2025 JACL National Convention Photos Now Available!

Thanks to our wonderful convention photographer, Darrell Miho, all of our convention photos are now available to view! You can view all of the photos from this year using the link below. To access the gallery, use password: arigatou

St. Louis Chapter at the 48th Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden

The St. Louis Chapter participated in the 48^th Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Aug. 30 through Sep. 1 in St. Louis. The festival, which featured sumo wrestling, taiko, dancing, demonstrations, a marketplace, and more, set new attendance records for the garden. The St. Louis Chapter increased its visibility and raised funds for chapter programs and scholarships. 

The Missouri Botanical Garden reported a festival record with nearly 55,000 visitors in three days. The garden also broke a record for single-day attendance with more than 20,600 visitors on Aug. 31. With fair weather and a tent near the main stage, St. Louis Chapter JACL enjoyed its highest-ever gross revenues from the event.

Chapter members and other volunteers hung banner decorations, operated the JACL soda and snack booth, and provided transportation for some traveling performers. Thanks in part to a Sukiyaki cooking demonstration by chapter board members Wendy Roll and Robin Hattori, the booth sold 55 Nisei Kitchen cookbooks. Roll and Hattori also represented JACL in local network news stories covering the event.

St. Louis Chapter JACL enjoys a unique tie to the Japanese Garden. As many Japanese Americans were welcomed to St. Louis after incarceration in relocation camps, the chapter approached the then-president of the garden, Dr. Peter Raven, to ask about donating a stone lantern. Dr. Raven proposed a Japanese Garden for the lantern. JACL members helped with engineering and contacts to design and construct the garden. “Seiwa-en” opened officially in 1974. The St. Louis Chapter has been involved in the annual festival since the first festival in 1977.

October 15 & 18: Sign-Making Party and No Kings Rally in Chicago

Sign-Making Party: Wednesday, October 15, 4:30PM-7PM | 5415 N Clark St, Chicago IL 60640
Come join us at the JACL Chicago office on the Wednesday before the rally to make signs and prepare. Drop in anytime between 4:30PM and 7PM. Anyone is welcome, even if you can't make the rally! 

No Kings Day: Saturday, October 18, 11:30AM | Downtown Chicago, meeting location TBA
JACL Chicago and Nikkei Uprising are organizing a contingency to attend the No Kings rally on Saturday, October 18, in downtown Chicago. If you are interested in joining our group, please sign up so we can send you meeting info! All are welcome to join (friends and family included).

October 18: Idaho Falls Chapter Bento Fundraiser

11:00 am - 1:00 pm Pickup Window

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Pickup Window

October 18: Rise and Resist at Tanforan Memorial

Event Day Details
Parking: available at BART Station

What to bring: sunscreen, hat, water bottle, lunch, and lawn chair
- Bring your banner or materials for the information table.

To visually reflect the repetition of history, participants are invited (if you feel called) to:
- Wear period clothes from WWII
- Bring suitcases symbolizing the WWII incarceration experience

October 19: Puyallup Valley JACL Screening of "League of Dreams" 

Lane Nishikawa presents his new film examining the 95 year history of the Japanese American Citizens League. Film will be presented at 1:30pm at Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church, 3001 24th Avenue South, Seattle, WA.

A Question and Answer session follows with Producer/Director Lane Nishikawa. While admission is free, school supply donations will be expected and accepted. Seating is limited to 250 viewers.

Please RSVP to PuyallupValleyJACL@gmail.com with subject line DREAMS. Please include attendee names and contact information to confirm attendance.

Our Debt of Gratitude - Seeking Stories!

Nichi Bei 2026 Films of Remembrance Call for Submissions!

The Nichi Bei Foundation is now accepting submissions for its 15th annual Films of Remembrance, the premier showcase of films commemorating the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in American concentration camps during World War II.

Selected films will be included at showcase screenings in

• San Francisco’s Japantown on February 21, 2026
• San Jose’s Japantown on February 22, 2026

Additional screenings in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo and in Gardena, CA, in March 2026 are under consideration.

In addition, selected films may be eligible to be included in Films of Remembrance On Demand, our new streaming platform dedicated to films on the Japanese American incarceration experience. 

Eligible films should be recent productions on the topic of the Japanese American wartime incarceration experience and its aftermath, in either documentary, narrative, animation, or experimental forms. Works in progress may be considered if they are under production and guaranteed to be completed by the film submission deadline.

PRIORITY DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 7, 2025

October 18: Manzanar Grand Opening Doubleheader hosted by Great Leap and Manzanar Baseball Project

Today, Great Leap and the Manzanar Baseball Project have taken on the sizeable task of restoring the baseball field at Manzanar. Through its historical re-enactment doubleheader played on Manzanar's lovingly restored ballfield, the Manzanar Baseball Project honors Japanese Americans who found a way to play the game they loved in spite of injustice.

This project is a tribute to the spirit and determination of the Japanese American community, the power of baseball to uplift and unite people, and the importance of safeguarding the rights and principles enshrined in our Constitution.

October 23: Screening of Colorado Experience - United by Baseball on Colorado PBS

10.23.25 at 7 pm on Rocky Mountain PBS, Rocky Mountain PBS YouTube, and the NEW RMPBS+ app

Baseball has long unified Colorado’s diverse communities. Even before statehood, towns formed teams that brought people together. Immigrant groups—like Hispanic sugar beet workers and Japanese Americans—created their own leagues, claiming the sport as part of their American identity. In Denver, rising Black talent led to the first integrated game of the 20th century. Today, baseball still builds lasting connections, especially for new immigrants