and education; all while supporting homeless animals in need.

and supported collaborations between Japanese and American businesses.But if I had to convey my feelings in just one word.

it is even more important that we pass down these bonds between Japan and the U.I will be completing my term of nearly three years — or two years.Many of them were deeply moving.

I watched documentaries such as Defining Courage and Baseball Behind Barbed Wire.and express my heartfelt gratitude to all before my departure.

Numerous instances and moments come to my mind.

Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles Kenko Sone and his wife Mami rode in the Nisei Week Grand Parade.Tony winner David Henry Hwangs comedy starring Daniel Dae Kim as an Asian American playwright who protests yellowface casting in the musical Miss Saigon only to mistakenly cast a white actor as the Asian lead in his own play.

on PBS SoCalA Filipina American garage band morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny.Through candid conversations about the creative process.

Sequoia Sake works to resurrect an heirloom rice in California and pioneer the young but growing craft sake movement in the U.who broke swimming records and popularized modern-day surfing while overcoming racism.