Keiko Fukuda
@fukudaAfter graduating from International Christian University, Keiko Fukuda worked at a publishing company for an information magazine in Tokyo and moved to the U.S. in 1992. She served as Editor-in-Chief of a Japanese information magazine in Los Angeles until 2003 and transitioned to freelance work that same year. She conducted interviews with various people and reported on topics such as education in the U.S. and Japanese food culture. In 2024, she relocated her base to her hometown of Oita and has continued her reporting and writing online. Website: https://angeleno.net
Updated October 2024
Stories from This Author
The Connection between Morinaga＆Co., Ltd. and America: An Interview with Keita Morinaga, Great-grandson of the Company Founder
Jan. 27, 2025 • Keiko Fukuda
From Angel Pie to Hi-Chew Hearing the name of Morinaga & Co., Ltd will likely conjure images of Koeda or Dars to many Japanese; but in the U.S., many think of Hi-Chew instead. As for myself, born in Japan in the 1960s, the products that represent Morinaga are Angel Pie and Milk Caramel. I recall being particularly struck by the unique marshmallow and chocolate combination of Angel Pie. I still remember how impressed my young self was to discover such …
Kayo Imamura, a San Diego-based family therapist who moved to the United States in 2004
Dec. 4, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
I had no desire to go to America and my English was not good. Kayo Imamura, a family and marriage counseling therapist based in San Diego, originally came to the United States in 2004 to marry a U.S. military man. “When I was in Japan, a friend of mine got engaged to a US soldier, and, thanks to their relationship, I met her fiance’s friend.. I wasn't very good at English, and I didn't have any particular desire to go …
Inspirational Speaker Mari Haruno in Toronto, Canada
Nov. 1, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
“I just can’t give up” In 2024, Mari Haruno, originally from Tokyo and currently residing in Toronto, Canada, participated in North America’s biggest speech contest alongside native English speakers and won the bronze medal (hereafter referred to as Haru-san). She describes her profession as a “special educator,” “writer,” and “inspirational speaker” and at the same time works as a “study abroad expert” at a study abroad agency that supports international students coming to Canada. Her self-introduction started with the “melon …
Yu Ooka, a jazz guitarist and shamisen player who moved to the United States in 2004
Oct. 15, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
"We have to go to the real thing." Jazz guitarist Yu Ooka performed at the pregame for the Dodgers vs. Giants game at Dodgers Stadium in July 2024. Originally from Osaka, Yu graduated from a music school in Kobe and moved to Los Angeles alone at the age of 20. "I was already in Los Angeles six months after graduating. I came to America simply because I felt that I had to go to the home of jazz, blues and …
Working to nurture a new generation—Nova Vita Foundation
Sept. 25, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Leadership for kids Based in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, there is an organization that works on community activities with the aim of nurturing local high school students. Its name is Nova Vita Foundation (commonly known as Nova Vita). Many of the students who are members of this organization, whose name means "New Life" in Latin, are Japanese-Americans whose parents have roots in Japan. Nova Vita was founded in December 2019, but was forced to suspend operations due to …
Kyoko Oda Was Born in the Tule Lake Concentration Camp
Sept. 5, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Father's camp diary published as book The Camp Wall, scheduled for completion in 2026 in Columbia Park in Torrance, is a memorial that will inscribe the names of all those who were interned in internment camps across the United States during World War II. Kyoko Oda, whom I met while covering the Camp Wall project, was born in Tule Lake Internment Camp in May 1945, near the end of the war. Kyoko's father, Tatsuo, was a second-generation Japanese American from …
Interview with people involved in the "Camp Wall" that commemorates the 140,000 victims of the Japanese internment camps
Aug. 25, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Aiming for completion in February 2026 It is a widely known historical fact that many Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps across the U.S. during World War II. However, while there are memorials for each camp, I learned for the first time through my reporting on "Camp Wall" that there is still no monument listing the names of the 140,000 people who were interned in the 10 camps. The Camp Wall, which will be built as …
Moved to Australia in 2002 - Toshiko Nihei
Aug. 7, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Unforgivable feelings towards war An online interview with Toshiko Nihei, who moved to the Gold Coast from Japan, was made possible through an introduction from a friend who had moved there a few years ago. Toshiko moved to the Gold Coast from Kanagawa Prefecture with her husband 22 years ago in 2002. She moved there, and even after her husband passed away in 2011, she continues to live in the Gold Coast with her eldest daughter, Yukiko. First, I asked …
Kobe Shimada, a film director who moved to the United States in 1999
July 16, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
When I was 25, I suddenly decided to go abroad. I met Kobe at a Japanese company's founding anniversary event held in Laguna Beach, California in May 2024. He was not a guest, but was there as a videographer filming the event. I participated as the event coordinator, and from our discussion about the program that day, I immediately had the impression that he was an "easy-to-communicate videographer." I imagined that he was a staff member of a Japanese TV …
Ai Fujimoto moved to the United States in 2011 with the goal of "bringing miso to the everyday American dining table."
April 29, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Passion for fermentation I met Ai Fujimoto, who runs a handmade miso business in downtown Los Angeles, through a mutual acquaintance. When we first met, I rudely asked her if she had received any investment from a Japanese food trading company. She replied, "No, no, I haven't received any investment from anywhere. I've been managing my finances by allocating part of my monthly salary (as an in-house interpreter) to the miso business. Also, a few years ago, after getting a …
Discover Nikkei Updates
Saturday, June 7 at 3 p.m. PDT
Join us in-person or virtually to celebrate the winners of the Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest!