Pam Yoshida, Co-President
Pam is a Project Manager for a small practice architectural firm with over 30 years experience in all phases of architectural projects and project types, including the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. She is a certified instructor with the Mataro Doll Craft Academy of Tokyo, Japan, a Midori Kai (professional women’s group) Director, and Co-Chairperson of the NCWNP District JACL US-Japan Education Committee. She is the former Publicity and PR Chairperson for Nikkei Matsuri (NM) and chaired events such as NM anniversary events (Hiroshima Jazz Concert in Campbell), fundraiser for Tohoku Relief, and hosted the SJ-Okayama Sister Cities Delegation at NM in 2017. In 2001, she became a founder of a small retail business: Nikkei Traditions of San Jose Japantown. As a co-owner/buyer for the store, she enjoys finding products that reflect the culture and heritage of Japan and Asia with a contemporary expression, while expressing multiculturalism and diversity. She joined JCCsj in 2017 and coordinated the JCCsj efforts in the BeerWalks, Earthquake’s Japantown Neighborhood Nights and has assisted with the JCCsj Bonen Kai. As JCCsj Co-President since 2020, she has created opportunities for JCCsj such as the maintenance of the SB307 projects and participation in the San Jose hosted-Welcoming America convention. She loves the ‘sense of place’ of San Jose Japantown: “a comfortable and safe place-where it is OK to be who you are” as one of the last three Japantowns in the United States.
Ryan Kawamoto, Co-President
Ryan is the Regional Program Manager for Older Adults Technology Services from AARP, where he empowers older adults to use technology through Senior Planet programming. He is the former Executive Director of Yu-Ai Kai Japanese American Community Senior Service of San Jose, where he streamlined protocols resulting in increased revenue, program attendance, and staff morale, while decreasing expenses, and is the former Chair of the Aging Services Collaborative of Santa Clara County. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Asian Pacific Youth Leadership Project and is a Community Advisory Board Member for the Collaborative Approach for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Research and Education. He also agrees with National Geographic in 2019 when they named San Jose Japantown one of the friendliest neighborhoods in the country as his favorite part of San Jose Japantown is the amazing sense of community and the wonderful people.
Richard Kogura, Treasurer
Richard has spent most of his life living and working in the San Jose Japantown area. He is a third-generation San Jose Japantown resident and because his children and granddaughter also live within the environs, five generations of his family have called Japantown home. Consequently, his favorite part of San Jose Japantown is the sense of community. He is a graduate of San Jose High and the University of California, Berkeley, and is a member of the San Jose Buddhist Temple. Since the 1980’s, he has worked as a financial consultant for Swenson Development Company. Richard’s grandfather Kohei Kogura, started the family business in 1928 on 6th street and in 1934 moved his business to its current location on Jackson street. Because of J.B. Peckham’s efforts, the Kogura family was able to purchase the property and during internment, J.B. Peckham collected rents and paid the property taxes so the Kogura Family and others would have a place to which to return. Within the three remaining Japantowns in America, Kogura Company is the only Japanese American business still operating in the same location as it did prior to internment. Richard is most proud of his involvement (5 years ago), with the Japantown Business Association’s 125-year anniversary celebration of San Jose Japantown, which honored two men instrumental in the development and preservation of the historic community. John Heinlen and J.B. Peckham were honored by Connie Young Yu and Norman Mineta with historical compositions within the event’s programs. With his background as a CPA, Richard is currently the Treasurer for JCCsj, and serves on the Historical/Cultural committee.
Janice N. Doi
Prior to retiring in 2011, Janice served for 28 years as a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Santa Clara. Prior to joining the D.A.’s Office, she worked as a staff attorney for the Asian Law Alliance which had its office in Japantown. She serves on JCCsj as a representative from the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, where she served as Betsuin Board president from 2011 through 2013. She was fortunate enough to be a shopkeeper in Japantown. For five years, together with her husband and some friends, she operated Jimbo’s, an ice cream and snack shop in Japantown, which was so much fun. When Helen Hayashi was President of the JCCsj, Janice helped to update the JCCsj bylaws. She also serves on the Bonen Kai Committee. Her favorite part about San Jose Japantown is the sense of community. It is not just the physical identity that draws people here, for beyond the shops, restaurants, churches and community organizations, it is the people behind it all that welcomes everyone to come to share our lives and experiences with one another.
Mariko Fujimoto
Mariko grew up in the San Jose Japantown community and spent many Friday evenings at the Buddhist Church for Girl Scouts. Her interest in both community building and social justice has resulted in over ten years experience holding leadership positions on community-based nonprofit boards. She is currently President of Silicon Valley Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Secretary for the NCWNP District of JACL, and just ended a term as a founding board member of Diversity Saves, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting marginalized communities in the tabletop roleplaying game industry. Mariko loves Japantown and feels a strong connection to the neighborhood where her parents also spent time volunteering and building the community. Her favorite part of San Jose Japantown is that the community continues to grow and develop while still maintaining a sense of respect for the history and people who came before.
Vanessa Hatakeyama
Originally from Morgan Hill, Vanessa Hatakeyama has lived in San Jose Japantown for nearly a decade, but has been coming to visit for her entire life – dancing and volunteering at Obon, attending special services at the Buddhist Temple and of course, shopping and eating at the local establishments. Before the pandemic, she was an Administrative and Office Manager for tech companies, but she’s currently pivoting and taking time to explore a career in creative writing and other pursuits while caring for her two sons, volunteering at the neighborhood food distribution, and donating blood as often as possible. She is grateful to be a part of such a vibrant, engaged and supportive community and is committed to doing her part to preserve and perpetuate Japantown’s cultural heritage and unique neighborhood feel for generations to come.
Robin Goka Huynh
Robin is a stay at home mom and supports her two young children's participation in many San Jose Japantown enrichment activities, such as Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts at the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, CYS dance classes, Suzume no Gakko, and San Jose Junior Taiko. Living in the Hensley Neighborhood, they often walk to all the family friendly Japantown activities throughout the year, from Nikkei Matsuri to Obon to SJ Taiko’s Halloween. Robin is a founding member of the San Jose Nikkei Resisters and currently serves on the Coordinating Committee. She has also volunteered with the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee and the San Jose Japantown Lions. Some of her proudest San Jose Japantown accomplishments are serving as one of the emcee’s for the 2018 San Jose Day of Remembrance and contributing a quilt square to the San Jose Nikkei Resisters Unity Quilt. She is passionate about preserving, protecting, and promoting San Jose Japantown so it thrives for generations to come. Her favorite thing about San Jose Japantown is all the amazing people and community that it houses; people who volunteer their time and put an impressive amount of effort into making San Jose Japantown a wonderful place full of cultural and historical pride in our shared and diverse Nikkei heritage.
AYAKA J. IWATA
Ayaka became an active community volunteer in the Safe from Hate Safety Patrol program in 2021 after hearing Rich Saito’s interview about it on the radio. Through that experience, she’s discovered the wonderful community of Japantown and its historical heritage, and continues to engage with its local residents and neighborhoods. She is a recent transplant to the Bay Area (2020), originally hailing from Seattle, and is happy to have found this vibrant community that both welcomes new visitors and makes efforts to preserve its cultural traditions. Her proudest and most fun experience was helping young Cub Scouts clean and revitalize the Ikoi no Ba benches that provide a resting place for anyone who stops by. Her favorite parts of San Jose Japantown are getting to know its friendly residents and their stories, as well as the beautiful festivals that attract people from all around the Bay area.
Kelvin Kamachi
Kelvin retired from the USPS in January 2020, where he was the letter carrier of San Jose Japantown for 27 years (1992-2019). Currently, he is the Treasurer of NALC Branch 193 from 2013, and he has been a member of JCCsj’s Japantown Prepared! upon being organized. He has been a lifetime resident of San Jose Japantown and has lived in his current home since 1982. Kelvin represents the Wesley United Methodist Church as part of JCCsj. His proudest accomplishment and favorite part of San Jose Japantown is knowing all his patrons during his work experience and after hours, and the neighborhood watch where everyone takes care to look after each other.
