Northwest Asian Weekly February 4, 2025 By Admin This profile has been reprinted with permission from the OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates of Greater Seattle. It is one of four profiles the Northwest Asian Weekly will run this week Courtesy of OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates of Greater Seattle To the benefit of the Asian American community he is an extremely rare individual: an astute businessman with a deep civic commitment it can be argued that no one has done more for the local Asian American community than Tomio Moriguchi Tomio was born in Tacoma to Fujimatsu Moriguchi and Sadako Tsutakawa His parents had owned a business called Uwajimaya named after his father’s hometown in Japan Tomio and his family were incarcerated at Pinedale where Tomio’s father re-established Uwajimaya at Fourth Avenue and South Main Street then became a store that sold more and more authentic Japanese food and gifts Tomio’s dad opened a successful Japanese gift shop at the fair who then extended ownership to their mother and three sisters who had graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in mechanical engineering and who was working at Boeing as an engineer left to become the CEO and president of Uwajimaya beginning in 1965 a branch of Uwajimaya was opened at Southcenter Shopping Mall newly constructed building opened at Sixth Avenue South The new Uwajimaya became the anchor business in the Chinatown-International District (CID) and helped spark the revitalization of the area the sons established their own import business called SeaAsia Uwajimaya also engaged in other development projects including the rehabilitation of the Publix Hotel along with the construction of a six-story tower that has 125 new apartments and retail space on the east side of the block on 5th Avenue South The company also sold the old Uwajimaya store site on South Main to Da Li Develop to construct the 17-story KODA Condominiums there These were major investments in the CID that greatly boosted the economy of the CID Tomio’s engagement and commitment to improving the Japanese and Asian American communities included being one of the founders of Nikkei Concerns which established Keiro Northwest (Keiro Nursing Home and Nikkei Manor) and the International District Economic Association (IDEA) He was a board member of the International District Improvement Association (Inter-Im) and Asian Counseling and Referral Service He served on the board of the Japanese American National Museum and was the president of Hokubei Hochi Foundation and founding member of the Japan America Society of Washington State He also served as the president of the Seattle chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League in 1972 and was a member of the national Council for Japanese American Redress he took over the North American Post to preserve the area’s largest and oldest Japanese community newspaper After stepping down as CEO of Uwajimaya in 2007 he visited Ehime University to discuss internship programs for students in the United States He was named by Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the 35 most influential business leaders of Seattle for the past 35 years Tomio retired from the management of the company in 2017 But he continued to be involved in the company’s real estate branch Still on Tomio’s plans is “Fujimatsu Village,” a 29-story residential and retail complex on Fifth Avenue between S it will be the tallest building in the CID and a tremendous addition to Japantown “This project is a legacy project for my family,” Tomio said during his presentation to the International District Special Review Board another Tomio Moriguchi legacy project for the CID and Asian American Community Volume 7 - 2013 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00867 This article is part of the Research TopicNear-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in functional research of prefrontal cortexView all 20 articles Executive function (EF) refers to the higher-order cognitive control process for the attainment of a specific goal Extensive neuroimaging research in adults has revealed that the lateral prefrontal cortex plays an important role in EF Developmental studies have reported behavioral evidence showing that EF changes significantly during preschool years the neural mechanism of EF in young children is still unclear This article reviews recent near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) research that examined the relationship between the development of EF and the lateral prefrontal cortex Research has consistently shown significant prefrontal activation during tasks in typically developed children but this activation may be abnormal in children with developmental disorders methodological issues and future directions are discussed This evidence suggests the likelihood of structural changes within the prefrontal cortex during preschool years Recently, Moriguchi and Hiraki (2009) examined the neural basis of cognitive shifting in young children (Figure 1) and adults were asked to perform the DCCS task while their brain activation was examined with a multichannel NIRS system that covered the inferior prefrontal regions corresponding to F7/8 in the International 10/20 system Brain activation during the preswitch and postswitch was separately analyzed and compared to the activation during the control phases Figure 1. Experimental settings. (A) A child with NIRS probe. (B) The NIRS probe was attached to the inferior prefrontal area. Each channel consisted of one emitter optode and one detector optode. The region of interest was located near F7/8, which corresponds to ch 15, 17, 18 and 6, 7, 9, respectively. (C) An example of preswitch and postswitch phases in the DCCS task. Figure from Moriguchi and Hiraki (2009) Neural origin of cognitive shifting in young children Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America At the behavioral level, 5-year-old children and adult participants easily performed both the preswitch and postswitch phases (Moriguchi and Hiraki, 2009) Some 3-year-old children performed the DCCS tasks perfectly but others committed perseverative errors during the postswitch phases adults and 5-year-old children showed significant activation in the right and left inferior prefrontal areas during the preswitch and postswitch phases compared to the control phase The researchers analyzed the 3-year-old children separately according to whether they committed perseverative errors during the tasks In the children who performed perfectly (pass group) the right inferior prefrontal areas were significantly activated during the preswitch and postswitch phases children who perseverated (perseverate group) exhibited no significant activation in the inferior prefrontal areas during both the preswitch and postswitch phases The results suggest that the development of cognitive shifting was correlated with the activations in the prefrontal regions. However, it has been shown that the NIRS signal is the product of the optical path length and the hemoglobin changes, and the optical path length differs across participants and head positions (Zhao et al., 2002) the comparison or integration of data between different subjects may be difficult research of within-subject designs can be appropriate to compare across different conditions within the subjects longitudinal method may be useful to address the age-related changes in the activations in specific brain regions Moriguchi and Hiraki (2011) longitudinally examined the development of prefrontal activation in children and developmental changes in prefrontal activation were examined at 3 (Time 1) and 4 years of age (Time 2) Behavioral results indicated that children in the perseverate group (i.e. the children who committed errors at Time 1) improved their performances significantly the children who did not commit errors at Time 1) performed correctly at Time 2 there were no significant behavioral differences between the children in the pass and perseverate groups at Time 2 children in the perseverate group exhibited no significant activation in the inferior prefrontal areas during the preswitch and postswitch phases whereas at Time 2 they showed significant activation in the left (but not right) inferior prefrontal regions during both phases Longitudinal development of prefrontal function during early childhood Results of two studies showed that sustained unilateral (either right or left) inferior prefrontal activation across the preswitch and postswitch phases may be important for successful performance in the DCCS task. Similar results were obtained in an event-related potential study of DCCS (Espinet et al., 2012). Furthermore, there might be individual differences in the development of prefrontal function during preschool ages (Moriguchi and Hiraki, 2011) Children in the pass group showed activation of the right prefrontal regions at Time 1 and then recruited bilateral inferior prefrontal regions at Time 2 Children in the perseverate group showed no significant activation in the prefrontal regions at Time 1 but recruited the left inferior prefrontal regions at Time 2 when they passed the DCCS tasks It should be noted that 3-year-old children in the pass group (who successfully performed the DCCS earlier) recruited the right inferior prefrontal areas whereas children in the perseverate group (who successfully performed the task 1 year later than those in the pass group) recruited the left prefrontal regions These results suggest that the right inferior prefrontal areas may be relatively dominant in DCCS tasks while the left inferior prefrontal areas may support or compensate for right inferior prefrontal activations (Moriguchi and Hiraki Few NIRS studies have been conducted on the development of inhibitory control in young children. Recently, Mehnert et al. (2013) gave 4- to 6-year-old children and adults a Go/NoGo task where participants were asked to respond to targets by pressing a button (Go trials) and to avoid making a response to non-targets (NoGo trials) The researchers measured activity in several brain regions including the prefrontal Behavioral results showed that adults performed the tasks more accurately and faster than children did NIRS results showed that adults activated right frontal and parietal regions during NoGo trials compared to Go trials whereas children’s right frontal and parietal activation was high in both Go and NoGo trials functional connectivity analyses revealed a stronger partial coherence in short-range connectivity in the right frontal and right parietal cortices in children compared to adults adults showed long-range functional connectivity between bilateral frontal and parietal areas Although the research relied on concentration changes in deoxygenated hemoglobin their results revealed that children activated the right frontal and parietal areas in the Go/NoGo task It has been repeatedly shown that regions in the prefrontal cortex, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, play an important role in visuospatial working memory in older children and adults as well as in non-human primates (Goldman-Rakic, 1995; Braver et al., 1997; Casey et al., 2005) little is known about the neural basis of working memory in young children Using NIRS, Tsujimoto et al. (2004) reported that the neural basis of working memory in young children covers the lateral prefrontal regions corresponding to Brodmann areas 9/46 5- and 6-year-old children and adults performed a visuospatial working memory task participants had to keep the locations of a sample cue array in mind during a delay period after which they were asked to report whether a test cue location was identical to any of the sample cue locations two (LOW condition) or four (HIGH condition) location cues were given as sample cue arrays whereas children were given only two location cues The authors examined prefrontal activity after presentation of the sample cues whereas verbal working memory induces left-lateralization Other researchers focused on the limits of working memory capacities (Buss et al., in press). It is well known that visual working memory can hold 3–4 items at any given moment (Vogel and Machizawa, 2004) These capacity limits are often indexed by the change detection task The basic procedure is similar to that of the working memory tasks cited above participants are shown a cue array and instructed to keep the array in mind during a delay phase participants are shown a test array where either all items are the same as the cue array they are asked to report whether there were changes in the test array or not Task difficulty depends on the number of items presented in the cue array (in press) gave 3- and 4-year-old children this task and examined the neural activation after presentation of the cue array with an NIRS system that covered the prefrontal regions corresponding to F3–5/4–6 and the parietal regions corresponding to P3–5/4–6 in the International 10/20 system Their results showed that children’s behavioral performances were a function of the number of items presented in the cue array They performed worse when three items were presented than when one item was presented showing that 4-year-old children overall outperformed 3-year-old children children exhibited significant activation in the frontal and parietal regions after presentation of the cue array the activation was affected by the number of items activity in the left frontal areas and bilateral parietal areas was significantly stronger when three items were presented than when one or two items were presented The age differences were evident in the parietal cortex since stronger activation in this area was observed in 4-year-old children compared to 3-year-old children activity in 3-year-old children first increased and then decreased No such activation pattern was found in 4-year-old children Interpretation of these results was difficult but given that the activation patterns in the right prefrontal cortex were significantly correlated with behavioral performance the right frontal regions may play an important role in visuospatial working memory research has consistently shown that children activate the right prefrontal regions during visuospatial working memory tasks Some studies showed stronger activation in older children whereas other research showed weaker activation in older children The mixed results may be due to the variation in task demands across studies greater demand may induce stronger neural activation in the prefrontal cortex it is possible that children exhibited age-related improvement in prefrontal activation as long as the task demands were appropriate But in tasks that were too easy for older children the older children might have had weaker prefrontal