California Woman Who Embezzled Instant Ramen Maker in Hot Water
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a Huntington Beach, Calif., woman who pleaded guilty last October to 10 counts of embezzlement was sentenced April 2 to 30 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Fred W. Slaughter also ordered Tae Miyaji Jones, 50, to repay the nearly $2.9 million she misappropriated between December 2017 to July 2023 from her employer. Her LinkedIn profile had listed her as an accounting manager at Garden Grove, Calif.-based instant ramen company Sanyo Foods Corp. of America. According to the DoJ, she had “transferred company funds from her employer’s corporate accounts to her personal bank accounts to finance personal expenses.”
Sony, Honda Pull Plug on Afeela, Torrance, Calif.-Based EV Undertaking
Just days after Sony Honda Mobility of America Inc. held a grand opening in Torrance, Calif., for its electric vehicle partnership, the joint venture between Sony Group Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. on March 25 announced the end of the initiative to produce the Afeela 1 luxury car and other Afeela-branded automobiles. SHM said it will issue refunds to those who bought reservations to purchase the Afeela 1, which had a starting list price of $89,000.
JANM’s ‘Our Promise’ Fundraising Campaign Tally Passes $100M Mark
The Japanese American National Museum announced March 24 that its years-long initiative to raise funds to “ … revitalize, amplify, deliver and secure the museum’s future and to support the museum’s renovation of its public galleries and a new core exhibition” had as of Dec. 31, 2025, reached $108 million. Dubbed “Our Promise,” the fundraising campaign began in 2019. Its goal to raise $65 million was increased to $85 million at its April 6, 2024, annual fundraising gala. (June 7, 2024, Pacific Citizen, tinyurl.com/55bp3xet). According to its news release, the museum’s board of trustees raised $9.8 million; its Volunteer Committee Campaign raised $3.3 million; and 3,450 JANM members contributed $15.3 million. Among the 41 “leadership gifts” of more than $500,000 apiece, there were two unrestricted gifts of $10 million in 2021 and $20 million in late 2025 from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Excluding anonymous donors, other “leadership gifts” came from Toshizo Watanabe Family Foundation, Ford Foundation, Perenchio Foundation, Kosasa Family, Yoshimi and Kikuko Nakauchi Trust, Weston & Megumi Koyama (in honor of), Mitsuye Uchida Trust, Aratani Foundation, Ty T. Dote, LA Arts Recovery Fund, Tanaka Charitable Remainder Unitrust, Yamagata Foundation, Wendy Shiba and Lawrence Pittman, Earl K. and Katherine F. (Muto) Moore Foundation, The Ahmanson Foundation, Teru Kawa, Yoichi Komiyama Family, William T Fujioka and Darlene K. Kuba, Joe T. Kikue Shikami Trust, Takeo Yuki Charitable Trust, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., Setsuko Oka Trust, Tsutomu Ige Trust, Doizaki Family, Robert T. and Carolyn D. Fujioka, George and Brad Takei, Ken and Jo Ann Hamamura, Samuel H. Yamashita, Harold and Barbara Mikami Keimi, John Morey and Donna Ikeda, Rod and Elsie Nakamoto Family, Suzukamo Family, Gene & Mary Ochi/TheTambour Foundation, MUFG Bank Ltd. and the W. M. Keck Foundation. Closed for renovation, JANM’s Pavilion is slated to reopen in late 2026. JANM’s gala fundraiser is May 30.
Duly Noted: Liu to Give Keynote at ’26 UCLA School of Law Commencement
California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu will deliver the speech on May 15. . . . The Japan Society of Boston will on April 21 present New England JACL chapter board member Christine Pilcavage its Thayer Award for serving as managing director of the MIT-Japan Program.
— P.C. Staff
