On Aug. 16, Okaeri, a Nikkei LGBTQ+ program of Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), became the first LGBTQ+ group to walk in Little Tokyo’s historic Nisei Week Grand Parade.
This year marked Nisei Week’s 84th festival, a nine-day celebration promoting Japanese and Japanese American heritage and traditions. Celebrating Asian American, Na-tive Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI), and LGBTQ+ communi-ties in the parade was a tremendous milestone.
Over 75 Okaeri community mem-bers marched in Little Tokyo, wav-ing pride flags and holding signs encouraging diversity and inclusion. Okaeri Steering Committee Chair Eric Arimoto helped usher in this historic moment.
“Marching in the Nisei Week pa-rade is historic and incredible,” said Arimoto. “We’re here in strength in numbers, and in coalition. We’re so proud to be able to show the commu-nity who we are and just to continue this conversation and dialogue.”
Okaeri (“welcome home” in Japanese) supports, empowers, and celebrates LGBTQ+ Nikkei and their families; creates spaces for visibility and story-sharing; offers culturally rooted education and advocacy; and builds compassionate community connections. Founded in 2014 by the late Marsha Aizumi, Okaeri became a program of LTSC in 2025.
Join the Okaeri community for Queer Obon at Terasaki Budokan on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 4 to 9 p.m. The event brings together the Nikkei LGBTQ+ community to celebrate the community and honor queer ancestors. Sliding scale tickets are on sale now at give.LTSC.org/QueerObon2026.
For more information about Okaeri, visit www.okaeri.org.