activation compared to younger children The mixed results may be due to that WCST task includes many complex cognitive processes few brain imaging studies have investigated young children with ASD it was unclear whether children with ASD may have functional and anatomical deficits in the prefrontal cortex The behavioral results revealed that children with ASD performed the ADCCS significantly worse than TD children did The NIRS results demonstrated significant differences in prefrontal activation between the groups TD children exhibited significant bilateral prefrontal activation during the ADCCS children with ASD showed significant left prefrontal activation but the right prefrontal regions were not significantly activated A direct comparison between the groups revealed significant differences in right prefrontal regions The results in Stroop tasks were discussed later these results show that children with ASD may have some difficulty with cognitive shifting and inhibitory control at both the behavioral and neural level few brain imaging studies have investigated young children with ADHD Behavioral results revealed that there were no significant differences between the groups on the Stroop task children with ADHD committed more errors than those with ASD and TD children NIRS was used to examine activity in the prefrontal regions corresponding to F7/8 and FpZ in the International 10/20 system no significant differences between groups were found for the Stroop task children with ADHD exhibited significantly lower activation in the right prefrontal regions than TD children did The results revealed that children with ADHD exhibited abnormal behavioral performance and neural activation in the right prefrontal regions children with ASD did not show such abnormalities it is possible that the activations in the prefrontal regions were strongly affected by skin blood flow in the verbal Stroop task The signal changes in the verbal task were relatively large compared to the manual task by which researchers may easily detect the differences between groups In another study, Tsujimoto et al. (2013) examined whether children with ADHD showed deficits in visuospatial working memory. The basic procedure of the task was the same as the procedure mentioned above for Tsujimoto et al. (2004) there were two conditions after the delay period where three purple dots and three yellow dots appeared at random locations on a screen and the participants had to touch only the yellow dots and participants had to touch the positions where sample cues had been presented the children may recruit the prefrontal regions in the EF tasks but the activations may not be efficient enough to perform the tasks successfully the hypoactivations observed children with ADHD may be due to that they fail to recruit the prefrontal regions in the EF tasks As young children generally failed to activate the prefrontal regions children with ADHD may fail to activate the prefrontal regions Future research should be done to address it The results indicate that the change in oxygenated hemoglobin is good indicator of brain activity in EF studies oxygenated hemoglobin is more highly influenced by the motions than deoxygenated hemoglobin Such fluctuations can be removed by task designs and separating signal components but some of the research did not consider such removals we suggest that both oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin changes should be analyzed and reported Although there is little evidence regarding this issue in young children we had to note that the NIRS system cannot measure the activations of the deeper areas in the brain but the frontal regions showed age-related changes in the distance until middle childhood we have to consider such data to analyze and interpret the results in the NIRS signals NIRS has several advantages for research on infants and young children NIRS is noninvasive and does not require very exact fixations of body and head such that other neuroimaging methods require Children can sit in a chair during an experiment a NIRS experiment can be conducted silently compared to an fMRI experiment The facts make research on infants and young children easier there would be motion artifacts in young children’s research which may benefit from analyses that separated functional brain activities from other components in NIRS signals (Scholkmann et al. We can measure children’s brain activations in natural settings kindergartens or nursery schools as well as an experimental room NIRS can apply to children with developmental disorders and behavioral difficulties and have the potential for the use of their interventions the results of these studies show that both children and adult participants show significant activation in the prefrontal regions when performing cognitive shifting inhibitory control and working memory tasks the children with ADHD and those with ASD who had difficulties with the tasks exhibited abnormal activation in the prefrontal areas the studies discussed in this review suggests that activation in the prefrontal regions may be important for successful performance on EF tasks in young children the exact mechanisms of the relationship between socio-cognitive skills and EF are still unclear NIRS may aid in understanding such relationships recent research has examined the relationship between prefrontal activation and emotion regulation (Fekete et al. further research should be conducted to examine the exact mechanism underlying this relationship future studies should examine activation in other brain regions in young children during EF tasks Some recent reports examined other brain regions as well as the prefrontal regions during EF tasks in young children (Buss et al. Such examinations may lead to a better understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in the development of EF in young children The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest Inhibition and the right inferior frontal cortex Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edn sustained attention and executive functions: constructing a unifying theory of ADHD Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The developmental trajectory of brain-scalp distance from birth through childhood: implications for functional neuroimaging Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text A parametric study of prefrontal cortex involvement in human working memory Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Functional neuroimaging of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a review and suggested future directions Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Probing the early development of visual working memory capacity with functional near-infrared spectroscopy Individual differences in inhibitory control and children’s theory of mind Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Imaging the developing brain: what have we learned about cognitive development Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The rise and fall of the inhibitory mechanism - toward a unified theory of cognitive-development and aging CrossRef Full Text A shift from diffuse to focal cortical activity with development Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The relations of regulation and emotionality to resiliency and competent social functioning in elementary school children Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text N2 amplitude as a neural marker of executive function in young children: an ERP study of children who switch versus perseverate on the dimensional change card sort Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Small-world network properties in prefrontal cortex correlate with predictors of psychopathology risk in young children: a NIRS study Executive function in preschoolers: a review using an integrative framework Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The relationship between cognition and action—performance of children 31/2–7 years old on a stroop-like day-night test Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Brain development during childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Decrease in parietal cerebral hemoglobin oxygenation during performance of a verbal fluency task in patients with Alzheimer’s disease monitored by means of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)—correlation with simultaneous rCBF-PET measurements Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Assessment of hot and cool executive function in young children: age-related changes and individual differences Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Age-related change in executive function: developmental trends and a latent variable analysis doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.01.010 Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text ASL and NIRS hemodynamic responses to motor stimuli in adult humans Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Interactive specialization: a domain-general framework for human functional brain development Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Helping children apply their knowledge to their behavior on a dimension-switching task CrossRef Full Text Inhibitory control as a contributor to conscience in childhood: from toddler to early school age Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Transient activation of inferior prefrontal cortex during cognitive set shifting Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Dimensions of executive functioning: evidence from children CrossRef Full Text The functional emergence of prefrontally-guided working memory systems in four- to eight-year-old children Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Developmental changes in brain activation and functional connectivity during response inhibition in the early childhood brain Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: a latent variable analysis Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Wisconsin card sorting revisited: distinct neural circuits participating in different stages of the task identified by event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text The effect of social observation on children’s inhibitory control Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Cultural differences in the development of cognitive shifting: east–west comparison Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Behavioral and neural differences during two versions of cognitive shifting tasks in young children and adults Children perseverate to a human’s actions but not to a robot’s actions Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Cues that trigger social transmission of disinhibition in young children Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Young children’s yes bias: how does it relate to verbal ability Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Age-related changes in brain activation associated with dimensional shifts of attention: an fMRI study Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text “Executive functioning and children’s theories of mind,” Other Minds: How Humans Bridge the Divide Between Self and Others Prefrontal dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Executive function/attention deficits in boys with Asperger syndrome attention disorder and reading/writing disorder CrossRef Full Text Executive function abilities in autism and tourette syndrome: an information processing approach Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The anterior cingulate cortex mediates processing selection in the stroop attentional conflict paradigm Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text fNIRS evidence of prefrontal regulation of frustration in early childhood Neuroimaging of inhibitory control areas in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who were treatment naive or in long-term treatment Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text The role of the anterior cingulate cortex in conflict processing: evidence from reverse stroop interference Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text A NIRS–fMRI investigation of prefrontal cortex activity during a working memory task Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text A review on continuous wave functional near-infrared spectroscopy and imaging instrumentation and methodology Investigating the post-stimulus undershoot of the BOLD signal—a simultaneous fMRI and fNIRS study Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is characterized by a delay in cortical maturation Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Factors responsible for performance on the day-night task: response set or semantics Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text A quantitative comparison of simultaneous BOLD fMRI and NIRS recordings during functional brain activation Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Depth sensitivity and source-detector separations for near infrared spectroscopy based on the colin27 brain template Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Influence of skin blood flow on near-infrared spectroscopy signals measured on the forehead during a verbal fluency task Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Developmental trajectories of the fronto-temporal lobes from infancy to early adulthood in healthy individuals Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Longitudinal study of spatial working memory development in young children Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Prefrontal cortical activation associated with working memory in adults and preschool children: an event-related optical topography study Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Increased prefrontal oxygenation related to distractor-resistant working memory in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Neural activity predicts individual differences in visual working memory capacity Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: I Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Response inhibition impairment in high functioning autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: evidence from near-infrared spectroscopy data Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Multidistance probe arrangement to eliminate artifacts in functional near-infrared spectroscopy Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Neurobehavioral and hemodynamic evaluation of cognitive shifting in children with autism spectrum disorder CrossRef Full Text Neurobehavioral and hemodynamic evaluation of stroop and reverse stroop interference in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder An age-related dissociation between knowing rules and using them CrossRef Full Text Maps of optical differential pathlength