New
Year’s Greetings
from JAA President Gary S. Moriwaki
As we approach our 105th anniversary, we note the passage of 2011
with sorrow, but also with a sense of hope. Our Executive Director,
Mrs. Michiyo Noda, and I were both in Tokyo on that terrible day,
March 11. We experienced firsthand the terror of the experience
but we also witnessed the tremendous dignity and perseverance
with which our Japanese family and friends responded to the triple
disasters of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdowns. In
keeping with JAA’s tradition of responding to tragedies such as
the 1995 Kobe earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake
and the tsunami in Indonesia. we mobilized our resources and worked
closely with the rest of the Japanese and Japanese American community
to raise funds for Japanese disaster relief.
To date JAA has raised $1 million, with about 60% disbursed to
various NGOs working on the ground in the Tohoku region. Emissaries
from JAA have visited places such as Ishinomaki, Kessenuma, Minami
Sanriku, Sendai, and Soma shi to meet with NGOs working in the
disaster area and to observe the progress these organizations
have made. We were all so inspired by the level of commitment
and wisdom the volunteers and staff of the NGOs exhibited, especially
among the young. Reports of over 1 million volunteers traveling
to Tohoku to give their time, resources and moral support gave
us hope for the future of Japan. We observed a growing recognition
of the importance of coordination and cooperation among government
representatives, private business and the non profit sector in
Japan.
We witnessed so many examples of hope and accomplishment. During
one trip to Ishinomaki we were fortunate to meet the owner of
a sophisticated fish processing plant who, encouraged by the volunteers
of Peace Boat, was on the verge of re-opening his plant and putting
people back to work. We heard the story of "Can chan"
who led an effort to clean hundreds of thousands of cans of processed
fish, which were then available for sustenance to so many in need.
And yet, there is so much more work to be done. We also saw mountains
of debris 100′ high; we saw stores that, although cleaned up and
ready for business, had no customers. We saw destruction from
horizon to horizon. Our belief is that long term recovery is dependent
on economic recovery, and that will be one of our focuses in the
months and years to come. Going forward, we will work with other
organizations in the New York area to commemorate the first anniversary
of March 11 and will strive to keep the needs of the people of
Tohoku on everyone’s minds.
In the meantime, the work of JAA goes on. Our Sakura Matsuri at
Flushing Meadow Corona Park, Senior and Health Weeks drew in a
record number of participants. We continue our scholarship programs,
baseball and golf events, and our concentration on aging issues.
Our fundraiser at the SONY Club featuring Jake Shimabukuro was
sold out. We hope that you will continue to support our efforts
and look forward to deepening our relationships with our friends
and members. We wish you a safe and healthy 2012. |
2012 Honorary Officers, Officers,
Directors and Chairpersons
Honorary Officers
Honorary Advisor:Ambassador Shigeyuki Hiroki
Consulate General of Japan in New York
Honorary Members:Seiei Ono – President of Japanese Chamber
of Commerce and Industry of New York
Takashi Kano – President of the Nippon Club
Life Trustees:Robert K. Emy, Jiro Murase, Seiichi Shimomura,
Advisor:Noboru Sato, Toshio Kiso
Honorary Director:Sadahei Kusumoto
Honorary President:Susan J. Onuma
Officers
President: Gary S. Moriwaki
Vice Presidents:
Julie Azuma, David Hiromura, Keiko Ishida, Makoto Iwahara, M.D., Yusuke Iwasaki,
Tsuneko Mitsunaka, Satoru Murase, Joe Oshima, Seiko Oshima, Suki Terada Ports, Koji Sato, Katsuo Takeda
Secretary: Koji Sato
Assistant Secretary: David Hiromura
Treasurer: Tetsuya Fujita
Assistant Treasurer: Kenichi Komeno
Directors
Masazumi Adachi, M.D., Yuzuru Anzai, M.D., Roy Ashikari, M.D.,
Julie Azuma, Michiko Ito Crampe, Ken Egawa, Robert K. Emy, M.D.,
Tetsuya Fujita, Tak Furumoto, Kumiko Hasegawa,
Keiichiro Hayashi, Shigeyuki Hirakawa, David Hiromura, Shunichi Homma, M.D.,
Koji Ichida, Saeko Ichinohe, Keiko Ishida, Mozart H. Ishizuka, Masaharu Isogai, Riki Ito,
Makoto Iwahara, M.D., Yusuke Iwasaki, Tsutomu Karino, Shuji Kato, Takayoshi Kato,
Toshio Kiso, Nobuko Kodama, Kenichi Komeno, Emiko Lindsay, Rev. Hoshu Matsubayashi,
Kuni Mikami, Tsuneko Mitsunaka, Gary S. Moriwaki, Jiro Murase, Satoru Murase,
Nobuko Cobi Narita, Michiyo Noda, James Nolan, Robert Norton, Shigetaka Ogihara,
Toru Okamoto, Hiroko Onoyama, Susan J. Onuma, Joe Oshima, Seiko Oshima, Suki Terada Ports,
Kamal Ramani, M.D., Yoko Sasaki, Noboru Sato, Koji Sato, Kinichi Shibutani, M.D.,
Matsuko Shibuya, Hiromi Shinya, M.D., Toshiteru Tada, Michi Tahara, Katsuo Takeda,
Setsuji Uematsu, Aileen Yamaguchi, Robert Yanagisawa M.D.
