Japanese American Appreciation Week

The Embassy of Japan invites you to the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) the week of December 14th for Japanese American Appreciation Week. This week honors the contributions of Japanese Americans to the United States and commemorates those who have recently received Government of Japan recognition for their related achievements.

Special honorees include Dr. Raymond Murakami, Former Chairman of the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation and 2015 recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, as well as recipients of the Foreign Minister's Award: the Japanese American Citizens League, the Japanese American Veterans Association, the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation, and the US-Japan Council.

Please join us for a panel discussion highlighting the sacrifices and service of the numerous Japanese Americans who have served in the US Military. Welcome remarks will be presented by Ambassador Kenichiro Sasae.

Please join us for a panel discussion focusing on the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Colonel Bruce Hollywood is a member of the initial cohort of the White House Leadership Development Program. He previously served as Deputy Division Chief for the Joint Operational War Plans Division, Deputy Directorate for Joint Strategic Planning, Joint Staff J-5. Colonel Hollywood served in the United States Air Force for 21 years, retiring from active duty service as a Colonel in 2007. He earned two Masters Degrees and attended the Command and General Staff College at Ft Leavenworth, the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI program in Washington DC. He serves as Executive Director of the Japanese American Veterans Association, is on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs National Veterans Day Committee and was recently elected to the Board of Directors for the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation.

Lt. General Thomas P. Bostick is the U.S. Army Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the senior military officer overseeing most of the Nation’s civil works infrastructure and military construction. Previously, Lt. General Bostick served as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1, Personnel for the United States Army. His previous positions also include Commanding General for the United States Army Recruiting Command and Director of Military Programs for the Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree, holds a master’s degree in both Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College.

Rear Admiral David Boone is the President of CB&I Federal Services. He joined the CB&I team in December 2013 following a 30 year career in the Navy. Rear Admiral Boone retired as a Navy Civil Engineer Corps Rear Admiral in 2013. Mr. Boone was raised in Yokohama, Japan and graduated with honors from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Civil Engineering with Masters degrees in Coastal Engineering and Construction Management from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a registered professional engineer in the states of Virginia and Florida. He also received the Nippon Gen Gokkai Award from the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan.

Captain Cynthia Macri was commissioned as an Ensign in 1979 and attended Temple University School of Medicine on a Navy Scholarship, earning the rank of Lieutenant (O-3) upon graduation with an M.D. degree in 1983. During her career she worked as an a general obstetrician/gynecologist, as an academic, in organizational leadership and as an author. Captain Macri's personal awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and Legion of Merit. In retirement, she continues to support Navy recruitment efforts, especially for medical department accessions and volunteers at a George Washington University medical student-run clinic for the underserved in Maryland.

Lt. Commander Janelle Kuroda is a Foreign Affairs Officer in the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office of Europe and Asia. During her career in the Navy's Judge Advocate General’s Corps she served in Virginia, Bahrain, Washington, D.C., Iraq, and at sea aboard the USS ANZIO. In 2013, Lt. Commander Kuroda transferred to the Navy Reserve, and is assigned to Navy Reserve Region Legal Service Office Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia. She graduated from the University of Hawaii at Hilo with a B.A. in Political Science in 2001, and from Boston College Law School with her J.D. in 2004. In 2010, Ms. Kuroda was named an emerging leader by the U.S.-Japan Council.

Rear Admiral Yuki Sekiguchi is the Defense and Naval Attache at the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. RADM Sekiguchi started in JMSDF Officer Candidate School in 1988. RADM Sekiguchi became a Liaison Officer at the U.S. Naval Academy in 2000 and an Executive Officer at JDS Ishikari in 2002. In 2009, he became the Senior National Representative of Japan at the U.S. Central Command. In 2010, he became the Bilateral Operation Chief in J-3 in the Joint Staff Office. RADM Sekiguchi graduated from the National Defense Academy in Electronic Engineering, then went on to Aoyama Gakuin University and graduated with his Masters degree in International Politics.

Jean Kariya was born to immigrant parents in Oakland, California, was was in high school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Ms. Kariya and her family were first ordered to assemble at Tanforan Racetrack in south San Francisco and then they were transported by train to Topaz Internment Camp in Delta, Utah. Ms. Kariya and her family were also incarcerated at the Crystal City Family Internment Camp in Crystal City, Texas. After the end of the war, Ms. Kariya and her family boarded a ship for Japan in late 1945 and arrived in Japan on Christmas Day, 1945. Jean will provide highlights of her time in camp and her fascinating life after the war.

Dan Sakura currently serves as a Senior Adviser at the National Park Foundation in Washington, D.C.. Previously, he served as Vice President for Government Affairs at the National Alliance of Forest Owners. Mr. Sakura also held leadership positions at The Conservation Fund where he managed a nationwide real estate program and government relations team. During the Clinton Administration, he served at the U.S. Department of the Interior and at the Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President. For over fifteen years, he has helped the National Park Service preserve Japanese American internment sites throughout the western United States. Mr. Sakura received a bachelor of arts from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Shirley Ann Higuchi is the Chair of Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, which works to preserve and memorialize the Heart Mountain World War II Japanese American Confinement Site and to educate the public about the site’s history. In addition to her work with Heart Mountain, Ms. Higuchi currently leads the legal advocacy office of the American Psychological Association. Active in the District of Columbia Bar, she served two elected terms on the Board of Governors from 1994 to 2000, served as Chair of the Bar’s Nominations Committee in 2001, and was elected President of the Bar for 2003. In 2008, Ms. Higuchi was appointed to the Judicial Tenure and Disabilities Commission for a 6-year term where she was responsible for reviewing misconduct, evaluating reappointments, and conducting fitness reviews of the District’s judges.