In commemoration of Day of Remembrance 2026, join us for a reading and discussion with David Neiwert, journalist and author of the book Strawberry Days: How Internment Destroyed a Japanese American Community. 

David Neiwert's Strawberry Days shares local knowledge about the creation and WWII-era eradication of Bellevue's once-vibrant Japanese American community. With compelling storytelling, firsthand interviews, and analysis of previously suppressed documents, Neiwert vividly presents the history of our Eastside community and the racist schemes that prevented families from returning or reclaiming their land after being wrongfully incarcerated by our government. Strawberry Days invites us to think about the kind of community we want to belong to, and ways to help ensure it is a place where all of us are respected.

GVJCI DAY OF REMEMBRANCE: Then and Now: From WWII Incarceration to Today's ICE Raids - Justice Demands Our Voice
SAT, FEB 28, 2-4PM
GVJCI Main Hall

GVJCI will hold its annual Day of Remembrance event in commemoration of the forced removal and incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans during WWII.  DOR commemorates the signing of Executive Order 9066, which caused the mass removal and imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II. 

This year’s program will feature the film Betrayed: Surviving an American Concentration Camp, followed by a panel discussion which contextualizes the historical events and examines the parallels with present day events involving ICE raids on immigrant communities.

This program is free to attend. RSVP not required.  For more  information, please visit the GVJCI website. 

Call for Participants In-person KAKEHASHI alumni event
We are pleased to announce our in-person event in Los Angeles! Join us on Saturday, February 28th to interact with other alumni members for networking. You will be invited to Japan House Los Angeles.

Registration is required and the spots are limited. Every alumnus/alumna is welcome!
* Please note that travel expenses to the venue will not be covered by us.

In-person KAKEHASHI alumni event
Time | Saturday, February 28th. 2pm-4pm (Doors open approximately 15-30 minutes prior)
Venue | Japan House Los Angeles, USA (Hollywood & Highland 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, 2F and 5F Los Angeles, CA)
Parking | Parking is NOT available on the premises. We recommend you use public transportation or rideshare.
Fee | Free
Language | English
Program | Icebreaker Session, Presentations from alumni representatives, and Networking (TBD)

*Please make sure that you can receive emails from JICE (@jice.org)
**Please register by Sunday, February 15th. Registration is on a first come, first served basis.

Saturdays, February - March
11:30 AM - 1 PM
Begins at Wing Luke Museum
Approximately 1 mile of walking distance

In the early 1900s, Seattle’s Japantown — Nihonmachi — stretched from 4th Avenue South to 23rd Avenue South, a bustling enclave of family homes and independently owned shops, grocery stores, and entertainment venues. In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor came Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which forced all persons of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps – Nihonmachi never fully recovered. This walking tour takes visitors through the past and present Japantown/Nihonmachi.

Learn about Friends of Minidoka’s new publication, Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf. Published for the first time in its entirety, Education and Freedom at Minidoka presents a rare firsthand account of life at the Minidoka War Relocation Center. Writing as the Supervisor of Student Teachers and Superintendent of Education, Kleinkopf documents the daily realities, contradictions, and moral tensions of working inside a World War II concentration camp. 

Education and Freedom at Minidoka is part of FoM’s project Minidoka Memories: Stories that Connect and Heal which will collect oral histories from the Idaho community with ties to the historic Minidoka War Relocation Center and the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

A pre-event reception will begin at 5 pm.

Copies of Education and Freedom at Minidoka will be available for purchase.

This project is supported by Idaho Humanities Council, Jones Family Fund of the National Philanthropic Trust, Duane Minoru Yamamoto Memorial Fund with Friends of Minidoka, and Minidoka National Historic Site.  In partnership with Twin Falls Public Library and Boise State University Albertsons Library Special Archives.

Asian America Across the Disciplines Series and the JACL Philadelphia presents Mas Nakawatase, Japanese American civil rights organizer, educator, and advocate for peace and justice.

Hosted by ASAM Lecturer Rob Buscher in his course Asian American Activism.

