Gil Asakawa
Akemashite Omedetou!
As the interim chair of the Pacific Citizen’s Editorial Board, I want to wish a Happy New Year to every reader of the Pacific Citizen, the voice of the JACL, side by side with the organization since its start in 1929. We’re just three years from our combined 100th anniversary. Imagine — a century of civil rights, social justice, culture and community serving the Japanese American and wide Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations!
This year is sure to be significant because of the shocking dysfunction in the United States, with its errant economics, hateful discourse, fractured politics and teetering position in the global world order. And the P.C. will be covering all of the news that affects JACL and JAs, both good and bad. With everything happening across the country from actions by our federal government, you’ll want to check with the P.C. each issue to see how the news affects our communities.
We’ll also continue our role of bringing you the traditional and pop culture news that so often gets ignored in the mainstream media but is important to our communities. We’ll be rooting this awards season for the powerful film “Rental Family,” starring Brendan Fraser, for its focus on contemporary Japanese society, and we’re already glad to see “KPop Demon Hunters” raise the profile of all AANHPIs with its fantastic blend of traditional and modern Korean culture in animation and catchy pop music.
Have you noticed how Japanese culture beyond sushi and ramen and manga and anime has started having an impact here in the West? In recent Japanese pop culture, we’ve enjoyed shows like “Giri/Haji” and “Last Samurai Standing” on Netflix, and we’re waiting for the new season of “Shogun” and “Blue Eye Samurai.”
And, of course, the P.C. will continue to cover the ever-evolving world of foods from Japan, influenced by Japanese cuisine. Will 2026 be the year that a tsunami of udon and onigiri sweeps across America?
The way you can show your support for our work at the Pacific Citizen is not just to read us in print, on our PDF editions or on the website, but also support us with a donation to our annual Spring Campaign, which is our main source of fundraising. Our 2026 drive starts now, and you’ll find the coupon in the print edition, or you can visit this page on our website: https://www.pacificcitizen.org/donations/.
We accept PayPal or credit cards, and now, we can take donations via Zelle.
Your support for our annual Spring Campaign helps us to do our work almost 100 years since we first published the P.C., and we do it with a small, dedicated staff. This year, we hope to raise enough to fund more real-time digital engagement and social media presence. Please let us know how we’re doing!And again, here’s to a terrific 2026!
Gil Asakawa is the author of “Tabemasho! Let’s Eat! The Tasty History of Japanese Food in America.” He is currently the interim board chair of the Pacific Citizen Editorial Board.
