Kyodo News photo

GUJO, Japan (Kyodo) — American Graham Watanabe won the men's snowboard cross title in convincing fashion at a World Cup event on Feb. 22.

LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) — The Los Angeles Police Department said Monday it launched a full-fledged investigation a couple of years ago into Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura, who was arrested Friday over the 1981 murder of his wife in Los Angeles.

By BEN HAMAMOTO
Nichi Bei Times

photo by Ben Hamamoto

Before the sale of major San Francisco Japantown properties sparked a debate about the future of the historically Nikkei ethnic enclave, there were already changes to the landscape starting to appear. As awnings adorned with Korean characters began to pop up, it was becoming clear that there was a new demographic emerging.

'Save Japantown II'

Dear Editor,

After reading Hiroshi Fukuda's editorial about the most recent J—town Better Neighborhood Meeting, it makes me wonder about what will happen if the massive construction project takes place....

'Generation Gap in Appreciating Japan's Cultural Sites'

Dear Editor,

I was dismayed and saddened to read Jeff Asai's article about "Things To Do In Kansai" on Feb. 7, 2008...

photo by John D. Hix

FRESNO, Calif. — A Day of Remembrance dinner was held on Sunday, Feb. 17 to observe the 66^th anniversary of the Feb. 19, 1942 signing of Executive Order 9066. It was also in celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The dinner, held at Pardini's Restaurant, was sponsored by the Pinedale Assembly Center Memorial Project Committee (PACMPC).

photo by Takeshi Nakayama

By TAKESHI NAKAYAMA
Nichi Bei Times Contributor

LOS ANGELES — The Day of Remembrance observance, held Feb. 16 at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), celebrated the 20^th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that awarded reparations to Nikkei imprisoned in American concentration camps during World War II.

The program also informed the nearly 300 audience members that there is still unfinished business: the campaign to gain equitable reparations for Japanese Latin Americans taken from their homelands during the war and imprisoned in the United States.

CHICAGO — On Feb. 19, Senator Barack Obama (D-Chicago) released the following Day of Remembrance statement to commemorate the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II:

photos courtesy of Kenji G. Taguma/Nichi Bei Times

By ALEC YOSHIO MacDONALD
Nichi Bei Times

"If we don't come out and support programs like these, there's no hope," declared Abdul Rahman to the crowd gathered in the gymnasium of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California on Feb. 17.

By KENJI G. TAGUMA
Nichi Bei Times

SAN JOSE — Armed with a renewed sense of vigilance and interconnectivity, more than 250 people gathered at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin on Feb. 17 to commemorate the 28^th annual San Jose Day of Remembrance.

Asahi Shimbun

Japan and the U.S. military agreed Feb. 22 on a set of countermeasures aimed at preventing crimes by U.S. personnel in Japan, including providing information on troop levels to local governments, officials said.

U.S. Forces Japan will be obliged to report the overall number of personnel, as well as those who live off-base, every year to local authorities through the Japanese government.

Applications for the 2008 Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) program are now available for prospective interns and organizations, announced the program's sponsor, the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council (CJACLC).

The NCI program is now in its seventh year, with 77 interns and 15-plus Japanese American community groups in Los Angeles and the Bay Area having participated thus far.

image courtesy of www.mlb.com

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Japanese right-hander Tomokazu Ohka has agreed to a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox, an article on the American League club's official Website said Feb. 21.

image courtesy of www.mlb.com

TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed a minor league contract with Japanese catcher Fumimasa Ishibashi, the team announced Feb. 22.

By KENJI G. TAGUMA
Nichi Bei Times

Located in the heart of the Kansai region of Japan, Osaka — Japan's third-largest city with a population of 2.6 million and the nation's largest trading port in the Edo Period — is also known as "the country's kitchen" due to its culinary specialties.

The city is a distribution hub for food items, and the Dotombori area is a virtual food center featuring the best of what Osaka has to offer.