Jane Kawasaki
Jane retired from Cisco Systems in November 2020 after 20 years as a Process/Program Manager. She grew up in Venice, California and discovered and connected with San Jose’s Japantown in the early 1980s, shortly after relocating to Silicon Valley. She was active in the Nihonmachi Outreach Committee’s work on Redress & Reparations, and as she got to know Issei and Nisei Japanese Americans, became an active Yu-Ai Kai volunteer and board member. She is currently serving as Yu-Ai Kai’s Board President, where she is inspired every day by the giving spirit of the staff, volunteers and community members that has enabled the organization to serve and support our seniors for over 50 years. It truly embodies the "friendship" and "love" that are part of Yu-Ai Kai's name. As Yu-Ai Kai’s representative on the JCCsj board, she is excited to be a part of helping to build on the cross-generational and cross-cultural camaraderie and energy to ensure that San Jose’s Japantown continues to thrive as one of America’s most welcoming communities, based on shared values of mutual respect and appreciation.
Neil Kozuma
Neil is the Senior Grants Writer for WellSpace Health, a community health center that serves the greater Sacramento County communities. Neil also serves as the Board Secretary for the San Jose Japanese American Citizens League, which is the Bay Area’s oldest and one of the larger JACL Chapters, and a Board member of the Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene. As a long-standing Board member of the JCCsj, Neil is very passionate and committed to social justice and preserving the history and legacy of California’s Japantowns. His proudest accomplishment is being part of the JCCsj’s efforts to bring the Nikkei Lantern, Issei Wall of Values, and the Ikoi no Ba to San Jose Japantown. Neil’s favorite part of San Jose Japantown are the festivals, Day of Remembrance, and the great restaurants.
Tamiko Rast
Tamiko Rast is a fine artist, tattooer, graphic and web designer, and 5th Generation Japantown San Josean. She and her brother, Miles, have operated a website design company called Rasteroids for two decades, and her family owns and operates Roy’s Station, a coffee shop in the heart of Japantown. She is the President of the Japantown Business Association, member of the City of San Jose Downtown Parking Board, and manages the Japantown Farmer’s Market. Tamiko was the lead artist for the Japantown Mural Project, a public art project that spanned a quarter-city block and included the works of 50 local artists. Her favorite part of Japantown is helping her family take care of the neighborhood’s maintenance, and being part of a community of wonderful families.
John Ristow
John is the Director of Transportation for the City of San Jose and is a property owner in San Jose Japantown. His proudest JCCsj accomplishment has been working on the Ikoi no Ba installations around Japantown. He currently serves on the JCCsj Fundraising and Projects Committee, and his favorite part of San Jose Japantown is the fabulous sense of place that is created by the people, and the historical and cultural events that make this area of San Jose a special and loved location.
Rich Saito
Richard is a Japanese American Museum of San Jose docent, the public safety liaison for Japantown, and a member of JCCsj’s Japantown Prepared! His affiliation to JCCsj is as an active community volunteer, and his proudest accomplishments related to San Jose Japantown are being able to share Japanese American history as a JAMsj docent, and helping San Jose Japantown be prepared for a disaster as a public safety liaison. His favorite part about San Jose Japantown is Tasuke Au - the spirit of community service.
Michael Sera
Michael is an Executive Bridge Builder-Helping to narrow the technology and culture gap between Japan and Silicon Valley through his consulting firm, Sera Consulting, LLC. He was the past Board President at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj.org), he is also on the Board of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Northern California (JCCNC.org) and Vice Chair of the Community Relations Committee. He currently serves as the JCCsj Nikkei Community Internship Chair. His favorite part of San Jose Japantown beside the food and manju is the community and the willingness of everyone to support each other.
Victoria S. Taketa
Victoria retired from her last position as Counseling Faculty at Foothill Community College. As a JCCsj Board member and with San Jose Japantown walking distance from her home, she represents the Japantown Neighborhood Association. Her proudest accomplishments related to San Jose Japantown have been her work on the Issei Wall of Values, I Koi No Ba and being the Chair of the Spirit of Japantown Silent Auction. Her proudest moments related to JCCsj have been to witness the work of JCCsj in its leadership role established with the community stakeholders and the City of San Jose guiding principles for the expenditures of SB307 dollars for San Jose Japantown. These principles brought fore the development and the implementation of the Issei Wall of Values, Ikoi no Ba, the groundbreaking of the Corp Yard Site Development on North 6th St and a home for San Jose Taiko. She has served on the following committees, Issei Wall of Values, Ikoi no Ba, Spirit of Japantown Silent Auction, Bonen Kai, Nominations and Elections, and Historical Cultural Committee. Her favorite part of San Jose Japantown is Japantown holding memories from relationships with people and businesses from early childhood to present.