Japanese American National Museum

06/16/2026

JANM is proud to be a community partner for The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens THIS LAND IS ... community festival. Join us for a day of performances, dancing, storytelling, artmaking, film screenings, and exhibition spotlights. Together, we’ll reflect on the revolutionary and collective efforts that have shaped America—over more than 250 years and into the future.

THIS LAND IS … is a sweeping multiyear initiative that invites visitors to reflect on the American story through the lens of land. Anchored by the phrase “Reflections for America at 250,” the initiative draws on The Huntington’s library, art, and botanical collections to spotlight relationships between land, United States history, and American identities.

Visit JANM’s community partner booth, make a wish at The Democracy Center's Wish Wall for the 250th, and catch a special screening of "Nobuko Miyamoto: A Song in Movement."

Sunday, June 28
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

https://www.huntington.org/event/land-community-festival

06/10/2026

JANM congratulates David Ono on being named the recipient of the 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award. The Governors Award is given to an individual, company or organization that has made an outstanding, innovative, and visionary achievement in the arts, sciences, or management of television as well as a substantial contribution to the greater Los Angeles area. Ono was recognized for his experience in broadcasting for more than three decades and for his passion for in-depth storytelling.

The co-anchor for ABC7 Eyewitness News joined the television network in 1996. Throughout his career, he has done extensive reporting on news across the Southland and around the US. He also covered important and groundbreaking stories throughout the world, including traveling across Europe and Asia to chronicle brave acts of World War II’s Nisei soldiers, which has culminated in the immersive storytelling stage show Defining Courage.

A member of the JANM Board of Governors, Ono has always made time to give back to the Japanese American community by hosting and supporting public programs, charity events, and many important causes. His commitment to uncovering the lessons of history for future generations with integrity and passion makes him a beacon of inspiration in our community.

ABC7 anchor David Ono was surprised during Eyewitness News at 4pm with the announcement that he will be the recipient of the Television Academy's highest honor, the Los Angeles area Governors Award for 2026.

06/08/2026

JANM honored journalist Rachel Maddow and the producers of "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order" at our annual Gala on Saturday, May 30, 2026. 

Maddow received JANM’s Award of Excellence for her podcast, "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order," alongside the podcast’s producers, Michael Yarvitz and Kelsey Desiderio. Maddow is a journalist, author, and host of the Emmy Award–winning The Rachel Maddow Show on MS NOW. In six episodes, Burn Order shed new light on the unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II and honored the voices and memories of the community. Through engaging storytelling, Maddow and her producers brought this history to life for people across the nation who may have had little, if any, understanding of this dark chapter in American history.

06/08/2026

JANM is outraged by the order from the National Park Service to remove three quotes at the 200-year-old Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, Massachusetts. A visitor’s emailed complaint about a quote related to women’s suffrage as being “woke” feminist ideology sparked a wider review of the material and led to the order to remove three quotes that are anti-war, pro-immigrant, or highlight American hypocrisy on slavery in time for the monument’s 251st anniversary on June 17, 2026.

The move is in line with previous orders to remove signage about climate change and Native American history and an exhibit about slavery from national parks. All are in response to the Administration’s 2025 executive order altering how America's story is told at the Smithsonian Institution and Department of Interior by replacing nonpartisan, research-based, and comprehensive history with a flattened and whitewashed narrative that erases the nation’s diverse perspectives.

The Department of Interior oversees the National Park Service and called the removal order “a routine exhibit refresh.” The agency also noted that “we have encouraged Americans to visit our cultural and historic sites and engage in meaningful conversations about the moments that have shaped our country.” But truly meaningful conversations do not occur through erasure, exclusion, or revision. They emerge from the inclusion of America’s dark chapters and diverse perspectives, and they are furthered by the people’s responsibility to uphold democracy through the act of remembering. JANM will continue to meet that responsibility with conviction and resilience.

The National Park Service has ordered the removal of three quotes about slavery and immigration from the Bunker Hill Historic Site.

06/08/2026

06/04/2026

“We look back on that era of history as a shameful one, as a time when our political leaders failed the Constitution, failed the American people,” says Mark Takano (Honorary JANM Board member)

Mark Takano can't help but see the parallels in U.S. history. The Democratic congressman's American-born parents were both incarcerated as young children with their families during the forced relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II.

06/04/2026

Join Pace Gallery and JANM for Mika Tajima & Nora N. Khan in Conversation!

Saturday, June 27
4 p.m.–5 p.m. at Pace Los Angeles

This conversation will take place within the exhibition space, where Tajima’s luminescent body of work 24 Hour Cosmos, as well as other recent series, will inspire a wide-ranging discussion on art and technology. Activating theoretical approaches in her process-based practice, Tajima engages new methods of abstraction to explore the realm of networked information, sociality, and the self.

FREE! Learn more and RSVP: https://www.pacegallery.com/events/mika-tajima-nora-n-khan-in-conversation/

06/02/2026

Join us for a screening of the short film, Loyal American, directed by photographer and National Geographic Explorer Haruka Sakaguchi.

Henry Kaku, a descendant of America’s concentration camps, embarks on a pilgrimage to the former camp where his father, Keige, was imprisoned during World War II. Throughout his journey, he reflects on the moral and existential dilemmas his father faced and contemplates the question: What does it mean to be a “loyal” American?

Following the screening, Sakaguchi will be in conversation with Kaku as they explore ideas of loyalty and identity.

Get tickets: https://www.janm.org/events/2026-06-06/film-screening-loyal-american-haruka-sakaguchi

06/01/2026

“I read one letter from a soldier who was in basic training at Camp Shelby, and he just talked about how meaningful it was to get a letter and he said ‘from home,’” says Kristen Hayashi, director of Collection Management & Access at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. “Even though they didn’t know each other, it just meant so much to him that someone was thinking of him.”

Japanese American activist Yuri Kochiyama kickstarted a letter-writing movement to lift Nisei soldiers’ morale from i...

05/30/2026

Tune in to our livestream tonight at 6pm PT! Experience an unforgettable evening with this year’s Honoree, Tamlyn Tomita. Enjoy a special program that highlights stories that have inspired us for generations, and honors the legacy of the Japanese American community.

Join us on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at the JW Marriott in the heart ...