Mas Nakawatase was born in one of the ten War Relocation Authority concentration camps where the US government detained people of Japanese descent during World War II. He grew up in Seabrook, New Jersey among many families who had been detained. In the mid-1960s, Mas had a formative political experience working in Atlanta for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. 

Mas returned to rural South Jersey as a community organizer with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which launched his 31-year career at AFSC. His work there focused on supporting Native peoples and advancing Asian American voices and priorities. Within AFSC, Mas helped establish a caucus for staff of color and supported a successful unionization campaign. 

Mas has served on the board of Asian Americans United since 2002 and served on the board of Folk Arts-Cultural Treasures Charter School for twelve years. Since 2010, he has chaired the Racial and Social Justice Committee of Germantown Friends Meeting. In 2021, Mas began serving on the board of Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center. Recipient of the Paul Robeson Lifetime Achievement Award 2024.

Please RSVP in advance here!

Join us for a public vigil of prayer, singing, and testimony in remembrance of the incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry 80+ years ago and to stand in solidarity with the immigrants and asylum seekers who are being targeted for violence, brutality, and persecution by ICE today. We pray for sacred protection for all our communities.

This event will be held on February 25, from 11 - 12:30, in front of the ICE office in San Francisco.

Learn about Friends of Minidoka’s new publication, Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf. Published for the first time in its entirety, Education and Freedom at Minidoka presents a rare firsthand account of life at the Minidoka War Relocation Center. Writing as the Supervisor of Student Teachers and Superintendent of Education, Kleinkopf documents the daily realities, contradictions, and moral tensions of working inside a World War II concentration camp. 

Education and Freedom at Minidoka is part of FoM’s project Minidoka Memories: Stories that Connect and Heal which will collect oral histories from the Idaho community with ties to the historic Minidoka War Relocation Center and the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

A pre-event reception will begin at 5 pm.

Copies of Education and Freedom at Minidoka will be available for purchase.

This project is supported by Idaho Humanities Council, Jones Family Fund of the National Philanthropic Trust, Duane Minoru Yamamoto Memorial Fund with Friends of Minidoka, and Minidoka National Historic Site.  In partnership with Twin Falls Public Library and Boise State University Albertsons Library Special Archives.

Please join Oregon Tsuru for Solidarity and the Portland Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) on Sunday, February 22, 2026 for a Day of Remembrance Rally to Resist ICE. The Day of Remembrance marks President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942 which authorized the U.S. military to forcibly remove and incarcerate 125,000+ immigrants and U.S. citizens of Japanese descent during World War II.

As Japanese Americans, we understand the immediate and long lasting impacts of family separation and mass incarceration inflicted by the U.S. government. Right now, as ICE terrorizes our immigrant neighbors, it is more important than ever that we stand up and speak out to call for the end of ICE detention and deportations. We aim to be the allies that we did not have in 1942, and we will not stand idly by while immigrants are once again targeted.

We will gather at Elizabeth Caruthers Park at 2:00pm for a rally featuring Portland Taiko, a candlelight ceremony, and speakers including Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, Together Lab, and survivors and descendants of WWII incarceration. We will then walk four blocks to the Portland ICE facility (4310 S Macadam Ave), where we will hold a peaceful vigil.

Join Friends of Mukai Farm & Garden and the Vashon Library for a community Day of Remembrance inspired by former  Vashon resident Mary Matsuda Gruenewald’s powerful memoir Looking Like the Enemy, reflecting on the Japanese American incarceration during World War II and its relevance today. The program will include an intergenerational book discussion and space for reflection for teens and adults. Family story time for young children will start at 1pm.

Event schedule:

• 1pm – Storytime for children and families

• 2pm – Day of Remembrance reflection facilitated by Jade Agua, Friends of Mukai Executive Director

• 3pm – Intergenerational Book Discussion recommended for grades 6-12 and adults.

Some copies of Looking Like the Enemy and Looking Like the Enemy: Young Readers Edition (middle school and older) are available at the Vashon Library and Mukai Farm & Garden.

This program is a partnership between the Friends of Mukai Farm & Garden and the Vashon Library.

Registration not required.