factor of human adult forehead somatosensory motor and occipital regions at multi-wavelengths in NIR Pubmed Abstract | Pubmed Full Text | CrossRef Full Text Citation: Moriguchi Y and Hiraki K (2013) Prefrontal cortex and executive function in young children: a review of NIRS studies Received: 27 September 2013; Accepted: 27 November 2013; Published online: 17 December 2013 Copyright © 2013 Moriguchi and Hiraki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Yusuke Moriguchi, Department of School Education, Joestsu University of Education, 1 Yamayashiki-machi, Joetsu 943-8512, Japan e-mail:bW9yaWd1Y2hpQGp1ZW4uYWMuanA= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Color abounds inside the Bellevue Uwajimaya store which includes Asian markets in Bellevue and Renton builds on the company’s longtime success and envisions future growth Denise Moriguchi believes her late grandfather would approve of what Uwajimaya has become in the 93 years since he began selling fishcakes and other Japanese foodstuffs to Japanese laborers out of the back of his truck in Tacoma in 1928 Those were humble beginnings for the Asian grocery chain the first store of which Japanese native Fujimatsu Moriguchi would open that year on Broadway in Tacoma and soon thereafter run with his wife They laid the foundation for a business that today includes a newly completed $10 million-plus remodel of the flagship market in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District plus markets in Bellevue; Renton; and Beaverton The future could include more Eastside presence she knows his story: that he set out to broaden the store’s reach beyond Japanese customers in 1962 when he set up a booth at the Century 21 Exposition That event drew an estimated 10 million visitors during its six-month run also a fixture in the business after their marriage in 1932 and described on the company website as a pillar of Uwajimaya and the Moriguchi family “I always think that his vision was beyond just Japanese — it was really that Pan-Asian with people that weren’t as familiar with it,” said Moriguchi he would be really pleased that we’re actually doing that and how broad our customer base is and how broad our product mix is — so I think he would be amazed and proud.” And also that his granddaughter is now running it is entering her fifth year at the helm this month but I think he would support it,” she said Moriguchi grew up working in the Seattle store She graduated Bowdoin College in Maine in 1998 worked at Bayer HealthCare’s over-the-counter division until 2013 and became marketing director at Uwajimaya that spring before becoming vice president-marketing and strategic planning then vice president-chief financial officer She now oversees a company with about 500 employees (about 175 of those at the Eastside stores) and roughly $150 million in revenue last year The company also includes Kai Market in the South Lake Union neighborhood Food Service International wholesale food provider and the 125-unit Publix apartments near the Seattle store Kai Market — billed on its Facebook page as a boutique Asian market with a specially curated selection of fresh seafood and more — has been temporarily closed since April due to the pandemic and a sharp decline in office workers an important matter: We asked for the definitive pronunciation of “Uwajimaya.” Moriguchi responded by emailing an advertisement that ran in our sister magazine The name combines the hometown of Moriguchi’s grandfather Moriguchi noted the name’s challenging pronunciation in a winter 2019 article in Bowdoin Magazine when explaining how Kai Market One impetus “came from watching an interview on TV of former Seattle Seahawks player Michael Bennett who replied when asked what he liked to make his kids for dinner ‘Wagyu steak from Ujimama,’” the story said “Bennett’s mispronunciation is a testament to Uwajimaya’s brand strength that you immediately knew exactly what store he meant — what else could it be?” The first Uwajimaya that opened 93 years ago in Tacoma was at 1512 Broadway The family was shipped to an internment camp in Tule Lake Fujimatsu Moriguchi reopened Uwajimaya in Seattle upon hearing that’s where most Japanese were moving That store moved twice before settling at its current location in 2000 The Bellevue store opened in the Crossroads area in 1978 and moved to its current location The stores include gifts and other features plus sub-tenants running small stores within Uwajimaya There’s two main things that I’m really proud of First is putting together … my leadership team I feel really strong about putting together the brains in the areas that I’m lacking … having a strong team and having that team come together — it’s taken time The second piece is completing our Seattle store remodel I think that was really a culmination of thinking about: Who is Uwajimaya as a brand Kind of all that thinking put into a physical manifestation of the Seattle store remodel but it really is the culmination of a lot of thinking in the future of where our company is headed It wasn’t just putting up new refrigeration and new paint; it was really like thinking about our customers and our future and how we want to be today and tomorrow I think it was really kind of the first expression … of the direction and some of the changes we were making but I think the one that I really like is our new sashimi and poke bar It’s a product that we’ve always carried … but it’s just really highlighted and featured in a new way … I think the architects did a beautiful job in designing the space to really elevate an everyday product but I think it’s just really about better grouping and displaying and showcasing to the customer The checkout was kind of in the middle of the store … it was kind of confusing We moved our checkout so it’s very clear when you exit … so it creates a much better flow and you can see where things are better — and so we really focused on just customer flow and placement and grouping and highlighting certain categories together Surviving all the craziness that’s around right now with COVID Making sure that our employees and customers continue to be safe and healthy Beyond that … we continue to really just build on our foundation put a little bit more structure and processes in place with the longer-term goals — so maybe a few years out … having kind of everything in place that we can continue to grow stores but I think there is room for growth in both Puget Sound and potentially Oregon Another Eastside location would be one of our kind of key places we would look at the parking lot gets full and so I definitely think that that would be one of the first places we would look I think it’s taking a company that’s been successful for 92 years and bringing change when things have been done and done well Sometimes there’s kind of a question or maybe a little bit of resistance to why you might want to change something So it’s really just honoring the past while continuing to adapt and evolve for the future and kind of really helping everyone come along and support that change and that vision especially when we have such long-tenured people who’ve been here 20 and they’ve been successful in doing it that way but they’re not in the day-to-day operations so they’re always there when we need help or if we have questions but they more or less handed the reins to the third generation I have five cousins that I work with and three of their spouses So there’s eight kind of our third generation (Two spouses of the second generation work in the company and one second-generation family member is on the board.) I would say it’s just as competitive and low-margin as regular grocery with the added challenge of shorter shelf life There sometimes are more difficult supply-chain challenges We have to get things through our distributors Thailand — just depends on what the product is Then the other thing is … being Pacific Northwest so I always kind of joke you could make an Italian meal (with) our fresh seafood our salmon; it doesn’t have to be Japanese or Asian … you can make Pacific Northwest cuisine you’re the only place I can get fresh octopus,” because it’s something that they like to use in their cuisine We have stores in different locations and different types of … customers that we serve Kai Market is in the heart of South Lake Union with office workers being our key customers so we have closed it just because the volume was not there For our more residential and suburban stores — so Bellevue Beaverton — we’ve seen strong growth just as I think people eat at home more So we’ve been fortunate there to see sales increase people that just come to the neighborhood to eat and so it’s been nice to have kind of that portfolio of different sizes and locations I think once the vaccine (is available) and then we see people kind of going back to work in that area One thing I really like about the Eastside is the diversity I hear more languages when I’m in the store “Oh my gosh; I was shopping at your Bellevue store and the social distancing COVID (safety announcement) came on in my home language and I just felt very comforted.” So I feel like there’s a lot of people on the Eastside that we connect with … they feel that connection to where they might have come from I was living in Canada at the time … (she had moved to Toronto for work and to be with her future husband who was born in Taiwan and grew up in Canada and where their daughter was later born) looking to move home and be closer to family and that was around the time that my aunt had said that she was looking to retire and they were interested in identifying the next CEO I didn’t necessarily move back with the job in hand but it seemed like the stars were aligning and so for personal reasons and because of the potential opportunity to take this position Our CFO had retired … and it was actually a really good opportunity for me to dive more into the numbers (but) I definitely understand the business better after that role … I don’t think he ever thought he would be a stay-at-home dad (he worked at a bank before moving to the States) And it’s been very valuable for everyone in the family we purchased the property of our old Uwajimaya store It was a single-room occupancy hotel and historic so there was a lot of restrictions of what you could do in terms of development … We finally had the opportunity to develop it in 2017 (at a cost of $24 million) it’s just spending a lot of time with them when I’m home … going on a bike ride with them or going swimming with them is our commitment to the community — just being part of the community So I acknowledge that and then just thank our customers in the community for supporting us I do feel like we have so many loyal customers who really just support us because we’re local we’ve been around for a long time — so I appreciate that Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Your request appears similar to malicious requests sent by robots Please make sure JavaScript is enabled and then try loading this page again. If you continue to be blocked, please send an email to secruxurity@sizetedistrict.cVmwom with: High School/Club: Moriguchi helped Kamehameha Schools-Kapalma take three straight Hawai'i state championships and three straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu titles from 2006-08 she was named to the Division I All-Tournament Team after Kapalma cruised through the state tournament without allowing a single goal She played on the Leahi 90 club team with current teammates Melissa Canite and Jennifer Eugenio for two years and helped the team win back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007 Personal: Moriguchi is the daughter of Alika and Phyllis Moriguchi Quoting Coach Showler: "Shelby is a tenacious She has a fantastic work ethic and she’s another who has had great success She won three straight state titles in Hawai’i where every high school player is also involved in club teams." There are no statistics available for this player Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here Metrics details Socioeconomic status (SES) has a powerful influence on cognitive Children from low-SES backgrounds show poor executive function (EF) it is unclear if there is a SES-dependent disparity in functional brain development The present study examined whether the SES of preschool children (N = 93) is associated with prefrontal activation during cognitive shifting tasks as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy Low-SES children did not show activation in lateral prefrontal regions during the tasks whereas middle- and high-SES children showed prefrontal activations although no differences were found in terms of behavioural performance These results suggest that SES can affect the functional development of the prefrontal regions we discuss the practical implications of the results few functional studies have compared prefrontal activity among young children of different SES event-related potential (ERP) has limited spatial resolution and provides an indirect index of the prefrontal development; therefore whether the prefrontal activations are affected by childhood poverty is unclear we examined the prefrontal activation patterns of 93 preschool children of varying SES during a cognitive shifting task using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and evaluated the statistical relationships among task performance we hypothesised that SES would affect prefrontal activations in young children we predicted that prefrontal activation would be more sensitive to SES than EF task performance Participants were recruited from a nursery school of a small city of Osaka Prefecture four children failed to complete the experiment and the parents of three participants disagreed to report their SES a total of 93 preschool children (45 males and 48 females) participated in this study (mean age = 59.8 months These Japanese-speaking children had no known developmental abnormalities Informed consent was obtained from their parents prior to their involvement in the study which was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Review Board of Joetsu University of Education (2015–1) SES was assessed by maternal education and family income Parents’ education level was assigned a value from 1 to 5 as follows: 1 parents reported a self-reported measure of family income in 12 categories considering their reluctance in reporting the exact income (in Japanese yen): 0–1,000,000; 1,000,001–2,000,000; 2,000,001–3,000,000; 3,000,001–4,000,000; 4,000,001–5,000,000; 5,000,001–6,000,000; 6,000,001–7,000,000; 7,000,001–8,000,000; 8,000,001–9,000,000; 9,000,001–10,000,000; 10,000,001–15,000,000 and >15,000,001 The income was assigned a value of 1–12 and adjusted by household size the mother’s educational level and