Members-Only Early Bird Registration is Now Open for the 2026 JACL National Convention!

Join us for the 56th JACL National Convention in Las Vegas, July 29-August 2. This year's theme is Reigniting Our Purpose and Mission! There are moments when we must pause, look within, and rediscover what drives us. Our 2026 convention theme, “Reigniting Our Purpose and Mission,” is the spirit that empowers and advances our community forward. It’s about transformational reflection for renewed action and impact.

What to Look Forward to in 2026:

• Welcome Reception 
• Chapter Awards Luncheon
• National Council and 2026 National Board Elections
• Sayonara Gala
• Workshops
• Mixers, community events, and other ways to engage!

On The 84th Anniversary of the Day of Remembrance, JACL Calls for Vigilance Amid Efforts to Erase American History and Harm Immigrant Communities

February 19th, 2026, marks 84 years since the signing of Executive Order 9066, the order that led to the incarceration of over 125,000 Japanese Americans. This year carries particular weight and heightened urgency; today marks 50 years since President Gerald Ford signed legislation known as “The American Promise”. This legislation formally terminated Executive Order 9066 and in doing so, President Ford acknowledged what should have been clear from the beginning: “We now know what we should have known then; not only was that evacuation wrong, but Japanese Americans were and are loyal Americans.” His words affirmed that the incarceration was not simply a wartime judgment mistake, but a flagrant violation of constitutional principles and fundamental civil liberties.

Be a Part of JACL as our Next Executive Director!

We are launching a national search for our next Executive Director. Our recruitment partner, Bonsai Leadership Group, is proud to serve as our recruitment partner for this important search.

The Executive Director will serve as JACL’s chief executive and public-facing leader, responsible for advancing the organization’s mission, strengthening its national presence, and ensuring long-term sustainability. The ideal candidate brings a strong track record of organizational leadership, the ability to build and lead high-performing teams, and the skill to cultivate relationships with stakeholders, partners, and funders to support JACL’s continued growth.

This is an opportunity to lead with purpose and steward a powerful legacy into the future. If this role speaks to you, we encourage you to join the candidate pool or share this opportunity with your network. 

Learn more and join the candidate pool: https://www.bonsaileadershipgroup.com/jacl-ed

Candidates are encouraged to submit their interest by February 28 for priority consideration.

If you have questions about this search or would like to nominate someone for this opportunity, please contact Bonsai Leadership Group at careers@bonsaileadershipgroup.com. 

From the PC: Check Out the Latest News!

From Coronado to Santa Fe (by Dan Mayeda) - Like many other Nisei, my dad, Ray Mayeda, was somewhat reluctant to talk much about his incarceration experience in one of the Poston, Ariz., camps. But especially after he received an official apology from the government as part of the redress campaign, Ray Mayeda began to share and voice a bit more about his father (my grandfather), Kunitomo Mayeda.

Expert Re-Revisits Immigration (by George Toshio Jonhston) - In recent weeks, the president of the United States was reported to have stated that he was strongly in favor of “reverse migration,” wanted to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and end “federal benefits and subsidies for those who are not U.S. citizens,” as well as “denaturalize people ‘who undermine domestic tranquility.’” He also vowed to “deport foreign nationals deemed ‘noncompatible with Western Civilization.’”

A Family Connection (by Floyd and Brian Shimomura) - Brian Shimomura: Growing up, I knew my dad as the calm, thoughtful guy who made semi-healthy Sunday dinners and helped me with homework. I didn’t realize he was the first Sansei national president of the Japanese American Citizens League in 1982, or that he helped advance the redress campaign that resulted in President Ronald Reagan signing a bill in 1988 granting an apology and $20,000 to each person unjustly incarcerated during World War II. We didn’t talk much about our family’s internment history. I was more focused on becoming the best tennis player in Woodland, Calif.

Japanese Americans Still Love Bowling After Decades of Organized Leagues (by Gil Asakawa) - JAs have been bowling since the early 20th century. But the ancient (invented by the Egyptians!) sport was formalized in the U.S. with rules by the American Bowling Congress in 1895, and those rules excluded anyone but white players. Though JAs played where they could in unofficial lanes before World War II, the war didn’t allow for expensive alleys in the concentration camps. Baseball, football, basketball and even sumo, yes. But not bowling.

2026 JACL National Scholarship Applications Available Now! (Freshman Applications Due Monday, March 2!)

Scholarship Program guidelines, instructions, and applications have been posted on the JACL website, www.jacl.org, and can be accessed by clicking the “Youth” tab on the menu bar. You may also click the button below, "To Learn More or Apply Click Here."

Freshman applications must be submitted directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than Monday, March 2, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).  

Applications for the non-freshman scholarship categories (undergraduate, graduate, law, creative/performing arts, and financial aid) are also to be sent directly by the applicant to National JACL through the online form no later than Friday, April 3, 2026, 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian Standard Time (HST).  

