As of 4:00 pm, March 15, a major nuclear disaster is underway in Japan. In the wake of Friday’s devastating earthquake, a fire in a cooling pond for spent fuel rods and three major explosions have hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, located on the country's east coast. There are widespread reports of elevated radiation levels and many residents have fled the area.

Con ofrendas florales, oraciones y aves de origami – como símbolo de paz – centenares de personas se dieron cita en Tule Lake para recordar a los japoneses-americanos que fallecieron en este campo de concentración durante la Segunda Guerra mundial. El acto conmemorativo se llevó a cabo durante el fín de semana feriado por el cuatro de julio, como parte de la peregrinación a Tule Lake, California, lugar donde se encontraba el más grande de los campos de concentración. En esta peregrinación se resaltó el hecho de que durante la segunda guerra mundial miles de personas de orígen japonés fueron obligadas a renunciar a la nacionalidad estadounidense.

An interview with peace activists Mary and Lewis Suzuki

Berkeley, CA – In October of 1952, more than 400 delegates and observers from 37 countries gathered in Beijing, China for the Peace Conference of the Asian and Pacific Regions. Two of the delegates from the United States were Mary Bonzo and Lewis Suzuki. In the 50 years since the conference, both Mary and Lewis have remained active fighters for peace and supporters of national liberation movements. In August, both spoke at a program to commemorate the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The program was sponsored by Nosei, a group of younger Japanese American activists in San Francisco and the East Bay. I spoke with Mary and Lewis after the program.

Sixty years ago, on Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 Japanese from the blast, heat and radiation. Three days later, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 75,000. Thousands more suffered, and many died, from the long-term effects of the heat and radiation from the bombings that also caused scarring, cancer and birth defects.

San Francisco, CA – Nearly one hundred protesters marched on the Philippine and Japanese embassies in San Francisco on Dec. 7. The “Tour of Shame” was organized by the Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition Against War to protest daily bombings in Afghanistan and the loss of civil liberties throughout the world.