Little Tokyo Sparkle

Consul General Muto Akira and other Consulate staff members took part in “Little Tokyo Sparkle,” a community clean-up operation, on May 14. Little Tokyo Sparkle is also known as “Nancy Kikuchi Volunteer Day,” which is named in honor of the late Nancy Kikuchi, a long-time community leader, JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program alumna, and a co-founder of the JET Alumni Association of Southern California, who passed away in 2014 at the age of 52. About 200 volunteers participated in the clean-up operation and engaged in various cleaning activities such as washing windows, sweeping the sidewalks, collecting trash, scraping off gum, and removing stickers and graffiti.