family income were converted to z-scores separately and then averaged to create the total SES score considering our aim to clarify whether children of poverty show different behavioural and neurological responses than children belonging to higher-SES families we defined poverty according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) criterion OECD defines poverty as half the median household income of the total population families with income <¥1,220,000 were defined as poverty the proportion of child poverty is approximately 15% in Japan we regarded the families to be experiencing poverty if their income was less than the adjusted income of \1,220,000 Fourteen children (8 males) were categorised into a poverty group (mean age = 62.6 months) and 79 children (37 males) into a no-poverty group (mean age = 59.3 months) (A) Experimental sequence for the Dimensional Change Card Sorting task Children were instructed to match cards according to colour or shape (B) Behavioural results show no difference in terms of switching accuracy during the five transitions in task instruction (sort by colour to sort by shape or vice versa) the children were asked to sort the test cards according to the first rule (e.g they were asked to sort the cards according to the second rule (e.g the children were asked to sort cards according to the instructed rule (colour or shape) the children were given the rule before each trial (e.g colour first) during the pre-switch and post-switch phases was held constant across the three sessions for each child but the rule order was counterbalanced across children The rule order during the mix phase was fixed: POST (rule for the post-switch phase) The dependent measure was the percentage of successful switches which was calculated as a measure of total performance because the pre-switch and post-switch trials are generally considered easy for older children The passing criterion was 90% correct in the pre-switch and post-switch phases The children had to switch the rule once between the pre-switch and post-switch phases and four times during the mix phase the number of successful switches was calculated out of five A multichannel NIRS unit (OEG-16; Spectratech Inc. Japan) operating at wavelengths of 770 and 840 nm was used to measure temporal changes in the concentrations of oxygenated haemoglobin (oxy-Hb) and deoxygenated haemoglobin (deoxy-Hb) during the DCCS tasks The NIRS probes included 12 optodes constituting 16 channels The probes were placed on the lateral prefrontal areas of each hemisphere Each channel comprised one emitter optode and one detector optode located 3 cm apart The temporal resolution at each channel was approximately 666 ms The spatial resolution of NIRS is relatively low 4 and 5 were defined as corresponding to the right lateral prefrontal region and channels 11 13 and 14 as corresponding to the left lateral prefrontal region and we failed to collect data from 41 participants in this channel this channel was excluded from the analysis We successfully collected the data of all participants in the other channels average changes in oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb during the rest and task phases were calculated for each channel in each subject The datasets supporting this article have been uploaded as part of the Supplementary Material All statistical analyses were performed using R statistical software (Version 3.4.1 we analysed the relationship between SES and the behavioural measures of EF we separately analysed the total SES scores and poverty The behavioural measures of EF and parenting measures were not normally distributed; thus we conducted Spearman’s correlational analyses for total SES scores and poverty When we found significant correlation among variables we conducted further analyses to assess whether and how SES affected children’s EF parenting and prefrontal activations in each channel We conducted preliminary correlational analyses to examine relationships among variables and found that parenting measures and age (months) were not significantly correlated with the measures of the prefrontal activations (ps > 0.162) behavioural measures of EF were not significantly correlated with prefrontal activations (ps > 0.189) We did not consider the variables in further analyses We directly analysed the relationship between SES and prefrontal activations we examined whether there was a liner relationship between the total SES scores and the prefrontal activations in the prefrontal regions We used the difference scores between the prefrontal activations during the aggregate task phase and the prefrontal activations during the aggregate rest phase as the indices of task-related prefrontal activations Spearman’s correlational analysis was used to assess the relationship between the total SES scores and difference scores we analysed whether the prefrontal activations in the prefrontal regions differed across the poverty and no-poverty groups Change in oxy-Hb (Δoxy-Hb) was analysed using three-way mixed ANOVA with phases (rest vs 13 and 14) as the within-subject factors and poverty (poverty vs no-poverty group) as the between-subject factor Post-hoc analyses using Bonferroni method was performed for variables showing significant interaction Descriptive results are summarised in Table 1 we examined the relationship between total SES score parenting and the proportion of successful switches Our correlational analyses revealed that the total SES score was significantly correlated neither with the parenting style (Responsiveness and Control ps > 0.065) nor with the proportion of successful switches (Spearman’s rho We did not further analyse the effect of total SES score on EF Next, we examined whether poverty was correlated with parenting style and EF. The results revealed that poverty was significantly correlated with Control (Spearman’s rho, r = 0.217, p = 0.037) but not with Responsiveness (Spearman’s rho, r = 0.183, p = 0.080) and the proportion of successful switches (Spearman’s rho, r = −0.064, p = 0.539) (Fig. 1B) was significantly correlated with the proportion of successful switches Age (months) was significantly correlated with the proportion of successful switches (Spearman’s rho we conducted a partial correlational analyses about the relationship between Control and the proportion of successful switches after controlling for age (months) We found a significant correlation between Control and the proportion of successful switches after controlling for age (months; Spearman’s rho We analysed the relationships between SES and prefrontal activation in each channel Correlational analyses revealed that the total SES score was not significantly correlated with the difference scores in each channel (Spearman’s rho rs < 0.091 Mean oxy-Hb changes within the right (channels 2, 4 and 5) and left (channels 13 and 14) lateral prefrontal areas in the poverty and no-poverty groups during the rest and task phases of the DCCS tasks. Error bars indicate standard error. Distinct neural activation patterns in lateral prefrontal regions of preschool children from the poverty and no-poverty groups Averaged overall near-infrared spectroscopy data were compared between task and rest phases Each channel consisted of one emitter optode and one detector optode The regions of interest were located near F3 and F4 of the 10/20 system corresponding to channels 2 4 and 5 (right hemisphere) and channels 13 and 14 (left hemisphere) The numbers (1–16) indicate the channels of the NIRS probe Low-SES children exhibited hypoactivation in the lateral prefrontal region it was unclear whether and how poverty affects functional development of the prefrontal cortex in young children The present study provides the evidence for a relationship among EF deficits prefrontal hypoactivation and low SES in young children our results are consistent with those of previous studies neuroimaging measures may reveal the adverse influence of poverty on neural development in the absence of obvious behavioural manifestations in childhood such developmental abnormalities may exert lasting influences on cognition we suggest that weaker activations in low-SES children are linked to developmental delay This may be true for the relationship between age and the prefrontal activations most of these programmes only assess behaviour during a relatively brief developmental window while effects on the underlying neuronal functions may be sustained Our results clearly show that an SES disparity can still be detected by neural activity measures in the absence of behavioural differences it is possible that a programme enhances EF at the behavioural level in part because of the limited range of cognitive tests suitable for very young children We propose that researchers should instead consider neural measures to monitor programme outcomes in test populations Noble, K. 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Science 333, 959–964, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1204529 (2011) Download references This research was supported by grants from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology) National Institute for Educational Policy Research of Japan developed the study concept and contributed to the study design Testing and data collection were performed by Y.M Data analysis and interpretation were performed by Y.M Both authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission The authors declare no competing interests Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39255-6 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki a new kind of traveler has arrived in Richland a town on the Columbia River in Eastern Washington People come from around the nation and the world to see where the plutonium was made that fueled the bomb used at the end of World War II But Richland has never seen an atomic tourist like Mr Of the thousands of people who have toured giant and forbidding B Reactor the world’s first large scale plutonium reactor Mitsugi Moriguchi is the first person to do so in a white radiation-blocking jumpsuit It is a startling sight that is perhaps less surprising when you learn why this 81-year-old is so concerned about radiation exposure: He experienced the business end of that Nagasaki bomb Moriguchi is a hibakusha — Japanese for survivors of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima He is thought to be the first Nagasaki hibakusha who has visited the place that created the plutonium that destroyed his city “I came here because I wanted to know what the town that produced plutonium is doing today,” Moriguchi said through an interpreter “And what it plans to go on doing in the future.” Moriguchi has long wanted to see B Reactor the world’s first large scale plutonium reactor and he brought the radiation-blocking jumpsuit for that tour the once-secret city that was built in a hurry to house the scientists and secretaries engineers and electricians who helped build the Fat Man bomb This visit was organized by two Japanese-American professors who are members of the nonprofit group Consequences of Radiation Exposure a city that has advocated for a nuclear weapons ban on the world stage The travelers from Nagasaki also included a TV crew from NHK It comes as America creates content for a new national park dedicated to the development of the world’s first atomic bombs at Hanford “We learned it was going to become a national park and we in Nagasaki are quite worried Was it going to become a national park to express pride?” Moriguchi wondered The Japanese delegation’s first taste of Richland didn’t offer much in the way of reflection: “Bomber pride” was on full display at Atomic Ale Brewpub While the NHK crew filmed a mannequin dressed in a gas mask and an “Oppenheimer Oatmeal Stout” sweatshirt Moriguchi’s finger traced down the menu as he tried to sound out some of the eye-popping offerings.   “Plutonium Porter Half-life Hefeweizen?” he asked with equal notes of amusement and amazement His mood became more somber at the next stop known as the “Home of the Bombers.” He learned that the school has two mascots a B-17 bomber that Hanford workers donated called “Day’s Pay” and a mushroom cloud “Shocked,” he muttered as he watched kids play basketball on a gym floor emblazoned with a mushroom cloud under a banner that read “Proud of the Cloud tried to explain to students why he didn’t think a mushroom cloud was a proper mascot for any school “Under the mushroom cloud people died,” he said “What he doesn’t understand is how much the Day’s Pay and the mushroom cloud mean to us,” said student Ryan Piper “It means where we were and where we are going I’m sure it brings back some bad stuff but there you go.” In Richland and Hanford plutonium is patriotic — it fueled the bomb that The narrative told in Richland can be summed up by a video shown before the B Reactor tour: It ends with the Nagasaki mushroom cloud which the announcer says is plutonium is death and his visit to Richland triggered memories so strong he cried as he described walking across Nagasaki with his mother a few days after the bomb “There was nothing there,” he said gesturing and looking out as if he still saw the vaporized neighborhoods “But there was smoke rising here and there It was the smoke of the cremated bodies of those who died.” No one in his family was among the estimated 70,000 citizens killed by the Nagasaki bomb who had both been near ground zero when the bomb exploded Moriguchi’s oldest sister was the first to get sick her whole body was ravaged,” Moriguchi remembered Moriguchi believes radiation caused the cancers that killed five of his six siblings it is certain that Nagasaki’s radiation came from plutonium that was made at Hanford and possibly in B Reactor Which helps explain why Moriguchi and the two professors put on Tyvek suits masks and booties before they got on the bus that brought them to a private reactor tour Concerns about radiation also prompted the Japanese public broadcasting organization NHK to order its crew not to cover the reactor tour As he looked up at the massive front face of the reactor Moriguchi held up a pen-sized detector that measured radiation if they were to stay in the reactor for a year we won’t keep you here for a year,” Fox replied with a smile who worked as an engineer at Hanford for decades deemed the jumpsuits “totally unnecessary.” The Department of Energy says it monitors radiation levels in B Reactor and that they are safe Moriguchi eagerly followed Fox through the soaring reactor which included removing spent fuel rods from the reactor the two men compared how the bomb had changed their lives Fox listened as Moriguchi talked about how most of his family died Fox explained that he had just turned draft age when America dropped the bomb “It saved me from being drafted and participating in an invasion of Japan and ending up there dead on a beach,” Fox said Moriguchi was impressed with the science and technology on display in B Reactor but disappointed that no mention was made of the suffering caused by the 21-kiloton bomb that America dropped on Aug “I had been nursing a hope that the reactor was open to the public as a site for critical self-reflection,” Moriguchi said “Not just a site of vaunted accomplishment.” He expressed hope that the new national park will remedy that became part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park which was established in 2015 to preserve three sites where the United States developed atomic weapons It is an unusual partnership between the Park Service and the U.S The former director of the National Park Service had said the agency wants exhibits to delve into the damage atomic bombs caused in Japan the Park Service did not take advantage of the opportunity to talk to the first survivor from Nagasaki to visit Hanford We were with the local administrator in her office just feet away from Moriguchi who was in the lobby — and we asked if she would greet him-and she said she did not plan to do so She declined our request for an on-camera interview “I would have liked to have had a discussion with the Department of Energy and the National Park Service too,” Moriguchi said at a press conference that wrapped up his visit As one of the only living witnesses who experienced what nuclear weapons can do he has spent 72 years telling people about the aftermath of the bomb And he is used to dealing with audiences who don’t want to hear everything he has to say.  