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| Posted on Saturday, January 10 @ 00:00:49 PST |
Following are some of the notable individuals who passed away during the past year, in alphabetical order:
Patrick Adiarte, 82, on April 15. Actor, singer and dancer known for “The King and I,” “Flower Drum Song” and “MAS*H.”
Marsha Aizumi, 78, on Dec. 18. Author, educator and LGBTQ+ activist. She founded the first PFLAG chapter for AAPIs and co-authored “Two Spirits, One Heart: A Mother, Her Transgender Son, and Their Journey to Love and Acceptance” with her son Aiden.
Aki Aleong, 90, on June 22. A character actor in TV and film whose credits included “Babylon 5” and “V: The Series.” He was active with Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA).
Betsy Arakawa, 65, on Feb. 12. Classical pianist and businesswoman, she was married to actor Gene Hackman. They were found dead at their Santa Fe home on Feb. 25.
Akihiro Arimoto, 96, on Feb. 17. His daughter Keiko was abducted by North Korea in 1983. He and others strenuously fought for her return and that of other victims.
Richard Armitage, 79, on April 13. A former U.S. deputy secretary of state under President George W. Bush, he was a leading voice on U.S.-Japan relations.
Richard Chamberlain, 90, on March 29.
Actor whose credits included the 1980 miniseries “Shogun,” also starring Yoko Shimada and Toshiro Mifune.
Christine Choy, 76, on Dec. 7. She founded Asian CineVision, a development and exhibition space for Asian/Asian American filmmakers, and was nominated for an Oscar with Renee Tajima-Peña for the documentary “Who Killed Vincent Chin?”
Dwight Chuman, 77, on July 25. Editor of The Rafu Shimpo in the ‘70s and ’80s and co-founder of the Asian American Journalists Association.
Frank Chuman, 105,on May 23, 2022. Pioneering Nisei attorney who was active in many key civil rights-related cases in the early postwar era and was one of the first to come up with the concept of reopening the wartime Supreme Court cases involving the incarceration of Japanese Americans.
Kyoko Furumoto, 90, on Oct. 29, 2024. She was a Japanese instructor at Gardena High School from 1966 to 1983.
Hanayagi Rokumine, 93, on Aug. 5. Also known as Yoko Fukumoto, she taught Japanese classical dance for 47 years and performed at Obon festivals, Nisei Week, Japanese Village & Deer Park, and Disneyland.
Art Hansen, 87, on Oct. 29. Professor emeritus of history at CSU Fullerton and a pioneer in the field of oral history, he was an eminent and award-winning scholar of Japanese American history and a devoted mentor to his many history colleagues and students.
Okagi Hayashi, 115, on April 26. She was recognized as the third-oldest living person in the world and the last known Japanese person born in the 1900s decade.
Miyoko Hiroyasu, 114, on July 29. Japan’s oldest person, she was called a source of hope and energy for longevity.
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, 90, on Dec. 21, 2024. Incarcerated during WWII as a child, she co-authored the memoir “Farewell to Manzanar” and the TV movie of the same name, educating the public about the Japanese American experience.
Tomiko Itooka, 116, on Dec. 29, 2024. She was recognized as the world’s oldest verified living person in September 2024.
Mark Izu, 70, on Jan. 12. A pivotal figure in the Asian American arts scene in San Francisco since the 1970s, he was a bassist and composer who fused the traditional music of Asia with African American improvisation. He collaborated with his wife, storyteller Brenda Wong Aoki.
Barbara Kawakami, 103, on Dec. 20, 2024. Dressmaker, author, storyteller and scholar specializing in Japanese immigrant clothing and Hawaiian plantation life. Author of “Japanese Immigrant Clothing in Hawaii 1885-1941” and “Picture Bride Stories.”
Peter Kwong, 73, on May 20. A veteran of film, TV and stage best known for his roles in “Big Trouble in Little David Lin China,” “The Golden Child” and “Cooties.
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K.W. Lee, 96, on March 8. Founding president of the Korean American Journalists Association, he was best known for an investigative series on immigrant Chol Soo Lee, who was convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. Asian Americans nationwide campaigned for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom.
David Lin, 69, on Sept. 25. He was the victim of a double homicide with his wife Jean. He was national president of JACL (the first Chinese American to lead the organization) and national vice president for OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates.
Nancy Matsui, 73, on Oct. 12. Board member of the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center for over 29 years and member of the Japanese American National Museum Board of Governors, she had a 40-year career with American Airlines.
Monta Mino, 80, on March 1. Born Norio Minorikawa, he was recognized by Guinness World Records as being the TV host with the most hours of live TV appearances in a week (22 hours, 15 seconds) as of April 2008.
Ken Mochizuki, 71, on Sept. 20. An actor, musician, journalist and author. His books include the coming-of-age novel “Beacon Hill Boys” and children’s historical books “Baseball Saved Us,” “Passage to Freedom: The Sugihara Story” and “Those Who Helped Us.
