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JAA Japan Disaster Relief Fund Report from President Gary S. Moriwaki On September 16 we spent a day in Miyagi prefecture. We arrived in Sendai early in the morning via the Shinkansen and then traveled by bus one hour east to Ishinomaki. As noted in an earlier report, Sendai is still experiencing an economic boom, with people shopping, restaurants bustling and the population going about its business. However, Ishinomaki and a neighboring town, Onagawa, still appear pretty devastated. While there, we met with representatives of Peace Boat, whom we have supported in the past, and the local staff of Americares, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. On March 10, 2011, Ishinomaki had a population of 150,000. Now there are 120,000 and 1,000 are leaving every month. Onagawa had 12,500 people; now there are less than 7,500 and the main employer, a nuclear power plant, has been shut down since spring 2011. Unless economic revitalization happens quickly, many of these coastal towns will be hollowed out and become ghost towns. In Tokyo we met with our friends from JEN/Japan Platform and Beyond Tomorrow. While all of the NGO representatives expressed frustration at the slow pace of progress, they remained hopeful for a revitalization of the area. At JAA we continue to work with our partners on the ground and continue to meet with other NGOs who have sustainable programs that can be leveraged and scaled to make the greatest possible impact in Tohoku. To this end, on October 1 under the auspices of Morgan Stanley and MUFG, we held the JAA Inaugural Japan Rising Golf Tournament. The $200,000 that we netted with the help of numerous corporate and individual sponsors will go towards the recovery efforts in Tohoku. Together with our colleagues at the Consul General, Japan Society, JMSA, Americares, the US Japan Council, JA Lions Club, JCCI, Nippon Club, JAJA, JACL, and many other organizations, we want to let our friends and family in Tohoku know that they are not forgotten.
Report from Mr. Yusuke Iwasaki, JAA Vice President I visited Iwate prefecture in October, which was 15 years since my last trip to Japan. The purpose of my visit was to see with my own eyes if the needs of Earth Quake stricken area had changed with the passing of time and to make sure our support was adequately addressing the needs of the stricken area. I visited Miyako, Otsuchi, Kamaishi, Rikuzentakada and Ofunato and found these areas still had devastated living conditions even with the continuing recovery effort by the people. I saw huge buildings had been abandoned. Only1/4 of the debris had been cleaned. Sea water pooled here and there water from the ground filled the holes. The idea of land fill is being planned but the affected area is too vast to begin with. There is no hopeful sign to the end of debris clearing, filling in land and rebuilding of the breakwater barriers. The young people are even starting to feel despair. Rebuilding work would give more jobs and be a source of income for the people in the area but the gap between administration and residents seems wide. The support from New York must be in accordance with the changing needs. I think that mental health support is also necessary. The people are also longing to have "Place where they can relax". The mayor of Ofunato told me of their plan to send young students abroad to learn about Town Planning. |
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| Report of the 6th Senior Week | |||||||||||||
 (l-r) Amb. & Madame Hiroki with Joe Kasuga, Ayako Uchiyama, Michi Kobi, Noboru Sato, Yoshie Fujita, Haruo Ito, Kikue valbuena, Kiyoko Okajima |
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The 6th Annual Senior Week was held from Sept. 13th to Sept. 23rd, 2012 at JAA Hall. This event was developed by the JAA Committee on Aging Issues and co-sponsored by JAMSNET (Japanese Medical Support Network) with support from the Consulate General of Japan in New York. Senior Week was a huge success. The response from those who attended was very enthusiastic and positive. Over 60 programs and 1,600 persons from the Japanese and Japanese American community attended and many came to more than one event.
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| The 19th JAA Charity Golf Tournament | |||||||||||||
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Our Annual Charity Golf Tournament was held on Sept. 17, 2012 at Knoll Country Club in NJ with 82 eager players. At 12:15pm, the tournament started under the new Peoria Rules. , Mr. Osamu Yada won the tournament. He received JAA Trophy from Honorary President Susan Onuma and ANA Business Class Air Ticket from Mr. Haruo Takamaru, sales manager of ANA. Mr. Yasuo Kamihara won the Hole in One Award cash $10,000 at hole #3 donated by Waive 54. Champion: Mr. Osamu Yada, Trophy Cup and Business class ticket NY/Tokyo round-trip from ANA The Raffle raised $4,500.00. Donations to this Tournament received from individuals and corporations are listed in the below. Members of the Golf Committee are: David Hiromura, |
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JAA Committee on Aging Issues Dr. Koichi Nakamoto (Tokyo JAMSNET, Consul of General in Canada), Ms. Satoko Watanabe (Social worker) and Mr. Kiyoshi Denpo (Momiji Health Care, Toronto, Canada) talked about their activities to over 60 people on Oct. 27, 2012 at JAA Hall. Dr. Nakamoto’s topics included the health situations of Japanese abroad, the difference between the medical system in Japan, Canada and U.S. in and the role of JAMSNET. Ms. Watanabe talked about Japanese Bostonians Support a 24hrs hotline in Boston. In Toronto, Mr. Denpo, community programs coordinator of Momiji Health Care Society talked on aging issues in Toronto where 18.2% of Japanese and Japanese Canadian are over 65 years of age. There are two nursing homes associated with Mr. Denpo’s Momiji Health Program to accommodate the needs of the Japanese Canadian seniors. The Canadian government subsidizes part of the expenses and is less expensive compared to NYC senior residence. |
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JAA Business Women’s’ Committee The meeting was held on August 23th with an International Journalist, Mr. Tadao Uchida who is also a professor at Nagoya University for Foreign Studies. He talked about a wide range of topics including Japanese politics, Nuclear plants and the US military base in Okinawa before an attentive audience of 100 at JAA hall. Ms. Tamiko Sadamatsu was invited to the meeting on October 19th. She was a house wife until the age of 45 when she decided to open the store "Kamakura" selling affordable shirts. Her story as an entrepreneur was well received by the 80 attendants. Her store in NY is located on 47th Street & Madison Ave. |
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2012 Fall Workshop was held on October 20th & 21st with two guests (Ms. Emiko Kurita, Ms. Reiko Sawane) from the Association for Japanese- Language Teaching (AJALT). 50 people attended. |
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 Apple Kids
"Playing with parents" was held on 10/12. A "Halloween Party" was held on 10/26. The next play date will be on 11/16 & 30. |
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| JAA Annual Grand Bazaar: was held on Saturday, November 3rd. The report will be in the next issue.