Full Spectrum Features’ latest short docudrama, Enough, will be featured at Chicago’s Day of Remembrance 2026, an annual gathering that marks the signing of Executive Order 9066 and honors the many generations shaped by Japanese American incarceration. Rooted in the decades-long history of the Japanese American Redress Movement—from the lead-up to the 1981 Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings through the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988—the film turns to community memory and testimony to ask what it takes to confront harm honestly and pursue repair over time.

Following the screening, a panel of community members and practitioners will reflect on how the legacies of Redress speak to present-day struggles around state violence, surveillance, and displacement. Panelists include Rebecca Ozaki (Yonsei, granddaughter of a CWRIC testifier), Mary Samson (Sansei, Redress organizer), Dr. Britt Dantley (family therapist and clinician), Brian Tee (director and actor), and Scott Sakiyama (attorney and anti-ICE advocate). Together, they will consider how practices of storytelling, accountability, and care can interrupt repeating patterns of removal and state violence—both within families and across communities.

The program invites attendees to think with the panel about what “enough” looks like when it comes to justice: How do we honor the labor of those who fought for Redress while recognizing what remains unfinished? How can we speak with urgency about current harms without losing sight of the slow work of healing across generations? A guided discussion will offer space for reflection, questions, and shared commitments to ongoing community care.

This program is free and open to the public. Due to limited seating, advanced registration is highly encouraged.

This event is sponsored by Full Spectrum Features, Chicago Japanese American Council, Japanese American Citizens League – Chicago Chapter,  Chicago Japanese American Historical Society, Japanese Mutual Aid Society of Chicago, and Japanese American Service Committee.

WELCOME TO THE 15TH ANNUAL FILMS OF REMEMBRANCE

Films of Remembrance, presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation, is the premier showcase of films commemorating the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in American concentration camps during World War II.

The San Jose screening of the 2026 Films of Remembrance will be held on Sunday, February 22 at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin in San Jose’s Japantown. All-Day Passes, which provide discounted access to all the programs per venue, are also available. 

For more information about the films and programs, including descriptions and trailers, go to the Screening Schedule page and review the detailed schedule and film guide.

Saturdays, February - March
11:30 AM - 1 PM
Begins at Wing Luke Museum
Approximately 1 mile of walking distance

In the early 1900s, Seattle’s Japantown — Nihonmachi — stretched from 4th Avenue South to 23rd Avenue South, a bustling enclave of family homes and independently owned shops, grocery stores, and entertainment venues. In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor came Executive Order 9066 in 1942, which forced all persons of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps – Nihonmachi never fully recovered. This walking tour takes visitors through the past and present Japantown/Nihonmachi.

WELCOME TO THE 15TH ANNUAL FILMS OF REMEMBRANCE

Films of Remembrance, presented by the Nichi Bei Foundation, is the premier showcase of films commemorating the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in American concentration camps during World War II.

The San Francisco screening of the 2026 Films of Remembrance will be held on Saturday, February 21, at the AMC Kabuki 8 in San Francisco’s Japantown. Tickets for the in-person programs can be purchased below. All-Day Passes, which provide a deep discount, are also available.

For more information about the films and programs, including descriptions and trailers, go to the Screening Schedule page and review the detailed schedule and film guide.

Learn about Friends of Minidoka’s new publication, Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf. Published for the first time in its entirety, Education and Freedom at Minidoka presents a rare firsthand account of life at the Minidoka War Relocation Center. Writing as the Supervisor of Student Teachers and Superintendent of Education, Kleinkopf documents the daily realities, contradictions, and moral tensions of working inside a World War II concentration camp. 

Education and Freedom at Minidoka is part of FoM’s project Minidoka Memories: Stories that Connect and Heal which will collect oral histories from the Idaho community with ties to the historic Minidoka War Relocation Center and the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

A pre-event reception will begin at 5 pm.

Copies of Education and Freedom at Minidoka will be available for purchase.

This project is supported by Idaho Humanities Council, Jones Family Fund of the National Philanthropic Trust, Duane Minoru Yamamoto Memorial Fund with Friends of Minidoka, and Minidoka National Historic Site.  In partnership with Twin Falls Public Library and Boise State University Albertsons Library Special Archives.

