Discover Nikkei is JANM’s 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 fourteenth episode, Canadian Sansei Michael Kenji Abe, project manager for Past Wrongs, Future Choices, will be interviewed by guest host Sherri Kajiwara, Director of the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre in Burnaby, British Columbia. Join us as they chat about his father’s family’s experiences during World War II; living in Japan; and the Past Wrongs, Future Choices and Landscapes of Injustice projects.
Read Michael’s articles on Discover Nikkei before tuning in for this live interview and Q&A on the Discover Nikkei YouTube channel or on Facebook. Log into your YouTube or Facebook account to post questions for the Q&A!
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Michael Kenji Abe
Michael Kenji Abe is a third generation Japanese Canadian born and raised in Ontario, Canada. He is the project manager for Past Wrongs, Future Choices with the JC Legacies Society. His grandparents immigrated to Canada from Kyushu, Japan, in the early 20th century. His father was interned in Lemon Creek and his mother's family was interned in Popoff and New Denver. Since 1993 Michael, his wife, Izumi, and their children, Kento and Natsuki, have resided in Victoria, British Columbia. In his spare time he enjoys golf, shodo, sumi-e, and martial arts.
Sherri Kajiwara
Sherri Shinobu Kajiwara was born in Kumamoto, Japan, and adopted into Canada by a Nikkei family. She is the director and curator of the Nikkei National Museum and is passionate about the importance of communication and collaboration to support creativity. A graduate of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia and the Board of Trade’s Leadership Vancouver program, she has been a gallerist, gallery director, gallery owner, writer, editor, publisher, and curator since 1992.