Sawako Sonoyama, a 22-year-old resident of San Francisco and graduate of UC Berkeley, was crowned the 2007 Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen on Saturday, April 14 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema.

By CHIZU OMORI
Nichi Bei Times Columnist

Several things have happened recently which have to do with matters of prejudice and racist attitudes. The first, on April 12, was the announcement by Florentine Films, Ken Burns’s production company, that a team would be assembled to “create additional material to run in conjunction with the broadcast (of a 14-hour film on World War II).” It turns out that the Hispanic community was upset that the wartime documentary did not include the experiences of Hispanic and American Indian veterans.

By GREG ROBINSON
Nichi Bei Times Contributor

In this Nichi Bei Times exclusive, Dr. Greg Robinson, author of “By the Order of the President: FDR and the Internment of Japanese Americans,” examines little-known but prominent Japanese Americans.

In fall 1906 San Francisco’s school board, venting anti-Japanese prejudice, excluded all Nikkei children from public schools and ordered them to attend separate “oriental” schools. The children’s parents were outraged by the segregation, and with the support of the Japanese consulate, they decided to fight it in court.

By DREW MORITA
Nichi Bei Times

When the U.S. declared war on Japan in 1941, one Japanese American was caught in the middle of the conflict. Born in El Centro in Southern California in 1921 to Issei parents, Tomoya Kawakita was an American citizen who happened to be in Tokyo visiting family and attending Meiji University when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

By BILLIE LEE
Nichi Bei Times Correspondent

SAN JOSE — The 30^th anniversary of the Nikkei Matsuri in San Jose’s Japantown promises to be one of their best. The event takes place on Jackson Street between Fourth and Sixth streets on Sunday, April 29.

By BILLIE LEE
Nichi Bei Times Correspondent

CUPERTINO, Calif. — The 2007 Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival promises to be better than ever, with new exciting indoor and outdoor activities.

The festival will take place on Saturday, April 28 and Sunday, April 29, with indoor activities being held at the Quinlan Community Center and outdoor activities at the amphitheater at Memorial Park, located at Stevens Creek Boulevard at Mary Avenue across from DeAnza College.

By BEN HAMAMOTO
Nichi Bei Times

Walking down Market Street in San Francisco, Korean American “MADtv” star Bobby Lee stops in front of a Ross discount clothing store.

“Wait,” he says, “I just saw a Chinese lady with Down syndrome.”

He pauses, then turns and says, “Hey, man, do you think she’s smarter than the white people with Down syndrome?”

The National Japanese American Historical Society (NJAHS) announces a new exhibit entitled “Matsuri!: Retrospective Photographs of Jtown Festivals.” This exhibit features the work of two veteran Japanese American community photographers — Isao Isago Tanaka and Takeo “Tak” Kuno — focusing on images from the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival.

By KATHY AOKI
Nichi Bei Times

Mai Tran, Lady Fabian and Victoria Lin all know that having cancer is not a death sentence. Three women are cancer survivors speaking out about their experiences in order to help others cope with the disease. Tran and Lin are also featured in a new book titled “A Book of Hope,” which tells the stories of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) cancer survivors.

By ALEC YOSHIO MacDONALD
Nichi Bei Times Contributor

OAKLAND — On Friday, April 13, rookie Yankee pitcher Kei Igawa sat in the visitor’s clubhouse, hunched over a laptop computer, intently reviewing film of his performance that evening. In a momentary break from this analysis, the former standout of Nippon Professional Baseball took a few minutes to answer questions from the American press.

Compiled by DREW MORITA
Nichi Bei Times

With the 2007 baseball season underway, many Japanese and Japanese American players are already making an impact on their respective teams with the hopes of getting a chance in the majors.