is my hero. I never accepted the whole passive Asian woman stereotype because ...

As public programs manager at the Japanese American National Museum, I receive a lot of books about the Japanese American experience. But my favorite book that I have received so far was Jamie Ford’s debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

The book is about a budding relationship between a Japanese American girl and a Chinese American boy in Seattle that spans from the tumultuous times of World War II to present day.

As of this writing, the book is #22 on the New York Times Best Sellers list for paperback trade fiction. As Asian Americans ...

One of the people I met on my recent trip to Japan was Akira Uchimura, the Executive Director of the Nikkei Youth Network. He brought together a whole bunch of Nikkei (people of Japanese descent) from all over the world for a conference about Nikkei issues. Being one of the most interesting people I know, I sat down with Akira for a few minutes and got to know him better. These are the eight questions I decided to ask him:

Tell us where you are from and a little about yourself…

My name is Akira Uchimura, my father is Japanese ...