All those applying to the National JACL Scholarship Program must be a youth/student or individual member of the JACL; a couple/family membership held by a parent does NOT meet this requirement. Applicants must be enrolled in school in Fall 2025 to be eligible for a scholarship. If a student has received two National scholarship awards previously, they are no longer eligible to apply as the limit is two national awards per person.

The JA Experience - Website & Video Series

The JAExperience.org is a long-needed update to our printed curriculum guide, The Japanese American Experience. Rather than a traditional reprint, we are excited to bring the Japanese American Experience into the modern age with a fully fledged website! 

Alongside the new website, we're also introducing the Japanese American Experience Video Series! Thanks to the Takahashi Family Foundation, we'll be publishing a series of ten short videos spanning the history of the Japanese American community. The series will be available on the JA Experience Website, and each video will be narrated by a community member and feature archival footage and photos. 

2026 Day of Remembrance Events!

As we're coming up on Day of Remembrance, JACL is once again asking all of our chapters and supporters to send us information on any events that you know of so that we can share it with the wider membership and Japanese American community! 

Please send any information you have on your DOR events, including date(s), times, any website/social links, and images/flyers you might have! We'll continually update the listing, so if you currently only have some information and are still waiting on more, send us what you have, and we can update the event page. The event page and calendar is available through the button below! 

Send any program information you have to Education Programs Manager, Matthew Weisbly at mweisbly@jacl.org

February 25: Day of Remembrance Interfaith Vigil 2026

February 25: Philadelphia Day of Remembrance - Asian America Across the Disciplines with Mas Nakawatase

February 26: Ketchum - "Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf"

February 28: 2026 Utah Day of Remembrance

February 28: Wing Luke Museum - Japanese American Remembrance Trail Tour

February 28: Stockton JACL Day of Remembrance

February 28: GVJCI Day of Remembrance

March 1: David Neiwert Author Visit: The American Experience of Bellevue’s Japanese American Families

Sacramento Japantown Museum Exhibit Project

Reclaim Sacramento Japantown is raising funds for a Fall 2026 exhibit at the Sacramento History Museum at 101 I Street in Old Sacramento. This immersive, multi-room experience brings the lost neighborhood back to life through sound, light, artifacts, and community storytelling.

For generations, Sacramento Japantown was a vibrant cultural and economic center. The physical neighborhood was devastated by forced removal during World War II and later demolished by downtown redevelopment. But the story lives on.

2025 Wasatch Front North JACL DOR Honored by FDR Presidential Library

The Wasatch Front North JACL's Day of Remembrance program for 2025 was one of the biggest and most successful events in Brigham City and Box Elder County's history in conjunction with the Brigham City Museum's first Japanese Pioneer exhibit. Last year's event in Utah is featured on the FDR Presidential Library's Day of Remembrance observance program for 2026 today on the 84th Anniversary.

March 1: Chicago JACL Kansha Apps Due!

March 7: JACL Monterey Movie Night - Mirai

March 11: San Diego JACL screening of "Loyal American" and "One Fighting Irishman"

March 14: Monterey JACL Documentary Screening and Discussion - Fruits of Labor 

March 14: Chicago JACL Intergenerational Conversations: Ripples of the Past

March 22: Temari Zushi Cooking Demo with San Diego JACL

March 28: 28th Annual Freedom Walk in Washington, D.C.​​​​​​

2026 AAPIHiP Forum - Call for Proposals! 

FORUM is APIAHiP’s flagship gathering of enthusiasts and professionals dedicated to preserving historic places and cultural resources significant to Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. In 2026, we convene in the neighboring cities of Denver and Aurora, Colorado—communities where local and statewide efforts to Expand the Narrative are reshaping how APIA histories are understood, protected, and uplifted. 

Across the region, participants will explore stories and sites ranging from Denver’s lost Chinatown and the remaining block of Nihonmachi at Sakura Square, to Little Saigon’s Far East Center and Aurora’s Havana Street corridor with Koreatown roots, with opportunities to learn from places beyond the metro area such as Amache National Historic Landmark. Through sessions, workshops, and tours centered on collaboration, FORUM offers space to share strategies, build relationships, and strengthen a more inclusive preservation ethic. 

Join APIAHiP in Colorado as we honor the past, advance community-led stewardship, and affirm that our Emerging Historic Places are truly Centuries in the Making.

Registration for the Jerome/Rohwer Pilgrimage is Now Open!

The Jerome Rohwer Pilgrimage allows survivors, descendants, and others to learn about and discuss the legacy and aftermath of WWII era concentration camps in the USA.  One day of the Pilgrimage is a trip to the concentration camp sites in Jerome and Rohwer, with a short program in McGehee, AR, that includes taiko drummers and a short Obon festival to honor the spirits of our ancestors.  There will be two full days of programming in Little Rock, with historical sessions, survivor perspectives, intergenerational and generational discussions, social activities, and opportunities to research family histories.  Learning  and open conversation lead to understanding and healing.  A program summary is linked below. 

March 3: Screening of "The Blue Jay" as part of the Golden State Film Festival at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood

March 28: Annual Minoru Yasui Day