Our friends at @harborareapeacepatrols are holding a Day of Remembrance prayer and origami gathering on Terminal Island on Thursday, February 19th. As Japanese Americans whose families were incarcerated during WWII, we understand the lasting trauma that family separation and forced displacement causes.

All are welcome to join us at this gathering. Please exercise caution as this is a known ICE staging location and agents are armed.

Photo of the Terminal Island Japanese Fishing Village Memorial by Joseph Akira

Join us at the National Museum of American History for a screening and panel discussion on the 2026 Day of Remembrance.

Film and Conversation: Removed by Force: Day of Remembrance 2026

Thursday, February 19, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

1 Center: Warner Bros. Theater

Join us at the National Museum of American History for a screening and panel discussion on the 2026 Day of Remembrance. Removed by Force: The Eviction of Hawaiʻi’s Japanese Americans During World War II sheds light on the relatively unknown experiences of the 1,500 Americans of Japanese ancestry (AJA) from 23 geographic areas in Hawaiʻi who were evicted, but not interned, during World War II.

February 19, 2026, marks the 84th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to the wrongful incarceration of 125,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.

After the screening, join us for a panel discussion featuring:

William Kaneko, former president, Honolulu Japanese American Citizens League; co-executive producer, Removed by Force. Kaneko coordinated the legal cases for the Hawaiʻi AJAs evicted from their homes.

Ryan Kawamoto, director and co-executive producer, Removed by Force. Kawamoto is an award-winning film director who has created several documentaries on the Hawaiʻi AJA incarceration experience.

Robert Bratt, former head of Redress, United States Department of Justice. Bratt was the lead DOJ administrator in charge of the Japanese American redress program.

Moderator: Lisa Sasaki, Deputy Under Secretary for Special Projects, Smithsonian Institution.

The National Museum of American History welcomes visitors of all ages and abilities. This event is wheelchair accessible. Captioning and assistive listening devices will be provided. Additional accommodations are available upon request; please email nmahprograms@si.edu. Two weeks’ notice is preferred.

Seating is limited and reservations are recommended. Seating will be opened first to Eventbrite-registered attendees and then to walk-in visitors. When we reach maximum capacity, the event will be closed to the public.

Join the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association, the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation, and Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District, for a day of stewardship to remember the 84th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066.

Volunteers will help care for the grounds of this important Bainbridge Island park, including pruning vegetation, removing weeds, spreading mulch, and cleaning outdoor art features.   All tools are provided.

This is a wonderful volunteer opportunity for all ages.

Event parking will be restricted due to construction at the upper Memorial site, and alternate parking locations will be announced soon. Volunteers can reach the stewardship event via a temporary entrance at the bus turnaround at Eagle Harbor Drive/Taylor Avenue. 

Everyone is invite to join the CIC and JACL for Day of Remembrance. We will have a panel discussion and community conversation reflecting on Executive Order 9066, how history can repeat itself, and how members of the Japanese American Citizens League are leading the way locally with the Neighbors Not Enemies Act.

Please join the Portland Japanese American Citizens League, the Japanese American Museum of Oregon, and the Portland'5 Centers for the Arts Department of Culture and Community, on February 16, 2026 to commemorate the Day of Remembrance with a special 50th Anniversary film screening of Farewell to Manzanar and panel discussion with Gabrielle Houston Neville, Carole Hayashino, and Frank Abe, moderated by Hanako Wakatsuki-Chong. There will be two screenings: a matinee starting at 2 pm and an evening show at 6:30 pm.

Farewell to Manzanar holds profound importance for Japanese Americans as the first major film adaptation to portray the wartime incarceration camps. Based on Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston's memoir, the film gave voice to over 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and detained during World War II. For many survivors and their descendants, this film represented the first time their families' experiences were validated and shared with mainstream America.

The film's widespread television broadcast educated millions of Americans about this constitutional violation, helping create the political and social climate that made the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 possible. This landmark legislation provided formal apologies and monetary reparations to surviving Japanese American incarcerees. The cultural impact of Farewell to Manzanar cannot be separated from the successful redress campaign that followed.

The San Francisco Bay Area will hold their Day of Remembrance, “Neighbors Not Enemies: Stronger Together: Carrying Light for Justice” from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15 at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California in San Francisco’s Japantown.