JAA 105th Anniversary Gala Dinner will be held on November 17th at the Apella (450 E 29th Street, 2nd Fl.) to raise much needed funds for the future of JAA. Our guest speaker is the Honorable Senator Daniel K. Inouye. Join us to celebrate his 88 years Beiju birthday! Annual Year End Dance will be held on December 7th (Fri.) at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Hotel. |
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| Members News
Congratulations! Ms. Seiko Oshima (Vice President and Chairperson of JAA Social Service) has received The Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays. For more than 25 years, she was the New York Branch President of PPSEAWA of the United Nations. More detail will be in the next issue. |
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| Emergency Medical Facilities
There are several Walk-Ins (no appointments necessary) for treatment in case of emergency. Mt. Sinai Medical Center Urgent Care Facility Emergency Medical Care |
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Donation Special thanks to the following Sponsors of 19th JAA Charity Golf Tournament Donation to JAA Individual Special Thanks to the following supporters of Inaugural |
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Obituary Mrs. Wakako Yeager passed away on August 10th at age 87. Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani passed away on Sunday October 21, 2012. He was 92 years old. His life was the subject of the documentary film, The Cats of Mirikitani, produced by Linda Hattendorf and Masa Yoshikawa. He was a second cousin of the Poet-Laureate of San Francisco, Janice Mirikitani. |
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Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani passed away on Sunday October 21, 2012. He was 92 years old. His life was the subject of the documentary film, The Cats of Mirikitani, produced by Linda Hattendorf and Masa Yoshikawa. He was a second cousin of the Poet-Laureate of San Francisco, Janice Mirikitani. He was born on June 15, 1920 in Sacramento California to Ichitaro Mirikitani and Mito (Ochiai) Mirikitani, and raised in Hiroshima Japan. In Japan he studied with renowned artists Gyokudo Kawai and Buzan Kimora. He returned to the United States in his late teens to pursue his career as an artist, seeking to blend the best qualities of both east and west. However, in 1942, he was sent to the Tule Lake Relocation Center in northern California, and spent nearly 4 years there in confinement due to Executive Order 9066. While incarcerated, he renounced his their US Citizenship in protest. After the war ended, he was held at the INS camp Crystal City in Texas, and worked under "relaxed internment" at Seabrook Farms in Bridgeton New Jersey. It took more than a decade for ACLU lawyer Wayne Collins to convince the courts that Mirikitani and other citizens had renounced their citizenship "under duress" and in 1959 Mirikitani’s US citizenship was finally restored. In the early 1950’s he made his way to New York City to attempt to resume his art career. He was given shelter at the New York Buddhist Church. He became a cook, and traveled the east coast working in country clubs, hotels and summer camps. Eventually he became a live-in cook on Park Avenue. When his employer passed away in the late 1980’s, Mirikitani became homeless and sold his art on street corners in Greenwich Village and Soho to survive. In 2001, he was befriended by filmmaker Linda Hattendorf who helped him find housing at The Village at 46&10 in Manhattan, where he lived happily for the last 10 years of his life. All his life, he remained devoted to making art. He was known in particular for his images of cats. |
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JAA Japanese Language Committee Workshop 
Ambassador Shinichi Nishimiya, who was the former Consul General in New York suddenly passed away in Tokyo on September 16th at the age of 60. Nishimiya was set to assume his duties in Beijing after being appointed Ambassador to China three days prior to his collapse. He appeared to be exhausted after a recent series of overseas trips earlier this month, including preparations for a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vladivostok, Russia, a Foreign Ministry official said. The government tapped Nishimiya, a former deputy foreign minister of economic affairs, in an effort to mend ties with China that have soured due to a territorial dispute. He entered the ministry in 1976 and had since served in such posts as director general of its North American Affairs Bureau and Consul General in New York. He was a good friend and supporter of JAA and the Japanese/Japanese American community of New York.
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