Anne Brice is a writer and podcast producer for the Department of Communications and Public Affairs at UC Berkeley. In her role, she focuses on amplifying both loud and quiet voices, with the goal of bringing people's unique experiences to life. Her work aims to highlight individual stories, while shedding light on broader national and international issues.

Updated February 2024

Keiko 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

Ian Hunter received is BA in History from the University of Virginia, and his MA in Asian Studies from the University of California - Santa Barbara, where he focused on contemporary Japanese anthropology and hikikomori studies. He currently lives and works in his hometown of Alexandria, Virginia.

Updated September 2023

Writer Norm Masaji Ibuki lives in Oakville, Ontario. He has written extensively about the Canadian Nikkei community since the early 1990s. He wrote a monthly series of articles (1995-2004) for the Nikkei Voice newspaper (Toronto) which chronicled his experiences while in Sendai, Japan. Norm now teaches elementary school and continues to write for various publications. 

Updated August 2014

Kate Iio was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. Her father was born in Japan, her mother was born in Taiwan, and has an older sister, and two dogs. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2019 and is currently teaching English in Japan through the JET Program.

Updated July 2019

Daijiro (Don) Kanase is an active-duty infantry soldier in the U.S. Army. He currently lives in his hometown in Los Angeles as a research fellow at RAND Corp, Santa Monica. He is an avid kendo and judo practitioner. He holds an M.A. in military operations from the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, KS, and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Updated April 2020

Elaine Ikoma Ko is the former Executive Director of the Hokubei Hochi Foundation, a nonprofit that helps The North American Post, Seattle’s Japanese community newspaper. She is a member of the U.S.-Japan Council, an alumnus of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation (JALD) to Japan, and leads spring and autumn group tours to Japan.

Updated April 2021

Lucy Komori is a sansei from Vancouver, Canada. She has a deep, abiding curiosity about the stories of Japanese Canadians from pre-war struggles to post-war rebuilding and a desire to share these stories with younger generations of yonsei and gosei. Lucy has been involved with the JC community in Vancouver for over 50 years through taiko and other community and arts initiatives.

Updated June 2022

Esther Newman grew up in California. After college and a career in marketing and media production for Ohio’s Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, she returned to school to study twentieth century American history. While in graduate school, she became interested in her family’s history which led to research on topics affecting the Japanese Diaspora including internment, migration and assimilation. She is retired but her interest in writing about and supporting organizations related to these subjects continues.

Updated November 2021

Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American writer living in Tacoma, Washington. Her training in literature and American ethnic studies (MA, PhD, University of Washington) prepared her to research, document, and tell the stories of people of color. She has been writing for Discover Nikkei since 2008.

Tamiko just published her first book, Rosa Franklin: A Life in Health Care, Public Service, and Social Justice (Washington State Legislature Oral History Program, 2020). Her second book is a co-written graphic novel, titled We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration (Chin Music Press/Wing Luke Asian Museum). She is working on a memoir called PILGRIMAGE.

Updated November 2020

Marissa Shoji is a Girl Scout from south San Jose, who is part of the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin Girl Scouts. She wrote a series of stories on Japanese immigrants detained on Angel Island during World War II as part of her Gold Award project, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn. Working in conjunction with Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, her final plan is to create an exhibit dedicated to the Japanese experience on Angel Island during World War Two. She is very interested in spreading knowledge on the Japanese internment to those of the newer generations, so that their pain will never be forgotten, and instead will be built upon to create a better future.

Updated March 2020

Emily Hood, born and raised in San Diego, is currently working towards her B.A. in political science from UC Berkeley. She is an alum of the university’s entrepreneurship program, Fung Fellowship, in the Conservation + Tech track. She has also worked as an intern with the nonprofit, Citizens Take Action, where she contributed to the creation of a local government Report Card analyzing cities’ campaign finance laws. Emily is half Japanese and enjoys making homemade boba, cuddling with her dog, and watching stand-up comedy. 

Updated January 2024