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Tomiichi Murayama, 101, on Oct. 17. Former prime minister of Japan, best remembered for his statement on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which he officially apologized for Japan’s past colonial wars and aggression.
Tatsuya Nakadai, 92, on Nov. 8. A renowned actor who collaborated with director Masaki Kobayashi on 11 films including “Kwaidan” and “Samurai Rebellion” and five with Akira Kurosawa, including “Kagemusha” and “Ran.”
Robert Nakamura, 88, on June 11. Known as the “Godfather of Asian American Media,” he co-founded Visual Communications, founded the UCLA Center for Ethno-Communications, and co-created the Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center at the Japanese American National Museum. His films include “Hito Hata: Raise the Banner” and “Toyo Miyatake: Infinite Shades of Gray.”
Yosh Nakamura, 100, on Nov. 22. A decorated veteran of the 442nd RCT, he taught art at Whittier High School and Rio Hondo College and was active with Go For Broke National Education Center and other community organizations. His art has been widely displayed.
Akinori Nakayama, 82, on March 9. A Japanese gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, he was one of only three gymnasts to become an Olympic champion in rings twice (1968 and 1972).
Karl Nobuyuki, 79, on Oct. 5, 2024. The national executive director of the JACL in the late 1970s, he was involved in the decision to create the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, whose recommendations became the basis for redress legislation.
Joseph Nye, 88, on May 6. Assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs under President Bill Clinton, he was a prominent scholar of international relations who had a significant influence on the U.S.-Japan alliance.
Hitomi Obara, 44, on July 18. In 2012, she won the women’s 48kg free-style wrestling gold in her first Olympic Games at London’s Excel Arena.
Mario Gershom Reyes, 69, on Jan. 22. During his 40-year career as a photographer for The Rafu Shimpo, he documented the changes in and around Little Tokyo and the Japanese American community in Southern California.
Kanji Sahara, 90, on Feb. 15. He conceived the idea of the WWII Camp Wall to be built in Torrance’s Columbia Park. He was also active with the Japanese American National Museum, JACL, Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition, and Historic Wintersburg Preservation Task Force.
Masahiro Shinoda, 94, on March 25. One of the central figures of the Japanese New Wave during the 1960s and ’70s, he directed films for Shochiku Studio from 1960 to 1965, before turning to independent cinema from 1966 onward.
His films included “Himiko,” “MacArthur’s Children” and “Gonza the Spearman.”
Sen Soshitsu XV, 102, on Aug. 14. 15th-generation grand master (iemoto) of the Urasenke school of Japanese tea, he traveled across the world to promote the ethos of “peacefulness through a bowl of tea.” Following retirement, he adopted the name of Sen Genshitsu.
Yoichi Shibuya, 74, on July 14. a prominent figure in Japan’s rock music scene, he launched the magazines Rockin’On and Rockin’On Japan in 1986. He was also known for producing one of Japan’s largest and most iconic outdoor music events, the Rock in Japan Festival.
Alan Simpson, 93, on March 14. Former U.S. senator from Wyoming and lifelong friend of former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, he was instrumental in passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (the redress bill) and participated in the Heart Mountain Pilgrimage. The Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation recently opened the Mineta-Simpson Institute.
George Sugimoto, 99, on Oct. 12. Entrepreneur and philanthropist whose dedication to community bolstered organizations, events and causes for decades. Founder of KGS Electronics, he supported such organizations as JACCC, JANM, Little Tokyo Service Center, Keiro, Go For Broke National Education Center, and East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center.
Osamu Suzuki, 94, on Dec. 25, 2024. Former charismatic head of Suzuki Motor Corp. who turned the Japanese mini-vehicle maker into a global player with an overwhelming dominance in India’s car market.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, 75, on Dec. 4. Veteran film and TV actor whose best-known credits include “Mortal Kombat,” “Nash Bridges,” “The Man in the High Castle” and “Lost in Space.”
Keith Terasaki, 68, on Dec. 22, 2024. Chief of interventional radiologists serving over 3 million members of the Southern California Kaiser Permanente system, he succeeded his father as chair of the Terasaki Institute and served on the boards of UCLA Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies and Japanese Institute of Sawtelle, among others, and helped facilitate a large donation from Terasaki Family Foundation to help build Little Tokyo Service Center’s Terasaki Budokan.
Tsuneo Watanabe, 98, on Dec. 19. Japanese journalist, businessman, and newspaper editor and executive who served as a managing editor of Yomiuri Shimbun.
Kent Wong, 69, on Oct. 8. Former director of UCLA Labor Center and professor of labor studies and Asian American studies, he was an esteemed community leader, renowned across Los Angeles and the nation for his labor and immigrant rights advocacy.
He was the first staff attorney of Asian Pacific American Legal Center for Southern California, now known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Jimmie Yamaguchi, 87, on May 12. Dentist and father of Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.
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