The Bay Area Day of Remembrance Consortium will host the Day of Remembrance, “Neighbors Not Enemies: Stronger Together: Carrying Light for Justice” on Sunday, Feb. 15 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the JCCCNC at 1840 Sutter St. in San Francisco’s Japantown. Info: (415) 567-5505.

In commemoration of the 84th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the WW II Japanese American concentration camps, Centenary United Methodist Church will host "Day of Remembrance: Stories of Incarceration Through Media and Art" on Sunday, February 15, at 12:30 pm. 

A screening of the short film, "Misadventures of a Nisei Week Queen," featuring former Nisei Week Queen June Aochi Berk, will be followed by an insightful talk with her as she shares her experiences of being placed at Santa Anita Race Track Assembly Center and the Rohwer concentration camp. In addition, she will also discuss Presidential Proclamation25}5 and the Tuna Canyon Detention Center. 

In addition to the film and discussion, an exhibition of selected paintings by the late renowned Japanese American artist Masato "Eddy" Kurushima will be available for viewing, and a performance by the Centenary Chikara Taiko drummers will round out the event followed by a reception. 

"Day of Remembrance: Stories of Incarceration Through Media and Art" is open to the public, and there is no cost to attend. 

Centenary UMC is located at 300 S. Central Avenue, on the corner of 3rd Street in Little Tokyo. 

For more information, please contact the church office at (213) 617-9097; connect@centenaryD TLA. org. 

Go For Broke National Education Center and the Boise Valley JACL invite you and a guest to a special presentation of

Restoring America’s Promise: The  Fight For Justice

Featuring Dr. Mitchell T. Maki, President & CEO of Go For Broke National Education Center, and Lead Author of Achieving the Impossible Dream: How Japanese Americans Obtained Redress

Sunday, January 25, 2026

1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M.  

Wassmuth Center for Human Rights

777 S. 8th Street, Boise, ID 83702

Event is FREE; registration is required by Friday, January 16.

To register, go to: https://bit.ly/GoForBroke_January25_rsvp.

For more information, email Gina Nieto at gina@goforbroke.org. Due to limited adjacent availability, please allow additional time to park.

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Join us for a truly impactful and interactive presentation that delves into the poignant history of the Japanese American WWII experience. Nationally recognized redress movement scholar, Dr. Mitch Maki, will guide you through this critical chapter in American history, exploring the challenges of incarceration and military service, and culminating with the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Through the blending of historical facts with compelling community anecdotes and audience perspectives, Dr. Maki fosters a dynamic dialogue that connects this history to today's crucial issues of social justice and the enduring strength of democracy.

This is more than a presentation; it is a moving and inspirational opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the unwavering Go For Broke spirit of the Japanese American soldiers and the ongoing relevance of their fight for the freedoms and liberties we all cherish. This is a chance to explore how their legacy impacts us and future generations.

Join the Democracy Center at JANM and meet the thinkers, artists, organizers, and civic leaders confronting authoritarianism today. This day-long symposium challenges us to imagine how we can build a democracy that endures by recognizing the threats before us, learning from communities resisting them, and envisioning new civic spaces and shared legacies for the future. The symposium also includes tours of the timely exhibition Monuments at MOCA and a mobile “banned bookmobile” presented by Bloom Wild Bookshop. 

Image: Glenn Kaino, In the Light of a Shadow (detail), 2021. Image courtesy of the artist.

Tracing the Kuroshio ocean current, which connects the coastlines of Japan and California, reveals an interconnected history of migration, industry, art and culture. A number of early migrants specifically from Wakayama and Chiba, many of whom came from a fishing background, made Monterey along California’s Central Coast their adopted home as a result of being able to continue with this trade. Despite being thousands of miles apart, connections abound. Join researchers, curators, filmmakers, and descendants as they trace the interesting threads that connect these places.

This program is presented in partnership with JANM’s Sister Museum, the Museum of Modern Art Wakayama, and is organized by the Executive Committee for International Exchange Programs on Migration Studies in Wakayama, which is administered by The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama. It is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan, in the fiscal year 2025.