2026 JACL National Scholarship Applications Available Now!

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. 

Call for 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 will be made available later. 

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

Olympia JACL Chapter Board Oshogatsu

The annual Olympia potluck oshogatsu - mochitsuki- board installation saw nearly 60 attendees help build community by sharing food, fundraising through the silent auction, and lighting up the entire community center with taiko lessons and a recital.  The entertainment program ended with an expressive retelling of Momotaro!

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.

January 22: Japanese American Group Night at Utah Jazz 

Join the JA community for the first ever Utah Jazz Japanese Heritage Night! There will be VIP early entrance, a tribute to Watt Misaka, taiko performance during half-time, and much more!

January 24: SFV JACL Installation Luncheon

January 24: JACL NCWNP District Youth Oshogatshu Mochitsuki

January 25: Ventura County JACL Installation Luncheon

January 25: Lodi & Stockton JACL Installation Luncheon

January 25: "Restoring America’s Promise: The Fight For Justice" with GFBNEC and Boise Valley JACL 

January 31: SELANOCO-OC JACL Installation

January 31: Monterey JACL Movie Night - Tampopo

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

March 22: Temari Zushi Cooking Demo with San Diego JACL

Jan 23: Echoes of History: Inspiring Civic Action and Building Democracy

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. 

2026 Minoru Yasui Student Contest

I Am An American - Nisei Soldier Experience Traveling Exhibit Opening in San Francisco February 2026