Keiko Fukuda
@fukudaKeiko Fukuda was born in Oita, Japan. After graduating from International Christian University, she worked for a publishing company. Fukuda moved to the United States in 1992 where she became the chief editor of a Japanese community magazine. In 2003, Fukuda started working as a freelance writer. She currently writes articles for both Japanese and U.S. magazines with a focus on interviews. Fukuda is the co-author of Nihon ni umarete (“Born in Japan”) published by Hankyu Communications. Website: https://angeleno.net
Updated July 2020
Stories from This Author
Toshi Sato, the world's best Mercedes Benz salesman who moved to the US in 1996
April 15, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
A frog jumping out of a well Many of the Japanese who come to America, the so-called Shin-Issei, end up working for Japanese companies, perhaps because of the language barrier. However, Toshi Sato, who works for Mercedes-Benz in Long Beach and is the "world's best Mercedes-Benz salesman," says that not only are the majority of his customers non-Japanese, but there are no other Japanese salespeople in the Mercedes-Benz industry. "When I started selling Mercedes Benz here in 2005, I became …
Kazue Kitagakido, president of the Southern California Prefectural Association, who came to the United States in 1984 and is currently working on raising funds for her hometown, Noto.
April 3, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
There was no overseas option Just after the start of 2024, a big earthquake struck Japan. The affected area was Ishikawa Prefecture. Even here in Southern California, far away, a donation campaign is underway to send to the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The person at the center of this effort is Kazue Kitagakido, the president of the Ishikawa Prefectural Association and the Southern California Prefectural Association Council, which brings together the prefectural associations in Southern California. Kitagakido is …
Kimiko Fujita, a community leader who connects Japanese-Americans with the new Issei
March 25, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
"Maybe it's a good fit overseas." Kimiko Fujita has two faces. She is the business owner who has run a music school in the United States for 35 years, and the other face is a community leader in the Japanese American community, involved in the activities of numerous organizations, including the Orange County Japanese American Association, where she volunteered for 30 years and served as president for 10 years until 2023. Fujita came to the United States in 1987. She …
CPA and lawyer Hikaru Fujimoto, who moved to the U.S. in 1985 and lives in Chicago
March 4, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Pushed by his father to study in the US I got to know Hikaru Fujimoto, a CPA based in Chicago, when I interviewed him about advice on bank accounts and other accounting matters for returnees. Fujimoto's explanations were concise and clear, and I intuitively felt that there must be many Japanese people living in the United States who would like to seek advice from an accountant like him. I approached him with the motivation of wanting to interview Fujimoto himself, …
Hiroshi Kawaguchi, a former Self-Defense Forces officer working to popularize physical education in America
Feb. 19, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
I can't protect Japan if I stay in Japan - In 2011, I left the Self-Defense Forces and volunteered to join the U.S. military When I heard from an acquaintance of mine, who serves as the PTA president at a local school in Orange County, that "We are preparing to hold a half-day sports day at our school. The person in charge is a Japanese former member of the Self-Defense Forces," I suddenly became interested. I wanted to know why …
Megumi Mizutani, who connects the sister city relationship between California and Japan
Feb. 5, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
Japanese people who "don't know about Japan" In October 2023, when I participated in a workshop organized by the California-Japan Sister Cities Network at the Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles as a member of the Los Angeles-Nagoya Sister City Committee, I had the opportunity to meet people from various cities in California who are working on exchanges with Japanese sister cities. I also met Megumi Mizutani, president of the California-Japan Sister Cities Network, whose role is to promote …
Bringing seaweed candy to the global market — New York-born, Japan-raised Alyssa Miki
Jan. 8, 2024 • Keiko Fukuda
"Bringing the best of Japan to the world" At an event held at the official residence of the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles, Miki Alyssa, founder and CEO of Cashi Cake Inc., set up a booth selling candies made from seaweed and gave a presentation on the product. I was attracted not only by the gorgeous, jewel-like appearance of the product, but also by Miki herself, who explained in clear English about the healthy sweets, saying that they …
Studying abroad, winning permanent residency, graduating from a US university, getting a job in Japan — Chansu, a YouTuber living in Hawaii
Dec. 20, 2023 • Keiko Fukuda
Moved to the US to become a pilot I've been watching the videos of Chansuu, who continues to share information about Hawaii as a YouTuber, for a long time, but suddenly, his true value was shown in an episode in which he reported on the current situation on the disaster-stricken island of Maui. After introducing areas that can accommodate tourists other than the devastated Lahaina, Chansuu interviewed the head priest of a temple that was completely burned down. His sincere …
Art director for Hollywood blockbusters - Katsuya Imai, who moved to the US in 2014
Nov. 21, 2023 • Keiko Fukuda
Obtained an O visa after studying abroad In the summer of 2023, when I went to see Hollywood movies like "Oppenheimer" and "Barbie," the trailer for "Gran Turismo" was playing. The trailer made it clear that this was a major production, and Katsuya Imai was involved in the film as a set designer. In the film world, art staff, including set designers and art directors, "are people who design the world view and sets of the work, and are similar …
Identity in both the United States and Japan - California Congressman Al Murato
Oct. 31, 2023 • Keiko Fukuda
People of the Showa Era Al Murato is known as the only Japanese-American member of the California State Legislature, and is committed to education, clean energy, and Japan-U.S. relations. I once heard him say at a North American Okinawan Association meeting, "My hometown is Okinawa. Kubasaki High School (a high school on the U.S. military base Camp Foster) is my alma mater," but he also said, "My roots are in Gifu Prefecture." I assumed that growing up on a U.S. …
