Latest News

Lucas Lee is a third-generation Chinese American, raised in San Francisco. A rising senior, he attends the Drew School. Lucas has a love of Japanese culture and has been self-studying Japanese for the past three years. Visiting Japantown often throughout high school, Lucas is involved with Japantown's community more, starting as a Japantown Visitor Center Navigator last summer. He also likes to run, produce music, edit videos, and has started self-studying Chinese. He enjoys

Sophia Bell was born and raised across the bridge in Marin County and graduated from high school at the Bay School of San Francisco. Her connection to Japantown began as a baby when her mother brought her to the Bambi Playgroup hosted at the JCCCNC. Since then, she has continued to visit Japantown frequently with her family and friends. She is a recent graduate from the University of California, San Diego, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Japanese Studies and AAP

On Saturday, June 27, the new National JACL Executive Director Lilly Simmering visited National Headquarters in San Francisco to meet with members of the Northern California-Western Nevada-Pacific District chapters. Reflecting on the visit, SF JACL President Judy Hamaguchi shared: "It was a wonderful opportunity to meet JACL's new Executive Director, Lilly Simmering. Her visit to National Headquarters and our open conversation about the future of JACL were hopeful and inspir

On Thursday, June 25, SFJACL President Judy Hamaguchi and 2026 interns Sophia Bell and Lucas Lee attended the Japanese Community Youth Council (JCYC) Open House at its Pine Street office to celebrate the organization's history, impact, and future. During the event, they viewed the new JCYC Historical Mural, which spans five decades and highlights the organization's journey since its founding through significant milestones and the people who helped shape its legacy. Judy, Soph

SFJACL visited the Ireicho exhibit at JSEI in Emeryville. The Ireichō: Book of Names contains "over 125,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were incarcerated in US Army, Department of Justice, Wartime Civil Control Administration, and War Relocation Authority camps," according to their website. Those who would like to view its content can visit ireizo.com. Featured from left to right: Judy Hamaguchi (JACL), John Nagano (Japantown Community Member), Yuki Ito (Japantown Task