Michael Okamura
The Nisei Week Foundation is pleased to announce Nisei Week Inspiration Award honorees Michael Okamura and the Japanese American Vietnam Veterans.
This year, the annual awards event will be held in conjunction with the Coronation on Aug. 9 at the Aratani Theatre, 244 S. San Pedro St. in Little Tokyo, starting at 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $95 (orchestra) and $65 (balcony).
Also recognized at the Coronation and Awards Celebration will be Grand Marshal Thomas Iino; Parade Marshal East West Players; and the Frances K. Hashimoto Community Service Award recipients, Doug and Chris Aihara and Azay restaurant.
For information, call the Nisei Week Foundation at (213) 687-7193, call the Aratani Theatre box office at (213) 680-3700, or visit www.jaccc.org.
The Inspiration Award recognizes individuals who exemplify the spirit of Nisei Week by going above and beyond to volunteer their time and/or service or whose contributions have promoted the Japanese and Japanese American community and/or culture.
Michael Okamura is a Yonsei (fourth-generation Japanese American) and native Angeleno, with ancestral roots in Tottori, Wakayama, and Fukushima prefectures. He is passionate about Little Tokyo, following in the footsteps of his paternal grandparents, who met in the 1920s,were involved in the community, and owned Toyo Florist & Nursery on North San Pedro Street before the war. You’ll often see him giving walking tours of Little Tokyo.
Okamura graduated from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business with an emphasis in international finance, and after graduation he attended a one-year study abroad program at Waseda University’s International Division in Tokyo.
He began his finance career in Tokyo and upon returning to the U.S. after three years, he had a decades-long career in banking and retired from MUFG Union Bank in fall 2021. Soon after, he began a part-time job at Azay, a restaurant in Little Tokyo. Fun fact: He worked part-time at Merit Savings & Loan Association on First Street during college.
Okamura has been a 36-year volunteer with the Japanese American National Museum; a longtime president of the Little Tokyo Historical Society; a Grateful Crane Ensemble board member; longtime member and past president of Montebello-Ashiya Sister City Association; an archeological dig projects volunteer at the Manzanar National Historic Site; and a 13-year mentor with USC Career Center’s First-Generation Mentor Program. He was also co-chair of the Nisei Week Coronation in 1999.
After the devastation of the Tohoku region of northeast Japan, which suffered a massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant explosion on March 11, 2011, Okamura volunteered in the region nearly every year through his church, Altadena Community Church, United Church of Christ. In retirement, he revived his interest in shodō, Japanese calligraphy, which he learned at Waseda University, and visits friends and relatives in Japan annually.
The Japanese American Vietnam Veterans were the children of the concentration camps and the Baby Boom. Their fathers and uncles served proudly in World War II and Korea. When their country needed them, they too answered the call. They served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. They served in combat units, but many also served in support units, both in Vietnam and elsewhere.
The vets served together with a cross-section of America, and they did their jobs to ensure the successful completion of their assigned missions. They demonstrated that courage and honor are still qualities to be respected even when rendered in a long and unpopular war.
The veterans returned home, not with their units, but as individuals. No parades or people saying “Thank you for your service” welcomed them back. It was quite the contrary. As a result, many remained silent about the most momentous experience of their young lives.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. inspired Judge Vincent Okamoto to gather a group of his fellow veterans to build a memorial to their brothers who did not return home with them. On Veterans Day 1995, the black granite wall was dedicated to honor the 116 Japanese Americans who gave their lives in Vietnam.
This was the beginning of the Memorial Court as we know it today. The Vietnam vets are forever grateful to the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and its then-president, Min Tonai, a Korean War veteran, for providing the serene setting that honors the fallen heroes.
On this 50th anniversary of the end of America’s military involvement in Vietnam, may this award and the parade say to all Vietnam veterans: “Stand tall, you have done your job. Your faithful and honorable service has brought credit to yourselves, your country, and your Japanese American community. Thank you and welcome home.”