Committees
NAJC committees bring together community leaders from across the nation to promote Japanese Canadian culture, celebrate our shared history, uplift artists, and advocate for community voices across Canada.
Arts, Culture, and Education (ACE)
Arts Culture and Education works to create partnerships and projects which are national in scope. It is separate from Endowment Fund supported projects, for which the NAJC has an envelope.
In its inaugural year, ACE partnered with the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto to create the Japanese Canadian Artists Directory, japanesecanadianartists.com. Funded by the NAJC with the majority of funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Aiko Suzuki inspired project has been a success for pioneering artists, established arts professionals, and emerging artists.
ACE produced a teacher resources workshop in Words and Media Matter: Teaching Japanese Canadian Internment Today, and two sets of lesson plans around the hastingspark1942.ca website. Future projects include digital media projects around Redress, and a translation of the Artists Directory.
Japanese Canadian Young Leaders (JCYL)
Created in 2014 at the Japanese Canadian Young Leaders Conference in Vancouver, BC, the Young Leaders Committee is comprised of young Japanese Canadians from across our country who are active and engaged young leaders in their respective communities. Committee Members bring a rich and diverse set of perspectives to the work of the Committee, reflecting the wide range of Members’ backgrounds. The Young Leaders Committee operates under the National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC), and is responsible for:
- Acting as the national voice of young people in Japanese Canadian communities
- Engaging and connecting young people in Japanese Canadian communities across Canada
- Proposing recommendations to the NAJC National Executive Board on programming, events, and annual budget.
Human Rights Committee (HRC)
The NAJC’s Human Rights Committee works to promote awareness and action around human rights issues affecting Japanese Canadians and broader Canadian society. The Committee develops resources, programs, and initiatives to educate community members about human rights, help recognize discrimination or unfair treatment, and support appropriate responses.
Key activities include:
- Producing educational materials, such as the Human Rights Guide for Japanese Canadians (English and Japanese), adapted for both newcomers and the established community;
- Raising awareness of human rights violations and advocating for equity and fairness;
- Facilitating connections through the Human Rights Network, which allows members to discuss issues, share experiences, and collaborate on initiatives.
Through these efforts, the Committee continues the NAJC’s historic commitment to vigilance, advocacy, and education following the Redress Settlement, ensuring the community remains informed and empowered in defending human rights.
Japanese New Immigrant Committee (JNIC)
In May 2022, the NAJC established the Japanese New Immigrants Committee (JNIC) with the following purposes:
- Endeavor to increase the involvement of Japanese new immigrants in NAJC activities and to create a network that brings the Japanese Canadian community and the Japanese new immigrant community together for mutual benefit.
- Promote human rights and social justice for Japanese newcomers and all Canadians, and provide opportunities for Japanese newcomers to learn about the history of Japanese Canadians.
- Promote cultural exchanges between Japanese new immigrants and Japanese Canadians.
- Expand social services in Japanese language to Japanese new immigrants across Canada.
Since then, the JNIC has offered various programs for new Japanese immigrants.
Heritage Committee
The NAJC Heritage Committee coordinates work with the NAJC’s National Executive Board to aid the Japanese Canadian community in the preservation, maintenance and dissemination of Japanese Canadian history and to ensure fair and unbiased representation of Japanese Canadian history.
The Heritage Committee’s areas of focus include the following:
1. Aiding community efforts to record and preserve archival materials, through expertise, contacts, and experience;
2. Maintaining vigilance over interpretations of Japanese Canadian histories in various texts, museum displays, commemorative programs and events; and intervening when required;
3. Encourage and support the development of educational activities and resources on Japanese Canadian history and heritage and to aid in its dissemination.
