Kimi Look Crowned 2025 Nisei Week Queen; Members of Court Named
Gardena Evening Optimist Club-sponsored Nisei Week queen candidate Kimi Look, 25, was crowned the 2025-26 Nisei Week queen at the 83rd annual Nisei Week Coronation and Awards Celebration, held Aug. 9 at Little Tokyo’s Aratani Theatre. Megan Ayumi Miyamoto (San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center) was crowned first princess, and Mika Fumiyo Megumi Dyo (Pasadena Japanese Cultural Institute) was named Miss Tomodachi. Rounding out the court were princesses Samantha Kimiyo Cirelli (Venice Japanese Community Center and Venice-West Los Angeles JACL), Emma Yasuko Shojinaga Fukunaga (Japanese Restaurant Association of America), Casey Mariko Kuramoto (Orange County Nikkei Coordinating Council) and Mia Miyoko Takatsuka (East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center).
Japan’s Youth Baseball Delegation Sweeps at Torrance Friendship Games
With Toru Ohtani, father of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, serving as one of the coaches, 20 young baseballers from Japan participated in the inaugural Torrance Friendship Games, a “weeklong cultural celebration of international friendship, youth athletics, and economic collaboration” that included games played Aug. 8-10. The event was done in collaboration with Torrance-based youth baseball organization 310 Baseball. The Japanese delegation won all six baseball games.
PM Ishiba Expresses ‘Remorse’ on 80th Anniversary of Japan’s WWII Defeat
On the 80th anniversary of its surrender announcement that paved the way to the Sept. 2, 1945, formal end to World War II, Japan on Aug. 15 commemorated the event and recognized its more than 3 million war dead, with Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressing “remorse” and calling the war a mistake. ¶ Meantime, a day after President Trump hosted Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the leaders of several European nations and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte to discuss how to advance negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Ishiba said, without giving specifics, Japan is considering how it can help provide security guarantees to Ukraine amid Russian aggression within constitutional constraints on its military beyond the self-defense of its borders. His remarks came after Rutte stated that Japan, along with Australia, was among a coalition of 30 nations working to support Ukraine after Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Prison for Chinese Man in U.S. Illegally for Exporting Weapons to N.K.
The Department of Justice sentenced Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, Calif., to eight years in federal prison Aug. 18 for “illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea.” The citizen of the People’s Republic of China has been in the U.S. illegally since December 2013. He pleaded guilty June 9 to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. ¶ The DOJ announced that Chinese national Li Liu, 27, aka Qiunan Li and Xiaoying Zhao, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Aug. 14 to 28 months in federal prison for “laundering approximately $3.5 million in money stolen from victims of investment scams.” Co-defendant Shaui Lyu, 28, a Chinese national here illegally, pleaded guilty June 4 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and faces up to 20 years in federal prison at his Sept. 4 sentencing. ¶ The DOJ announced Aug. 11 that Mary Ann Magdamit, 31, of Carson, Calif. — a dual citizen of the U.S. and the Philippines — pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud after being accused of stealing checks, and debit and credit cards from the mail and selling them to accomplices. The former USPS employee, who was based at the main post office in Torrance, Calif., faces up to 30 years in federal prison. ¶ Jeffrey Ying, 38, of Fremont, Calif., is facing up to 10 years in federal prison after being charged Aug. 7 with theft of major artwork. Using aliases, including Alan Fujimori, Ying allegedly stole approximately $216,000 worth of rare and historical Chinese manuscripts from the UCLA East Asian Library and UCLA Library Special Collections. He was arrested Aug. 5 before an alleged attempt to flee to China. ¶ Abraham Yongduk Park, 67, of La Mirada, Calif., was sentenced Aug. 7 to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $6.9 million in restitution and $535,041 in forfeiture for his role in defrauding the Small Business Administration of millions of dollars in loans through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. According to court documents, Park had submitted more than 120 fraudulent applications for loans.
— P.C. Staff