But Moriguchi is not giving up on his big goal: to prevent nuclear weapons from ever being used again he hoped to return to Richland some day to find a more inclusive viewpoint We rely on donations from readers like you to sustain Cascade PBS's in-depth reporting on issues crticial to the PNW Rachel Belle visits the vibrant Vietnamese shop Hello Em and tries an Ethiopian coffee ceremony at Lands of Origin Fishers offer their perspectives about the profession's political structure and their commonalities with their Lummi Nation colleagues Renters on fixed incomes hope a 10% ceiling on increases will provide relief while older landlords worry it will force them out of business The new budget would raise the price of gas while Republicans say it will hurt residents On teahouse windows and wooden power poles the signs of discord appear throughout Seattle’s Chinatown International District A second station is part of the ST3 ballot measure voters from King Snohomish and Pierce counties passed in 2016 to help anchor what’s currently a $13 billion corridor linking downtown to West Seattle and Ballard While it’s true nearly any transportation project scars a neighborhood, in this case the purpose isn’t mainly to serve Chinatown residents, but to provide a new tunnel and greater capacity for the whole region to traverse downtown Seattle The second International District/Chinatown Station and a second Westlake Station are the hubs where riders would change trains Neighborhood advocates insist the station must go a block farther west under Fourth Avenue South near South King Street That would lessen the impact on an area that’s been sacrificed for generations to regional construction They don’t really care,” said Brien Chow outreach chair for the Chong Wa Benevolent Association “The bottom line is they have an option to go down Fourth Avenue because they need to think about the people in the neighborhood But choosing Fourth Avenue possibly creates a traffic nightmare because builders would demolish and replace the six-lane elevated street must be detoured during six years of partial road closures compared to only 5,000 on Fifth for a 2½-year closure Total construction time on Fourth Avenue is estimated at nine to 11 years This ranks among the most crucial decisions facing the 18-member transit board who’ve already gone five years without making it since the 2016 election The board is scheduled to choose a preferred option in July requiring elevators plus long passageways underground and a 115-foot-deep version between Fifth and Sixth avenues south near South King Street Harrell hasn’t said yet whether he favors Fifth or Fourth then a streetcar whose construction obstructed South Jackson Street shop owners and 3,500 residents now persevere amid vandalism anti-Asian assaults and sidewalk drug deals CEO of family-owned Uwajimaya grocery and Asian goods market “My dad was sent to an internment camp,” Denise said “and her dad was born in internment camp … we had a business before the war in Tacoma Our parents and grandparents lost everything We’ve really dedicated — and this is our home And to think that again parts of our property could be taken from us or just from the neighborhood … it does feel like there’s a continued pattern.” Sound Transit, in its Racial Equity Toolkit report says it’s unclear which option provides the highest local benefit a site on Fifth would enable more than 300 units of subsidized housing and would be a faster walk to buses and streetcars The Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority calls Fourth the least disruptive choice but says Sound Transit hasn’t explained how to keep the district from being flooded with traffic The Wing Luke Museum called the entire historical district “our largest exhibit,” and wrote that damage anywhere would reduce neighborhood cohesion Positive things are finally starting to happen it’s been a whole community uprising as far as getting comments to the Sound Transit board.” Sound Transit corridor development director told board members in May that the shallow Fifth Avenue options are the best-performing in terms of cost Contractors would close South King Street and South Weller Street for years Machines would clang next to senior apartments Carpet King and Ping’s Dumpling House would be flattened displacing 19 to 27 businesses with 170 to 230 workers The 206-unit Publix Hotel at Fifth and King would overlook the excavation a few feet away “The residents that live in the area don’t like that There’s too much dust and pollution,” said Vivian Chau whose family owns New An Dong herb and grocery shop on King parking garage and loading dock would be blocked during construction not to mention there’d be noise reaching apartments over the store “It will be a big pain but we’ll be able to figure out how to push through But we’re only as strong as our community is,” Denise Moriguchi said the transit agency would condemn a parking lot and the former Uwajimaya store facing King Street Sound Transit would convert the site to a tunnel ventilation structure surrounded by nonprofit affordable housing The Moriguchis would rather develop shops and apartments themselves said he thinks the environmental impact report undercounts potential losses of small business around Fifth Sound Transit predicts a shallow station on Fourth Avenue would cost $1.8 billion, or $500 million more than Fifth Avenue, mostly because of the huge roadway above, says the draft environmental-impact statement About 120 tenants in the ICON Apartments, overlooking the corner of Fourth and Jackson, would have to move away for four years (An ICON representative couldn’t be reached for comment.) Stadium Station would close for up to two years and a seven-week train shutdown would be needed between Sodo and downtown Sound Transit would be attempting two projects in one “The 4th Avenue South Viaduct rebuild could lengthen the overall schedule,” the environmental statement warns Sound Transit should treat this as an opportunity The Fourth Avenue South Viaduct is more than 100 years old and must be replaced anyway than to excavate Fifth only to follow that with a closure on Fourth merely because the two governments don’t have their act together Other groups tout what’s called the city-sponsored Jackson Hub vision A light-rail station on Fourth would provide a nifty transfer to King Street Station where Amtrak and Sounder trains go would be converted from merely a Sound Transit headquarters into a grand entry hall then choose either the old International District/Chinatown Station to head to West Seattle and Everett Fifth Avenue provides a closer walk to Chinatown International District residents and 80% of housing units are subsidized or rent-restricted Sound Transit thinks a site on Fourth would reduce ridership by 1,200 passengers rejects the notion that Fourth is more arduous for seniors She said they have no trouble ascending the area’s small hills and they’d walk more The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser November 15, 2023 By Admin Nicholas Alumni Association awarded Uwajimaya CEO Denise Moriguchi with the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award on Nov 8 assembly (Photo provided by Denise Moriguchi) Moriguchi expressed gratitude and reiterated her commitment to preserving cultural vibrancy and fostering understanding across communities I’m only in my role because of history and the hard work of others.” Described as more than just a talented businesswoman and a thoughtful visionary adeptly balancing tradition and change earning accolades such as the Downtown Seattle City Maker Award for community work recognized as a Puget Sound Business Journal Woman of Influence and Middle Market honoree advocated for the cultural heritage of the Chinatown-International District Her commitment extended beyond the grocery store including support for institutions like the Wing Luke Museum and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service July 16, 2020 By Northwest Asian Weekly Former chairman and CEO of Uwajimaya Tomio Moriguchi was named as this year’s Seattle-King County First Citizen Award recipient The award will be presented at a civic celebration at a date to be determined The award recognizes the collective contributions of the Moriguchis in enhancing the quality of life throughout the area They are only the fifth family to receive the prestigious award joining Mary Gates & Family (1995 recipients) Pacific Northwest chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co. “[Moriguchi] and his family were early pioneers in the specialty grocery business catering to Asian and Asian American tastes he is mainly deserving because of his lifetime of generosity giving back to our community in countless ways to make it a better place He is truly one of the icons in business and is a role model for up-and-coming diverse leaders as his inspirational acts transcend generations.” Filed Under: Names in the News Tagged With: 2020, VOL 39 NO 29 | JULY 18 - JULY 24 November 19, 2018 By Northwest Asian Weekly was recently elected to AAA Washington’s Board of Trustees the board said it feels strongly that Moriguchi’s “keen business sense and deep roots to the community will greatly contribute to the organization’s leadership.” Moriguchi stepped into the role of CEO at Uwajimaya in 2017 and represents the third generation of leadership following in the footsteps of her grandfather She holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Asian Studies from Bowdoin College Filed Under: Names in the News Tagged With: 2018, Denise Moriguchi, VOL 37 NO 47 | NOVEMBER 17 - NOVEMBER 23 In Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture, a variety of vegetables pickled with sake lees was very popular, but for some reason it has disappeared. The reason is not known, but it is said to be due to urban development. Moriguchi daikon used to be grown in Gifu Prefecture, upstream of the Kiso River, but its production has been expanded to Fuso Town in Aichi Prefecture, midstream of the river. Moriguchi daikon is a rare type of daikon that can grow to over 1 m in length due to the soft soil. 191.7 cm Moriguchi daikon grown in Fuso Town was recognized by Guinness World Records in 2013, making the name famous. Yamatoya Moriguchizuke Sohonke began to focus on Moriguchizuke around 1945, when a delegation of the Emperor of Japan toured the country in 1946. When the Emperor’s entourage visited Nagoya, Moriguchi-zuke was presented as one of the local specialties, and the Emperor’s entourage liked it so much that they began to regularly supply it to the Imperial Household Agency. Moriguchi-zuke became a mainstay of the Yamatoya Moriguchi-zuke head family, and Moriguchi-zuke was also a valued souvenir of the Aichi National Athletic Meet held in 1948, and thus became an established souvenir of Aichi Prefecture. Aichi Prefecture, mainly in the Mikawa region and the Chita Peninsula, has been known as a major producer of mirin (sweet sake) and sake since the Edo period. Yamatoya Moriguchizuke Sohonke’s Moriguchizuke and Nara-zuke are mainly made from mirin and sake lees, which are purchased from companies that produce mirin and sake in Aichi Prefecture. Since pickles have been made at home for a long time, the pickles you buy from us must be different, and you must be able to make people think that they are as good as you think they are. We are confident in this point,” says Masayoshi Suzuki, chairman of Yamatoya Moriguchizuke Sohonke. The company’s method involves pickling the fish twice in salt, then marinating it in sake lees three times to remove the salt. The second pickling in sakekasu is done in a bed of sake lees, mirin (sweet sake with mirin), and syrup. The third and final pickling is done with sakekasu, mirin (sweet sake with mirin), mirin, and salted soybean flour. In this way, even though it is a pickles, it has a much sweeter taste. Although the ingredients used for pickling are mixed in a certain way, craftsmen make adjustments according to the season, temperature, humidity, and other factors. Also, each brewer has its own unique flavor and aroma of sake lees and mirin (sweet sake and mirin) lees, so the artisan blends several kinds according to the type of pickles to be made. This is where the craftsmen show their skills. It takes three years to complete the process. In addition, the production process is not left to machines; many parts are done by hand by craftsmen based on their experience, making it a gem that takes a lot of time and effort to cultivate. The first thing you will notice when eating Moriguchizuke from Yamatoya Moriguchizuke Sohonke is its sweetness. Not only the sweetness of mirin (sweet sake) and mirin-kasu (sweet sake lees), but also the sweetness of the lees blended with syrup and the use of coarse soybean flour as a finishing touch. The taste is not too alcoholic, and even children can easily enjoy it. Suzuki says, “Generally, pickles are thought of as spicy or salty, but we find value in the ‘sweetness’ of our products. Major manufacturers are forced to be conscious of the average score in order to get their products on the shelves