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.