Recipients of Spring 2012 Decorations

On April 29th, 2012 (Japan Standard Time), the Government of Japan announced the recipients of its Spring 2012 Decorations. From our jurisdiction, the following two distinguished members of the community will be awarded.

The recipients' meritorious service towards Japan is as follows:

Frances Kazuko Hashimoto       
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays

Ms. Frances Hashimoto was born at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona in 1943. After the war, the family returned to Little Tokyo where Ms. Hashimoto spent much of her time both working and playing at the family business. After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1966, she worked as an elementary school teacher for four years. When her mother got into a car accident, Ms. Hashimoto decided to enter the family business full time, and she began learning in earnest the art of making Japanese confections. In 1970, she became the CEO of Mikawaya.

As a successful entrepreneur, Ms. Hashimoto has grown the company from a small neighborhood store into a large corporation with five retail branches. During this time, due to her great passion for the community that she had grown up in, she began her service in many local organizations and has served in many varying posts.

From 1994 to 2008, Ms. Hashimoto served as the president of Little Tokyo Business Association; she now serves as its chairperson. During her tenure The Little Tokyo Business Association was revitalized and continues proudly to serve the community. One of her numerous accomplishments is that she strengthened the ties between Little Tokyo and Minami Otsu Dori Shotengai in Nagoya by delegation exchanges, organizing fundraising for Nisei Week, arranging business seminars, and lobbying the city governments of both countries. She continues collaborating with many other Japanese-American organizations, the City of Los Angeles, and non-Asian businesses; Ms. Hashimoto is constantly promoting the revitalization of Little Tokyo.

As the first female General Chairperson of Nisei Week Japanese Festival in 1982, and again in1990, Ms. Hashimoto reinvented the festival by introducing more entertainment and by highlighting the rich cultural traditions of Japan. The performances attracted more spectators and participants to the festival and gave them all an opportunity to discover the charms of Little Tokyo and Japanese culture. As a result, more and more people started to come to Little Tokyo regularly to enjoy Japanese culture, even after the festival. In addition, she arranged for delegations from Nagoya, Los Angeles’ first sister city, to participate in the Nisei Week Festival and vice versa, promoting the cultural and economic exchange between the two cities. 

Her company Mikawaya, has been offering traditional Japanese confectionaries to the communities in Southern California since 1910. Under Ms. Hashimoto’s leadership, Mikawaya has expanded its operations significantly. Now its signature product, “Mochi Ice Cream,” is sold in many Japanese restaurants and supermarkets all over the country, enabling many people to experience and appreciate the Japanese confectionary culture.

Yoshiyuki Bill Watanabe           
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays

Mr. Watanabe was born during World War II at the Manzanar Internment　Camp. After graduating from California State University, Northridge, he worked briefly at a private company before he decided to learn about Japanese culture and history for a year at the Department of International Studies of Waseda University in Japan. Mr. Watanabe earned his Masters in Social Work from the University of California, Los Angeles, after he returned from Japan. He then became the coordinator for the Nisei Project at the Japanese Community Pioneer Center in Little Tokyo.

In 1978, out of concerns for the aging Issei (literal translation: “first age”) Japanese Americans who, despite racial prejudices, had contributed to the development of California while nurturing the Japanese American community, and in response to the various needs of the Japanese residents and Japanese Americans, an organizational plan to utilize the community’s resources and offer a comprehensive program of bilingual social services in the Little Tokyo area was established.

As the Executive Director and the first employee, the Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), a nonprofit organization, began offering social services in January of 1980. Mr. Watanabe’s contribution through the organization was to provide social welfare services and family counseling to Japanese residents and Japanese Americans, and to preserve and convey the history and cultural heritage of the Japanese American communities to Japanese residents as well as to the general public. He also initiated the Tofu Festival, which helped spread Japanese dietary life and culture to the general American public and revitalized the Little Tokyo area. Under Mr. Watanabe's direction, LTSC has grown and now employs 150 staff and provides services to many thousands each year.