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Discover Nikkei is JANM’s international community-based web project sharing stories and the experiences of Nikkei around the world. “Nima” are members of the Discover Nikkei online community. Hailing from all around the world, they each bring unique experiences and perspectives to the site’s rich archive of stories. 

“Nima Voices” is an interview series where we uplift our Nima through brief, but enlightening, interviews! 

In the third episode, hear from Discover Nikkei contributor Tamiko Nimura as she is interviewed by our guest host, Japanese American youth activist Justin Kawaguchi.

Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American writer living in Tacoma, Washington. She has been writing for Discover Nikkei since 2008, and has just published her first book, Rosa Franklin: A Life in Health Care, Public Service, and Social Justice (Washington State Legislature Oral History Program, 2020). Her second book is a co-written graphic novel, titled We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration (Chin Music Press/Wing Luke Asian Museum, forthcoming February 2021). She is working on a memoir called PILGRIMAGE. Read Tamiko’s work here before tuning in for this live interview and Q&A on the Discover Nikkei YouTube channel.

Justin Kawaguchi is a senior at the University of Southern California. He has been actively involved with various Japanese American organizations, including the USC Asian Pacific American Student Assembly, Nikkei Student Union (NSU), volunteering at the Japanese American National Museum, co-chair of the Outreach Committee for Okaeri: A Nikkei LGBTQ Community, and National Chair of the JACL National Youth Student Council.

The term “Nima” comes from combining Nikkei and nakama (Japanese for “colleagues”, or “fellows”, or “circle”). Join our Nima-kai community and share your stories about the Nikkei experience! Explore more stories at discovernikkei.org.