Aihara & Associates Insurance Services: Two Generations of Business in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo Community

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Published: March 27, 2009 Modified: April 11, 2025

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Aihara & Associates Insurance Services: Two Generations of Business in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo Community

Organizers of Western Pioneer Insurance Company, 1949

Luis K. Aihara, pictured in the upper left hand corner, was one of twenty-two gentleman to join the Western Pioneer Insurance Company organization.
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Luis K. Aihara, pictured in the upper left hand corner, was one of twenty-two gentleman to join the Western Pioneer Insurance Company organization.

Doug Aihara, 2009

Doug Aihara, son of founder Luis K. Aihara, is currently President of Aihara Insurance Agency Inc.
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Doug Aihara, son of founder Luis K. Aihara, is currently President of Aihara Insurance Agency Inc.

Aihara Insurance Agency, Inc., 2009

Today the Aihara Insurance Agency is in the Kajima building, suite 900, on First Street in Little Tokyo. Luis K. Aihara was an original tenant when the building was built in 1968.
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Today the Aihara Insurance Agency is in the Kajima building, suite 900, on First Street in Little Tokyo. Luis K. Aihara was an original tenant when the building was built in 1968.

Aihara Insurance tops U.S. Producers, March 8th, 1975

The Independent Insurance Agents Association of California honored the Aihara Insurance Agency for the greatest gain of National Automobile Club (NAC) new memberships in the metropolitan Los Angeles area for the year 1974.

Yamaha news article, 1964

Aihara Insurance Agency Inc. insured many Japanese companies, including Yamaha International Corp. before it went national. Featured in this news article, Luis K. Aihara (far left) presents the Safety Performance and Top Design Award to Yamaha International Corp.

Continued Success, 1974 (Continued Success, 1974.)

In 1974 The Rafu Shimpo Los Angeles Japanese Daily News recognized the continued success of Luis K. Aihara and the Aihara Insurance Agency, Inc.

Aihara Insurance Agency Employees, May 10th, 1975

Luis K. Aihara, pictured on the right, with colleagues.

The 1974 NAC Honor Agency Awards

George Omatsu and Sam Mano of the Aihara Insurance Agency, pictured in the left-middle photo, received a regional Honor Agency Award on behalf of the company for the year 1974.
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George Omatsu and Sam Mano of the Aihara Insurance Agency, pictured in the left-middle photo, received a regional Honor Agency Award on behalf of the company for the year 1974.

Doug Aihara, 1985

Doug Aihara began working with his father, Luis K. Aihara, in the late 1980’s in the life and health insurance sector of the Aihara Insurance Company.

Luis K. Aihara, 1985

Founder of Aihara Insurance Agency Inc., Luis K. Aihara sits at his desk in the business’s second location on First Street in Little Tokyo. The business is still located in the Kajima building today.

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In September of 2005, Aihara & Associates Insurance Services returned to its original home in Little Tokyo after a five year hiatus in Pasadena, California. The business, which was established in 1948 by Nisei World War II veteran Luis K. Aihara, is a prominent example of the dedication of Japanese American business owners to the community of Little Tokyo. The company, an original tenant of the Kajima building on 1st Street to which it returned in 2005, was one of the first insurance companies to provide coverage to Americans of Japanese descent in an era dominated by post-war racism.