Contemporary Issues Facing Japanese American Communities
Today, a number of challenges face the Japanese American communities in the United States. At the core of these challenges is the fact that Japanese American communities have become increasingly complex, dispersed and diverse. No longer can we neatly define the Japanese American community by generations – Issei, Nisei, Sansei -- who share common beliefs and historical experiences. Previous definitions of what constitutes a “Japanese American” now seem totally inadequate as one-out-of-three Japanese American is of mixed ethnic or racial heritage, and the new post-WWII immigration of “Shin Issei,” or “New Issei” born in Japan and their American-born Nisei children, …