*New Director Mr. James Nolan: he has been a member of
JAA for over 20 years and has offered free Legal consultations
on Immigration law at JAA for over 15 years and helped many people
in our community. Born and raised in Chicago, he enjoyed living
in Japan for two years as a businessman for the Nikko Security
Company Co., Ltd. and has lived in New York City for more than
25 years with his wife and two bi-lingual children who are attending
NYC public high schools. In 2011 Mr. Nolan and his wife Yumiko
created Japan U.S. Creative, www.japanuscreatives.com , an on-line
community where people interested in Japan & America can find
one another and exchange information about what they are doing.
*Long time director Mr. Shigeaki Nakanishi resigned the
JAA’s board of directors
Committee Chairs:
Standing Committees
Planning & Finance: Tetsuya Fujita, David Hiromura, Susan J. Onuma
Membership-Corporate: Satoru Murase, Susan J. Onuma
Membership -Youth: Robert Norton, Kamal Ramani
JAA News: Koji Sato, Michiyo Noda
Archives: Julie Azuma, Michiyo Noda
Social Service: Seiko Oshima, Aileen Yamaguchi
Scholarship: Makoto Iwahara
House: JAA Office
Legal: Koji Sato
Special Committees
External Affairs: Susan Onuma, Katsuo Takeda
Audit: Toshio Kiso, Kumiko Hasegawa
Music Awards: Joe Oshima
Year End Dinner Dance: Masuo Ichida, Adam Moriwaki
Advisor: Seiko Oshima
Art Exhibition: Yoko Sasaki
Sports & Baseball Tournament: Shuji Kato
Memorial Day Service: Katsuo Takeda
Japanese Language: Nobuko Kodama
Charity Golf: David Hirohama, Michi Tahara
Bazaar/Flea Market: JAA Office
Sakura Matsuri at Flushing Meadow Corona Park:
Yusuke Iwasaki, Suki Terada Ports, Katsuo Takeda
Committee on Aging Issues: Susan Onuma
Business Women’s Committee: Keiko Ishida
Apple Kids: Hiroyuki Takenaga |
Donations
Thank you very
much for your support of JAA !
Thanks to Corporate Supporters
Ajinomoto USA, Inc. / All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
American Airlines / Bingham McCutchen Murase
Brother International Corp. / Canon U.S.A.
Cook Pine LLP / Eisai USA Foundation
Fujsankei Communications Int’l / IACE Travel
Japan Foundation of New York / ITO EN (North America) Inc.
Japan Airlines / JCCI Fund of Japanese Chamber of Commerce and
Industry of NY, Inc.
JFC International, Inc. / Kajima Foundation
Kawasaki Heavy Industries / Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America, Inc.
Mitsui USA Foundation / Mitsui & Co., (U.S.A.), Inc.
NHK Cosmomedia America, Inc. / NRS Logistics Inc.
Orient Corp. of America / Pasona NA, Inc.
Sojitz Corp. of America / Sony Corp. of America,
Sumitomo Corp. of America / Sunrise Mart
Tey Enterprises, Inc. / The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.
