Rafu Shimpo
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese-English language newspaper based in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California
, USA.
The paper began in 1903 as a one-page, mimeographed Japanese-language newspaper produced by Rippo Iijima, Masaharu Yamaguchi, and Seijiro Shibuya. H. T. Komai became publisher in 1922, beginning a family dynasty. He was succeeded by son Akira and grandson Michael.
Togo Tanaka
, the editor of the paper's English language section, appealed unsuccessfully to the United States government to allow the paper to continue printing in the event of war with Japan, and oversaw the paper's last edition before he was sent to the Manzanar
internment camp.
The paper ceased publication in 1942 due to the Japanese American Internment
. It was revived in 1946, due to Akira Komai's foresight and the loyalty of his employees. Komai had arranged for the paper's rent to be paid during the war and hid the Japanese type under the floorboards.
In March 2010, the Los Angeles Times
reported that The Rafu Shimpo was losing circulation and money, and was the target of community drives hoping to save the newspaper from going out of business.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA.
The paper began in 1903 as a one-page, mimeographed Japanese-language newspaper produced by Rippo Iijima, Masaharu Yamaguchi, and Seijiro Shibuya. H. T. Komai became publisher in 1922, beginning a family dynasty. He was succeeded by son Akira and grandson Michael.
Togo Tanaka
Togo Tanaka
Togo W. Tanaka was an American newspaper journalist and editor who reported on the difficult conditions in the Manzanar internment camp, where he was one of 110,000 Japanese Americans who had been relocated after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.-Early life and...
, the editor of the paper's English language section, appealed unsuccessfully to the United States government to allow the paper to continue printing in the event of war with Japan, and oversaw the paper's last edition before he was sent to the Manzanar
Manzanar
Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in California's Owens Valley between the towns of Lone Pine to the south and Independence to the north, it is...
internment camp.
The paper ceased publication in 1942 due to the Japanese American Internment
Japanese American internment
Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on...
. It was revived in 1946, due to Akira Komai's foresight and the loyalty of his employees. Komai had arranged for the paper's rent to be paid during the war and hid the Japanese type under the floorboards.
In March 2010, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported that The Rafu Shimpo was losing circulation and money, and was the target of community drives hoping to save the newspaper from going out of business.