of supermarkets and other stores. Most of them aim for a score that is not 100, not 50, and somewhere in between. However, Yamatoya Moriguchizuke Sohonke does not aim for an average score. They are aiming for a taste that will attract a core fan base that will continue to buy their products even if they are so sharp that there are clear differences between likes and dislikes. There is also a product called “Cheese Mirin Kasu,” which is cream cheese marinated in mirin (sweet sake) lees, utilizing the Moriguchi-zuke pickling process. One bite and you will feel the rich sweetness of mirin while maintaining the aroma of cheese, which is truly a new taste sensation. It is a perfect accompaniment to sake, and once you try it, you will definitely want to repeat the experience. The company has taken on a variety of challenges in this way, but as dietary diversity has become the norm and all kinds of food have become part of the dining experience, the younger generation has become noticeably less interested in pickles, and the company has had to seriously address the issues it has long faced as a pickles manufacturer. The company has therefore been urgently seeking to “balance quality and price with a view to convenience store sales” in recent years. Of course, there has been much discussion about product development with an eye to youth demand, and the company has also developed products such as the aforementioned “Kizami Moriguchizuke” that are easy to eat. However, this is only one of the hooks to get people interested in the company’s products. Mr. Suzuki has always believed that it is meaningless to develop products that are accessible to the younger generation unless they are placed in the right places. Convenience stores are the first place where the younger generation can easily pick up products. In fact, even if the prices of products are slightly higher than those in supermarkets, young people are highly interested in the convenience of convenience stores. However, they do not have the same high sales prices per customer as the souvenir shops and department stores that are the company’s main battlegrounds. For this reason, the company believes it is important to develop products that young people will want to pick up without sacrificing quality, at a price range that can be sold at convenience stores. Yamatoya Moriguchizuke Sohonke, which has been preserving tradition and using its skills to create new products one after another, faces the challenge of young people’s shift away from pickles. If they only stick to tradition, they may lose touch with the needs of consumers, and if they pursue convenience, they may become cheap. However, the company, which has been developing avant-garde products, has the know-how and knowledge to solve this problem. he cofounded Mellow to enable individuals to open and operate food trucks which cost about one third of the funds needed to open a regular restaurant It's helped over 600 clients and raised over ¥1.1 billion ($10.5 million) in funding including ¥500 million from Mitsui Sumitomo Trust Bank and Toyota Financial Services in February truck leasing through a Toyota Motor tie up and its own food truck management software and an app too Sign In Register Choir and band students from New Westminster Secondary School will be saying Konnichiwa to Japan in March.  A total of 89 students will be travelling to Moriguchi City through a cultural exchange program from March 12 to 21 the school says the trip marks a significant milestone in the sister city relationship between the two cities which started in 1963.  New West students haven't been to Moriguchi City since the 1980s according to director of bands Steve Clements who has been teaching band at New Westminster Secondary for 24 years.  "The trips provide the students with a chance to see the globe together and have a memorable bonding experience doing that," he told The Record noting it also allows the group "to experience diverse musical cultures." "This form of travel fosters camaraderie and teamwork among students strengthening their bonds and overall group dynamics but it also gives them a chance to learn about the greater world around them," said Clements Clements added it's what he loves to see: students learning and interacting while having fun outside of their traditional comfort zones.  students will engage in collaborative rehearsals social events with local youth musicians and a group concert in Moriguchi.  Clements said the group is working on a couple of Japanese pieces that they will perform during their stay The students are planning on bringing a collection of Canadian folk songs to play with the Japanese students.  students will have a chance to explore iconic sites Hiroshima Peace Park and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Miyajima.  director of the state Executive Office on Early Learning (EOEL) Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading David Ige’s State of the State address high-quality public preschool.” There are now 26 preschool classrooms in public schools across the state Delivery of the envisioned universal system would mean expanding that count to more than 300 classrooms through the state Executive Office of Early Learning (EOEL) which was established in 2012 to serve as the lead agency overseeing the development of the statewide early-childhood system describes Ige’s call as a “tall order” that’s worthy of support from state lawmakers and others The overall landscape “must be a public-private partnership and must involve multi-generational programs charter schools and community-based programs that have been the mainstay of the early care and learning community for decades,” she said “The EOEL Public Prekindergarten Program is just one of these options EOEL’s charge is to work across the public and private sectors and the various types of early learning settings available to children.” Moriguchi’s office recently wrapped up facilitation of the “Early Childhood State Plan 2019-2024,” in tandem with public- and private-sector collaborators The document addresses well-being issues for children from birth through age 8 Before Ige tapped her to head the EOEL four years ago the Oahu native had worked in Hawaii public schools as a preschool teacher … My love of the learning process anchored me to working with young children My commitment to this purpose continues to guide me today in my role as director.” “I believe commitment is about persistence … not compromising on what we know is right Commitment is vital if we are to achieve the high-quality programs children and families deserve and that the early learning professionals deserve as well.” Question: How’s the EOEL-DOE (state Department of Education) Public Prekindergarten effort going Answer: Though it targets our at-risk and underserved children more than 9 out of 10 children in the program have met and/or exceeded expectations in all areas of child development and learning by the end of each school year — demonstrating their readiness for kindergarten — since the program started in 2014 The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) rated Hawaii’s program at an 8 out of a total score of 10 on the 2017 Quality Standards Checklist The areas where Hawaii falls short are related to the workforce as there currently isn’t a requirement for teaching staff (teachers and educational assistants) to have specialized training in early childhood education one year of pre-kindergarten is not a magic bullet to ensuring positive outcomes for our keiki … The years before and after pre-K are equally important EOEL also collaborates with schools and district teams to support alignment between grade levels to ensure that the benefits of attending a high-quality early childhood program will be continued beyond pre-K the program is having difficulty finding qualified teachers A: The need for qualified early childhood teachers is even more severe than that of K-12 Expanding pre-K without making sure we have a qualified teacher for every classroom would not only be a waste of taxpayer dollars because it wouldn’t make the difference intended; it could even make things worse If we don’t have teachers who understand how young children learn and grow students could be inappropriately referred to special education and even suspended and expelled It also goes against the ethics code that many early childhood educators abide by — the National Association for the Education of Young Children Code of Ethical Conduct It stresses basing program practices on current knowledge and research in the field of early childhood education and child development as well as on knowledge of each child … Although Hawaii’s public school teachers are required to have a teaching license there is currently no requirement for teachers in public pre-kindergarten settings to have any coursework in early childhood education; passing an exam is all that is needed to be licensed in early childhood education Significant research shows that teachers with coursework and who are supported by ongoing training are those who will make a difference To address the fact that 67 percent of the teachers in the EOEL Public Prekindergarten Program do not have early childhood coursework we provide intense professional learning supports for principals and teaching staff including individual coaching and mentoring Q:The Early Childhood State Plan is described as a “roadmap for collective action,” starting at or even before birth A: We need all expecting families and newborns to receive screening and any needed support as early as possible as health and safety risks can cause developmental delays and other long-term challenges for children Our state’s future depends upon all children having access to high-quality early learning options We need to invest in expanding public pre-kindergarten and increasing capacity in the full range of early care and education settings … to create a strong We need to help talented individuals enter and remain in early childhood professions as our state’s early childhood workforce is essential to helping children establish their foundations for a promising future Q: You have described the new state plan as establishing an “overarching framework” that will help coordinate state Hawaii’s early childhood system is a patchwork of public and private programs and services for young children administered by multiple state and county agencies and nonprofit agencies that are not necessarily coordinated One child could unintentionally receive multiple services through various agencies and organizations while another could fall through the cracks and receive nothing To create the more cohesive and comprehensive system … we have identified collective priorities and described key actions needed We also want to build on the good work being done by the various public and private entities and mobilize efforts to build system capacity Our intent is for the early childhood community to see themselves as valued contributors in helping to accomplish our shared vision for Hawaii’s keiki This is why we do not call this EOEL’s plan but the community’s plan — informed by Q: What is EOEL monitoring during the 2019 Legislature’s regular session A: Though we may not be able to testify on all legislation that aims to improve the health and well-being of our children and families We have several budget bills moving through the legislative session: To support the EOEL Public Pre-K Program and expand it with 22 new classrooms; and support for EOEL’s overall charge to develop the state’s early learning system including a position to focus on addressing the critical need for early childhood workforce development We also have a bill to prohibit suspension and expulsion in our own EOEL Public Prekindergarten Program which follows national best practices and is based on the premise that our teachers are provided with knowledge support to deal with what are perceived as challenging behaviors The EOEL Public Pre-K Program specifically prioritizes our underserved and at-risk populations — those children who can benefit the most from early learning — and suspending or expelling them would not only leave them with no early learning opportunities but send them a completely wrong message that may affect them for a lifetime May 4, 2017 By Northwest Asian Weekly When a Seahawks player couldn’t pronounce “Uwajimaya” in a television interview understood that the name Uwajimaya has no meaning to outsiders or newcomers even though it is the largest local Asian grocery store and has 88 years of history Uwajimaya was the village of her grandfather before he emigrated from Japan to America Moriguchi also noticed that people who searched Uwajimaya She realized the company’s new store would need a new identity and name Kai’s meaning is universal in Asian cultures — positive energy and good luck The implication of an ocean is abundance and luck in Asian cultures “underserved areas and growing” for the new store Kai Market storefront (Photo provided by Denise Moriguchi) and wine section (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW) They are usually world-travelers and knowledgeable about Asian foods “They are not afraid to try squids,” said Moriguchi They tend to eat out more and prefer convenience For those who don’t cook and don’t want to dine out Nine different kinds of live oysters and fresh fish are displayed in the clean water tank Seafood section (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW) and the owners hope to lure shoppers to check out the new items every day its simplicity in design reflects calmness and the beauty of the ocean with modern bamboo integrated with soothing colors and handmade elements The strategy for the new store is “not cluttered,” Moriguchi said could have as many as 20 kinds of soy sauce on the shelf Gifts and greeting cards (Photo by Assunta Ng/NWAW) it already has attracted a good lunch crowd and many curious residents and workers The challenge for the young Moriguchi is to ensure the crowd would spill over to the dinner hours including seafood and perhaps pick up a case of local or Japanese beer Miye Moriguchi (Photo provided by Denise Moriguchi) It is a “learning lab” for the next generation Kai is only one-eighth the size of a typical Uwajimaya store It’s a place for them to “make mistakes,” experiment knowing exactly the number of items on shelves.” If it works it will be implemented in the bigger stores because they have to train fewer employees as opposed to the hundreds of staff members in a regular Uwajimaya store The family has four other stores in the ID Former CEO Tomoko Matsuno first had the idea of the smaller market concept The younger generation took the idea and made it happen brings the practical aspect to the discussion “We balance each other.” Mia’s father Toshi is on the Uwajimaya board and Moriguchi’s father is Tomio Moriguchi’s goal is to open another market in two years and remodel its 18-year-old flagship store in the International District Assunta can be reached at assunta@nwasianweekly.com July 28, 2022 By Northwest Asian Weekly Front (from left): Misa Murohashi; Seattle Deputy Mayor Kendee Yamaguchi; Tomio Moriguchi; wife Jenny Moriguchi; Elaine Ikoma Ko; Denise Moriguchi; and state Rep Back (from left): KC Superior Court Judge Patrick Oishi Bainbridge Island Deputy Mayor Clarence Moriwaki and The Honorable Consul-General Hisao Inagaki Tomio and Jenny Moriguchi celebrated the North American Post’s 120th anniversary and Soy Source’s 30th anniversary on July 21 Publisher Tomio Moriguchi (left) with Jenny Moriguchi Tomio is holding a clock presented tohim by Misa Murohashi in celebration of the newspapers’ anniversaries.