T.I.C. Group Tokio Marine Management / Toshiba America Inc.
Toyota Motor North America / Wine of Japan Import, Inc.
Report from Membership Committee as 2/6/12
Platinum ($2,000):
Jiro Murase
Satoru Murase
Gold ($1,000):
Robert K. Emy / Chieko Inagaki / Toshio Kiso
Gary S. Moriwaki/ Hiroko Onoyama/ Joe Oshima
Noboru Sato
Silver ($500):
Julie Azuma / Yuzuru Anzai / Kumiko Hasegawa
Hitoe Hayashida / David Hiromura / Keiko Ishida
Makoto Iwahara / Tsuneko Mitsunaka / Motoatsu Sakurai
Hiromi Shinya / Chris Tsutsui
Supporting ($300):
Tomoo Abe / Roy Ashikari / Michiko Ito Crampe
Ken Egawa / Junko Emy / Tetsuya Fujita,
Tomoko T. Hanway / Keiichiro Hayashi / Mozart H. Ishizuka
Masaharu Isogai / Riki Ito / Yusuke Iwasaki
Tsutomu Karino / Keiko Kato / Takayoshi Kato
Tokuo Kawamoto / Teresa Kiso / Yuichiro Kuwama
Alyce K. Matsumoto / Kuni Mikami / Tatsuji Namba
Masaki Noda / Michiyo Noda / Shigetaka Ogihara
Toru Okamoto / Fusako Ota / Yoko Sasaki
Koji Sato / Tamiko Sato / Yoshiko Schlit
Kinichi Shibutani / Toshiteru Tada / Michi Tahara
Raymond Taylor / Ayako Uchiyama / Setsuji Uematsu
Robert T. Yanagisawa / Seiko Oshima and anonymous |
FRANCIS YOSHITO SOGI
June 9, 1923-November 3, 2011
International Lawyer, Leader in the Japanese American Community
and Philanthropist.
Susan Onuma and Koji Sato attended the memorial service of former
JAA President, Francis Y. Sogi held at the Japanese Cultural Center
in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 11, 2011.
Born to Japanese immigrants in Kona, Hawaii, Francis Y. Sogi rose
to prominence as an attorney licensed to practice both in New
York and Japan. He served with the Military Intelligence Service
(MIS) of the United States Army and subsequently went to Japan
with MacArthur’s occupation forces from 1946-1947. Upon his separation
from service, he used the GI Bill to attend and graduate from
the University of Hawaii (B.S.) in 1949 and Fordham Law School
(J.D.) in 1952. On June 17, 1949, shortly after his arrival in
New York City, he married his high school classmate from Kealakekua,
Sarah Mukaida.
In the years after World War II he represented many of the Fortune
500 companies in Japan and Japanese companies in the United States
and throughout the world. Starting with Hill Betts & Nash,
he was also a partner of his own firm, Miller Montgomery Sogi
& Brady and spent the latter half of his career as a partner
with the law firm Kelley Drye and Warren, LLP where he had served
on the Executive Committee. His work took him on global travels
and he loved to say he had been around the world on business seven
times.
In 1989, Mr. Sogi was invited to the enthronement of Emperor Akihito
of Japan. Emperor Akihito later awarded Mr. Sogi the Order of
the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette, for his contribution
to improving the relationship of Japan and the United States in
the postwar era. In 1998, President Clinton invited the Sogis
to attend the formal State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Obuchi’s
visit to Washington.
In 2004, Mr. Sogi published his memoirs, "Riding The Kona
Wind".
He was a generous philanthropist and an active member of the Japanese
and Asian American community. In addition to JAA (where he served
on the board and as President), Mr. Sogi contributed to many organizations
and was one of the founding board members of the Asian American
Federation of New York and trustee of the Japanese American National
Museum in Los Angeles. He was also a Commissioner of the Japan
– U.S. Friendship Commission, President of the Pan American Nikkei
Association and served on the school board and was President of
the Pocantico Hills Elementary School District.
Mr. Sogi is survived by his wife of 62 years, Sarah Makiko Sogi;
son, Jun James Sogi and his wife Sarah Smith; grandchildren Kimberly
Makiko Sogi and Kenneth Tadashi Sogi and brother, Harold Isamu
Sogi. |
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