The National Association of Japanese Canadians’ Heritage Committee would like to announce the heritage committee survey 2015. The objective is to gain a better understanding of the national heritage situation and establish heritage-related contacts. The survey will be available online from November to December 2015. We encourage all member organizations, supporting member organizations, and other...
Did we catch your attention? Perhaps disappointing to some, the NAJC is not launching into the dating business. However, we do want to bring your attention to a matter of importance to the Japanese Canadian community. Individuals of Asian descent may find it difficult to locate a potentially life-saving stem cell donor should health issues...Continue reading
by Terry Watada We all observe customs and traditions no matter our background. They define us, they link us together, they identify us. Pity is the individual who rejects them because they are ashamed of their upbringing, their culture, their identity. “I’m just a Canadian” is a telltale sign of a lack of insight. Oddly...Continue reading
November 2015 by Lillian Nakamura Maguire, Chair, Constitution & Resolutions Committee The National Council of the National Association of Japanese Canadians met in Victoria and approved over 100 changes to the Bylaws of the NAJC. The majority of the changes included clarification of the language and editing, but there were some changes that were recommended...
by Lillian Nakamura Maguire As a 13 year old school girl – A-bomb struck Children cried for their mothers and begged for mercy Rags hung from skeletons zombie-like figures drifted past her thirsty, wandering souls, lost forever A peace activist for life. Messengers of Peace We never hear much about making peace. Seems to always...Continue reading
Awarded to York University Professor Norio Ota by Bev Ohashi, President of NEB Norio Ota has been involved in university education focusing on Japanese Language and Culture instruction in Canada, Japan, United States, Australia, and Vietnam. In promoting post-secondary education through exchange programs, partnerships have been established with Meiji University, Dokkyo University, Keio University, Waseda...Continue reading
by Kevin Okabe This year’s National Association of Japanese Canadian’s (NAJC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) was hosted by the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society. Victoria had never acted as host for the NAJC AGM (at least since the post-war days), so it is really tremendous to see such a small community as Victoria band together to...Continue reading
by Terry Watada When parents are lost, they tend to fall into myth; that is, you as their child idealize them. So it was I wanted to believe that I inherited my mother’s laugh, her welcoming nature, her popularity. From my father, I hoped I received his strength, his wisdom and his sense of integrity....Continue reading
Valerie Hoshizaki Nordin, NEB Director, Chair of Membership Committee To quote a movie critic “what do you know for sure?” ‘I know for sure’ I am a part of a large hapa family. At the time of the evacuation, my father Thomas Yasuo Hoshizaki who was born in 1919 in Pitt Meadows, BC was given...Continue reading