(Photo by Lori Matsukawa) It was held at the residence of Seattle’s Consul General of Japan Hisao Inagaki Filed Under: Names in the News Tagged With: 2022, VOL 41 NO 31 | JULY 30 - AUGUST 5 Uwajimaya calls to people from across the city International students from the University of Washington come down to pick up frozen dumplings Elderly couples are bused in on Tuesday mornings and stand in the aisles sifting intently through fruit Young men with flashy pants pick out salmon fillets It calls to people from across the Puget Sound Pink-haired teenagers from Puyallup and Aberdeen travel like pilgrims to stand outside the Japanese bookstore field trips release middle school students into the aisles They come back to their chaperones bearing Ramune A self-described Asian food and gift market (although the company dabbles in wholesale and real estate) Uwajimaya’s flagship retail store sits on the border between downtown Seattle and the Chinatown-International District It’s one of those businesses that’s become an institution that doesn’t mean the business can rest on its laurels Moriguchi is the third generation of her family to run Uwajimaya—she took over the role in 2017 when her aunt retired—and she finds herself guiding the company through a period of massive regional upheaval as the tech boom pulls in tens of thousands of high-paid workers “My family has always been a proponent of growing the International District but make it somewhere everyone can enjoy.” She says that the most difficult part of the learning process hasn’t necessarily been adapting to the changing city; it’s been figuring out how to steer a family business Moriguchi has overseen two major expansions of Uwajimaya the redevelopment of an historic apartment complex a block north of the flagship store is the culmination of a longtime goal to bring new residents and vibrancy into the International District The second expansion is a newer concept—Kai Market a store in the heart of the high-tech South Lake Union neighborhood Kai Market is a place to test out new strategies It’s much smaller than the flagship store or any of the other Uwajimaya grocery stores scattered around the area It’s geared less toward grocery shoppers and more toward the twenty- to thirty-something set seeking complete meals Kai sells a lot of poke (a sashimi and rice bowl) One of the impetuses for giving the new store a name that is easier to pronounce than Uwajimaya came from watching an interview on TV of former Seattle Seahawks player Michael Bennett “Wagyu steak from Ujimama.” Bennett’s mispronunciation is a testament to Uwajimaya’s brand strength that you immediately knew exactly what store he meant—what else could it be who has spent much of her professional life in branding and marketing “It is a really hard name to pronounce,” she says and that might make it harder to appeal to new Seattleites figuring out the correct pronunciation—oo-wah-gee-my-yuh—is a Seattle tradition People have been asking for pronunciation advice since the early days of the Internet and even many in the International District call it “Wajimaya.” It’s named for the Japanese town of Uwajima learned his trade—“Ya” means “store” in Japanese.) Denise explains that Kai Market is meant to be “an introduction to Uwajimaya but making it approachable to everyone.” Eventually the changes at the new store will ripple back to the old one “We’re working on a remodel of the main store,” she says “We want to modernize its look and feel,” which means updating both the offerings and the experience of shopping itself “We’re finding that people want more instant things There are many different foods with different meanings but they want things to be more convenient.” though—she wants to give people a reason to come into the store but how will someone know the difference between You could buy a jar of soy sauce from Amazon We want to make shopping something fun I’m not a disinterested observer in this story: I grew up visiting the flagship store somewhere with a bookstore full of Japanese comics and mochi ice cream and a food court with bahn mi and loco moco My grandparents once scoured the city looking for Jerusalem artichokes—a vegetable normally eaten by homesteaders freezing to death on the plains of North Dakota—and after visiting every store in our neighborhood Uwajimaya’s produce department not only had it they set aside an entire case to be picked up that day But I don’t want to give the sense that Uwajimaya was a place to tour the exotic It was a place that introduced me to living in a city of immigrants While I read about early Chinese theater in the Wing Luke Museum and visited the Panama Hotel to witness furniture left behind by interned families I ate dragonfruit and Filipino candy and shopped for Japanese office supplies and those things became part of my city and my home I wonder if it could lose some of that power development has had a way of scouring away texture and I wondered if modernizing the store also meant compromising “That’s the thing I struggle with every day,” she told me “We’re always going to be an Asian store and most people in this area are fortunate—they’re open to flavors from everywhere. But fresh salmon is fresh salmon but I also don’t want to shut people out.” She also suggested that my question might be based on a misread of the business Uwajimaya has introduced Asian products to a wide audience We want to share the culture with everyone.” You can read the changes or you can read it as fidelity to its core business model: to appeal across cultures The story of the Moriguchi family has almost mythic qualities to it reportedly smuggled himself into Washington from Japan as a young man where they opened a small business selling Japanese snacks to immigrants building the Northwest’s infrastructure his target audience was Japanese laborers working in fisheries Her grandparents were successful because they were able to sell a taste of home to those workers As the United States entered the Second World War, Japanese Americans on the West Coast were forced from their homes by the military, and the Moriguchi family was relocated to an internment camp at Tule Lake many Japanese families went east to avoid lingering racism but the Moriguchi family returned to the Northwest and reopened Uwajimaya they helped rebuild the Japanese business community offering loans and work to their neighbors they will help you,’” Denise’s father said the company had become successful enough to open a booth at the World’s Fair also exposed Seattle to its own gastronomic diversity “It was a turning point for [Fujimatsu] He realized he wanted to move beyond the Japanese community,” says Denise Although Fujimatsu died during the summer of the fair his vision has shaped the course of the business ever since Uwajimaya has spent the last sixty years expanding and seeking out new audiences it’s that forward momentum that defines the business That’s a lesson that Moriguchi picked up through a childhood in the store She’s told reporters about her memories of holiday events but the day-to-day rhythm of the store also left an impression her father’s example is always close at hand “My dad’s always been a model—the way he led the way he’d work alongside his employees I’d always see him picking up trash and pushing carts Now I make my own daughter do that.” respecting her family’s history is as much about how the business is run—an emphasis on customer service and innovation—as it is about its cultural role in the International District Part of her job is making sure that the next generation learns the same lessons that she did “I have two kids who are three and six and we want to make sure that they feel like they’re part of the business and being involved in the Christmas events They may not end up working in the business but it’s important that they know what it means to be part of this.” sits just on the edge of the main Amazon campus tucked between developments with names like “Ascent” and “Sprout.” The store blends in smoothly with the neighborhood: high ceilings accented by old staples in the window: boxes of Pocky Designing the store was another question of balance, she says She wanted to match the feel of the neighborhood but also “wanted to bring things that were uniquely Uwajimaya.” The space is arranged around a long deli counter that offers Uwajimaya’s lunchtime staples: poke On the front of the counter is a poster: “How to Order Poke.” (The instructions are pretty simple: Choose a grain on the bottom The surprise is that you can get poke over wonton nachos.) I was alone except for an elderly woman lobbing questions over the poke bar: “You make this fresh and she went on her way with a bowl of fish I picked out an ice-cream bar shaped like a fish and approached a cashier There’s a line out the door from eleven forty-five to one o’clock The lunch rush begins with a trickle just before noon The food clearly has power: I watched a couple walk in I asked Moriguchi how she’d ended up at Bowdoin why she’d left a city where her family was so deeply rooted the kind of West Coast prep school that models itself after ivy-covered East Coast boarding schools a place that made it seem like the East Coast was the goal “I don’t think I even looked at schools in Washington or California,” she told me “The East Coast had so much history—all these old It felt like this revered place for education.” the city felt like it was just over the edge of the map “The only thing people knew about it was [the band] Nirvana,” she said I met a guy who was so disappointed that I didn’t wear flannels.” Watching Seattle find its place on the map could be part of why Moriguchi feels the push to modernize Uwajimaya so acutely I asked if she found herself worrying about the changes she’s seen—Seattle is full of hand-wringing with various levels of justifiability I bring this up because that’s not the dynamic to which we’ve returned The surprising thing about moving back to Seattle was finding that the city had become a destination “I have so many friends who’ve moved here.” She came back because the Northwest always felt like home Philip Kiefer ’18 is a freelance writer based in Seattle His work has appeared in National Geographic and Down East Magazine Brooke Fitts’s photography has appeared in The Wall Street Journal The 40-year-old MBA will take the reins next month at a company that grew from a single Tacoma truck into a cornerstone of Seattle’s Asian-American community Denise Moriguchi remembers many childhood hours spent at Uwajimaya the Asian grocery-store chain her family owns Among her favorite memories: Gathering after hours with her large extended family at their store in Chinatown-International District to make mochi Then it would be sold in the store,” she recalls Title: President and acting chief financial officer of Uwajimaya Education: Master’s in business administration from MIT’s Sloan School of Management; bachelors in economics and Asian studies from Bowdoin College the 40-year-old Moriguchi is set to become Uwajimaya’s new chief executive and president Her ascension next month marks a transition to the third generation of leadership for the family-owned chain that’s become a community institution during its 89 years in business will be taking over an enterprise that’s come a long way from its humble beginnings selling fish cakes from the back of a truck in Tacoma the company has four Pacific Northwest retail locations with a fifth — a smaller-format store called Kai Market in South Lake Union — scheduled to open this spring and real-estate holdings including Uwajimaya Village which encompasses the Seattle retail store and parking complex the apartment tower and retail space redeveloped from the old Publix Hotel Moriguchi says she wants to expand the company her first task as CEO will be to come up with a brand strategy and strategic plan to define the company for itself and for a city that’s changing rapidly with big influxes of newcomers who may not know anything about Uwajimaya The company has done very well under her father 1923: 24-year-old Fujimatsu Moriguchi of Yawatahama 1928: Moriguchi founds Uwajimaya in Tacoma selling fish cakes from the back of a truck 1942: Moriguchi family is sent to Tule Lake Internment Camp in California 1945: Moriguchi moves family to Seattle and opens grocery at Fourth Avenue and Main Street in the Nihonmachi (Japantown) area of what is now the Chinatown-International District 1962: Uwajimaya blossoms with a retail shop at Seattle’s World’s Fair 1970: The store moves from its 3,600-square-foot Main Street operation to a 17,000-square-foot facility on King Street 1978: Uwajimaya expands again to 36,000 square feet Uwajimaya Village opens on Fifth Avenue South encompassing three city blocks and including a 60,000-square-foot retail store 176-unit apartment building and underground parking complex 2007: Tomoko Moriguchi-Matsuno becomes CEO 2011: Uwajimaya’s Bellevue location moves to its current location at 120th Ave 2016: Uwajimaya announces plan to open small-format store Kai Market in South Lake Union an apartment tower and retail space redeveloped from the old Publix Hotel who holds an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management planning.” She’s just hired a brand strategy agency Uwajimaya will always serve the Asian market But her concern with branding the company as such is that “I don’t want people to think they can come here only if they’re making Asian food You could be making grilled salmon with asparagus “I want to get everybody on the same page about what’s our company Moriguchi wasn’t necessarily a shoo-in for the CEO position she helped bag groceries at the store over the busy holidays She also worked there for a year after graduating from college doing different projects such as evaluating selling through Amazon But she stepped away from Uwajimaya for many years working in brand management for