The JABA Legacy Project: Pioneering Jurists in the Nikkei Community

Judge Ernest Hiroshige: Forging Community

Lawrence Lan

Anyone who has ever met Judge Ernest Hiroshige, who sits on the Los Angeles County Superior Court bench, knows about his signature bow tie. There’s no huge story behind it—“I just like bow ties,” he said.

The JABA Legacy Project: Pioneering Jurists in the Nikkei Community

Justice Kathryn Doi Todd: Redefining Possibilities

Lawrence Lan

“Are you related to Mia Doi Todd?”So asks Akira Boch, one of the Japanese American National Museum’s videographers, as he and Jenni Nakamura set up the media equipment for the interview in the chambers of the Honorable Kathryn Doi Todd, Justice of the 2nd District Court of Appeal. The answer …

Kizuna’s Youth CAN Program: Investing in the Future of Little Tokyo

Lawrence Lan

On a summer evening in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, the yelling and antics of 27-year-old Craig Ishii and 24-year-old Kristin Fukushima fill the courtyard of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. For what it’s worth, their silliness has a purpose. They are tasked with breaking the icy awkwardness that …