2023 Convention Special Events

PLEASE READ: FULL CONVENTION REGISTRANTS your registration already includes tickets to ALL events! These tickets are ONLY for Day Pass Holders or NON-registered attendees! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at convention@jacl.org

“Question 27 and Question 28” Featuring Tamlyn Tomita

Thursday, July 20 at 7:30-9:30pm at the Aratani Theater

In the wake of America’s entry into World War II, more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry were forced to leave their homes, possessions, and communities and report to relocation centers and internment camps. This federal action, authorized by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on February 19, 1942 through Executive Order 9066, led to the suspension of many civil rights of Japanese Americans. Every February 19, the internment of Japanese Americans is remembered both for the hardship it caused and the lessons that can be learned with the hope that history will not repeat itself. One lasting legacy of the internment experience was the so-called “loyalty questionnaire,” which was designed to test the loyalty of the incarcerated Japanese Americans. Two questions, #27 (willingness to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces) and #28 (willingness to swear unqualified allegiance to the United States and forswear allegiance to any other nation or government), were both disturbing and confusing to the internees. Using these questions as a focal point to reveal the unfair treatment of the internees, Question 27, Question 28 vividly brings to life not only the experiences of the imprisoned Japanese Americans, but also of their non-Japanese contemporaries and how some of them reacted to this violation of civil rights. Told exclusively through the perspectives of women, Question 27, Question 28 is based on verbatim excerpts from oral histories and interviews.


Join us for "Cruisin' J-Town", an evening of fun and dance with the Greater LA Chapter of JACL! Featuring live music by "Asian Persuasion" and dance lessons with Toru Nagao, this event is open to both seasoned dancers and beginners. This event will be on Friday, July 21 from 7:30-10:30pm at the DoubleTree Los Angeles Downtown (Golden Ballroom). Ballroom Dance Lessons start at 7:30pm, and Line Dancing led by Toru Nagao starts at 8pm.

To keep all participants as safe as possible, we will follow Covid precautions. All JACL Convention attendees are required to be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccine per the CDC’s definition of being fully vaccinated effective July 5, 2023. In addition, attendees are required to wear a mask indoors except when eating. Please see our COVID-19 Certification, Acknowledgement, and Liability Waiver for more details.

Friday, July 21 at 7:30-10:30pm at Hompa Hongwanji (Nishi Betsuin)

“Cruisin' J-Town - A Dance Celebration with Live Music"


Defining Courage is a journey into the legacy of the Nisei Soldier, Americans of Japanese ancestry who served in the segregated military units of the 100th IB, 442nd RCT, MIS, and 522nd FAB. Considered the greatest fighting units in American military history, most have never heard their extraordinary stories.

Join Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Jeff MacIntyre and ABC7 News Anchor David Ono, as they immerse you into the tragic, yet uplifting world of these heroes who fought prejudice at home and the enemy abroad.

You’ll fly over World War II battlefields in Italy, France, Japan, and Germany, in an unforgettable live event that includes stunning cinematography, live music and choir, historic film, and eyewitness interviews.

SEE, HEAR, and EXPERIENCE their incredible heroics through this piece of innovative storytelling. Far from a history lesson, it is a testament to inner strength, one that inspires us in our search for courage in today’s world.

July 23, 2023 at 3 p.m. (SOLD OUT) & 7 p.m. PT. at the Aratani Theater at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center.

NOTE: JACL Convention Registration covers only the 3pm showing of Defining Courage.

David Ono’s “Defining Courage”

Sunday, July 23 at 3:00pm (SOLD OUT) & 7:00pm presented at the Aratani Theater