Posted on by sanjotown

Rapid Response Network Volunteer Training SJ January 11, 2025

Jesus Ruiz RRN & Pangea Legal Services
Training participants
Entire audience


On January 11, 2025 over 125 people participated in a San Jose Japantown training by the Rapid Response Network (RRN) of Santa Clara County. The RRN in Santa Clara County defends immigrant families against threats of deportation and assists with the arrest or detention of a community member. The Rapid Responder Volunteer Trainings initially started during the Trump administration starting in 2017. Immigrant deportations only victimize and criminalize people without really solving the immigration issue. The training was organized by San Jose Nikkei Resisters and co-sponsored by PACT: People Acting in Community Together, Asian Law Alliance, Nihonmachi Outreach Committee, San Jose and Sequoia chapters of the JACL, Wesley United Methodist Church and the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin.


Posted on by sanjotown

Nikkei Lantern


The Nikkei Lantern was created for the perseverance of Japanese Americans. The Lantern is made of white steel, stands over 36 feet high, and it is lit from within by LEDs. This symbol is located on the corner of 5th Street and Jackson in San Jose Japantown. The light at the top the lantern represents eternal hope and serves as reminder of the hardships the Nikkei faced. The lantern inscription, February 19, 1942 represents the date when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that interned over 100,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps. The Nikkei Lantern was part of a project funded by California State Senate Bill 307 and the City of San Jose to commemorate the Japanese American experience and was completed in 2008.