Bayer HealthCare She returned to Uwajimaya in 2013 after earning her MBA “I had to explore what else was out there to really know I wanted to be here,” she said of returning to the family company Uwajimaya’s board had started its search for the next CEO a few years before hiring an outside firm to assess potential candidates among the next generation of family candidates — about 37 people in all about 17 said they wouldn’t mind being considered for the position By the time Moriguchi returned to the company she was one of four family candidates remaining She was eventually chosen for CEO in part for her educational background and because “she really thinks out far ahead and is careful about using her leadership role to empower others,” said James Warjone “She’s someone who is very strategic in her thinking,” he added “she’s highly regarded in her family,” said Warjone the first outsider to serve as Uwajimaya chairman “She’s someone who is a very good listener and is trusted by not only the family but also the employees.” “you end up leading the family,” Warjone said in roles including director of development and manager of the Bellevue store the second generation of the family is stepping down has overseen the expansion of Uwajimaya and guided the company through the rocky waves of the recession “We were in very bad financial water during the recession “I’m proud we had a team to get us out of it.” the company has become more profitable each year with the last five years seeing the highest profits the company has ever made Uwajimaya doesn’t disclose its profit figures.) Sales last year were close to $120 million up from $78 million when she started as CEO Seeing a third generation come in will be a big shift “But not as bad as the day my four brothers retired and said: ‘Here recently announced that he had retired from Uwajimaya’s board as of Dec saying that his work was done now that the board had identified the next generation of leadership “I just feel it’s time to move on,” said Tomio Moriguchi who is a pillar of the Asian-American community including as owner/publisher of the North American Post a Japanese and English-language weekly newspaper; and as a founder and past president of Keiro Northwest which provides health and wellness services for Asian seniors “I’ve had a couple of experiences with high-level corporations where the old CEO stuck around,” he said “But I appreciate everything that my dad and my aunt and my aunts and uncles and grandparents — I’m proud of everything they built and I feel very fortunate to be able to take over such a strong brand and a really good business,” she said “I feel lucky to come in when they’ve done all the hard work of getting it off the ground and trust me to lead it going forward.” is the first Nagasaki survivor known to have visited the Hanford reactor — now part of a national park — that produced plutonium for the World War II bomb detonated over that Japanese city “There was nothing — nothing about the suffering,” he said Benton County — Mitsugi Moriguchi was 8 when the atomic bomb detonated over his home city of Nagasaki and he has spent much of his life telling the story of the aftermath Will Nagasaki’s story be told at Washington state’s new national park? The retired schoolteacher speaks in classrooms and at conferences and he helped to edit a book of survivors’ testimonials he came to Richland to talk about what happened — but also to learn as he visited the shuttered Hanford B Reactor — now part of a U.S national park — that produced the plutonium fuel for that bomb He asked a tour guide about the workings of aluminum tubes that held the uranium fuel fingering knobs where workers once monitored the operation He surveyed the photo exhibits hanging on the walls of the building that houses the B Reactor and a park visitor center in Richland He left impressed by this formidable wartime scientific accomplishment But he struggled to understand why the park did not include some reflection of the destruction wrought on his hometown “There was nothing — nothing about the suffering the damages that were caused,” Moriguchi said “I felt that eyes were closed to this part of it.” is the first Nagasaki hibakusha — Japanese atomic bomb survivor — known to have toured the B Reactor His mother took him out of the city before the bomb dropped on Aug and he returned several days later to a city where he witnessed firsthand the power of the plutonium produced at Hanford The reactor tour was a highlight of Moriguchi’s trip to Central Washington that also included a visit to Richland High School where he gave the principal a copy of the testimonial book he helped to edit and met with downwinders — people who lived in the path of Hanford radioactive releases first disclosed in 1986 The B Reactor, under a 2014 act of Congress, became part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park that also includes other sites at Hanford as well as Los Alamos The Park Service manages this park in an unusual partnership with the U.S Park officials are charged with telling the history of the secret Manhattan Project at the dawn of the Atomic Age They have said they want exhibits to explore not only the high-stakes push to produce the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and three days later on Nagasaki — but also the human costs on the homefront and in Japan as well as the historical debate over the decision to unleash them we made a commitment that this would be a complete story not only of the (bombs’) development but also their deployment,” said Jonathan Jarvis who served as Park Service director when the park was created in an interview last year with The Seattle Times “There were some who thought that this was going to be a glorification of nuclear weapons We wanted to … disabuse anybody of thinking that was our intent.” They also want to delve into other parts of the Manhattan Project’s history such as the segregation of African Americans who came to work at Hanford Developing new exhibits is typically a yearslong process and the Manhattan Project park work has been slowed still further by a lack of funding I was hoping to get money to start our interpretive planning but we did not I will put in for the money for next year,” said Kris Kirby the Denver-based superintendent of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park the Park Service put its first manager in place at the Hanford site where the visitors center developed by the federal Energy Department has already drawn people from all over the world during a tour season that begins in April photo panels on the walls show some of the early history of the Hanford site There also is a video that ends with the mushroom cloud and an announcer declaring it “one of the marvels of the 20th century” and a “testament to the human spirit.” The video was not shown during Moriguchi’s specially arranged tour says she does not expect to make wholesale changes in the tour yet will “definitely be embracing a broader story.” So far that has not included the modest but — in the Richland area — still controversial step of adding exhibit information about Nagasaki the Manhattan Project park has drawn both interest and scrutiny the mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima sent a letter to Jarvis offering artifacts saying it is essential to “fully describe what happened to the people under the mushroom clouds.” The city of Nagasaki also contributed $5,000 to help fund Moriguchi’s weeklong visit His schedule was arranged by downwinders and other activists who formed a nonprofit called Consequences of Radiation Exposure and they have pushed for their stories to also be told in the national park After speaking at Whitman College in Walla Walla which during World War II became a restricted community open only to the families of those who worked at the 586-square-mile Hanford site Today the focus at Hanford is a massive cleanup of nuclear and chemical waste But its role in helping to build the bomb remains a source of community pride reflected in the mushroom-cloud emblem Moriguchi found displayed on the outside walls gymnasium banners and many other spots around Richland High School a senior and third-generation member of her family to attend Richland High It helps us remember history and make sure that Nagasaki is not forgotten.” Moriguchi summed up his reaction as “shock.” He was particularly offended by finding the emblem painted on the hallway floor “We were underneath that cloud,” Moriguchi said “To see it being stepped on was excruciating It was as if the mothers and children who died underneath that cloud were being stepped on.” none of whom died during the initial attack which he attributes to the aftereffects of exposure to the bomb’s radioactive materials His Nagasaki experiences have made a wary critic of all things nuclear and he opted to don a white Tyvek suit and protective mask for his visit to the reactor He also carried a handheld radiation monitor and as he first entered the building he noticed an uptick and stopped to point it out to the tour guide — 90-year-old John Fox the former Richland mayor who spent more than four decades working at Hanford If a person were to stand in this spot for more than a year the exposure would exceed international safety standards “We won’t keep you here for a year,” Fox said with Fox responding to all sorts of questions about the reactor operations helped end the war and saved him from getting drafted into an Army preparing for a difficult invasion of Japan He wondered whether he had been too outspoken he found tears coming from this man who spent so much of his life working at Hanford “If you like the sound of heavy post-production on dodgy home recordings with various Japanese and German synths you might get it.” Part-time producer part-time ninja Sean Moriguchi introduces his music my career started as an apprentice sound engineer for Deep Recording Studios in Notting Hill which later led to another position in post-production at Abbot Street Studios editing commercials for clients such as Pepsi and L’Oreal Someone that has necked one too many frappuccinos and stumbled onto a bunch of Roland gear mixed with vintage manga movie samples Well if you like the sound of heavy post-production on dodgy home recordings with various Japanese and German synths you might get it Last year I released the singles ‘Charge’ and ‘All I Need’ with London’s Love Handles Records Earlier this year I signed an EP with Miami record label Outta Limits called Get Up which then later led to tracks from the release to be featured on a compilation CD by Amsterdam label Recovery House I’ve also made exclusive mixes for Pack London (The Shifted Mix) and Australia’s Future Classic (The Origins Mixtape) Got a mean track named ‘Frankenstein’ out now I’ve had many jams over that song with old band members back when I was deep into my piano grades and played a bit of dodgy guitar but I can relate to the lyrics more than anything Still remember seeing them live before they got signed and were underground Probably the pirate radio and garage sets I used to do with my mates back when I was 16 It was a time before any of us really learned music theory and just expressed ourselves creatively with no care given But ultimately it was the catalyst which influenced me to take music further and to work in the industry Please geezer, feel free to browse Facebook  and SoundCloud Probably drowned to my neck in synthesisers I’ve got a pretty bad addiction to purchasing those things and to be honest I’m running out of room for places to put them I used to teach music to secondary school adolescents in Lewisham with Wiley’s dad (Wiley as in the grime artist) Sean Moriguchi’s The Thing EP is out now on Havana Banger. Find him on Facebook and SoundCloud Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Attack Magazine is funded by advertising revenue please consider whitelisting Attack in your ad blocker software Find out how Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" including the first nonfamily chairman and a CEO from the third generation of the founding family Longtime Uwajimaya Chairman Tomio Moriguchi has retired from the board of the Seattle-based saying it’s time for him to step down as his daughter “Now that we have worked through the challenge of identifying the next generation of leadership my work on the board is done and I am stepping aside to make room for them,” Tomio Moriguchi said in a statement who led the Uwajimaya board for nearly 50 years He will continue to work on developing the company’s real-estate holdings but will no longer be involved in its management and operations Moriguchi and his mother and siblings had run the company since the death of his father and company founder Tomio Moriguchi led the company as CEO for four decades starting in the late 1960s He oversaw the move and growth of the company’s main store in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and its expansion into Bellevue He continued as chairman of Uwajimaya’s board after retiring as CEO in 2007, when his sister, Tomoko Moriguchi-Matsuno, took over as chief executive Moriguchi-Matsuno will retire as CEO next month former chairman and CEO of Port Blakely Companies a Seattle-based family-owned forestry and real-estate company succeeds Tomio Moriguchi as Uwajimaya’s lead chair He will be the first nonfamily board chair for Uwajimaya “Tomio has provided strategic leadership and vision for the company from day one making Uwajimaya what it is today,” Warjone said in a statement Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon We help you navigate a myriad of possibilities Sign up for our newsletter for the best of the city By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions. Tokyo Note: The dates and opening hours of this exhibition may change due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Please see the official website for the latest details. facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramAbout us Seattle businesses opposed to a proposed tax to pay for housing and homelessness services rolled out an economic-impact analysis open letters and talking points to make their case against the $75 million-a-year proposal Dozens of Seattle businesses not named Amazon are calling for the city to abandon its proposed head tax which would raise money for affordable housing and homelessness services After Amazon’s high-profile “pause” last week businesses have rolled out a coordinated barrage to make their case against the $75 million-a-year proposal arguing that it amounts to an intentional slowdown of the city’s booming economy “It’s being called an Amazon tax and people think it’s really impacting these big companies that make huge profits and revenues,” said Denise Moriguchi amounting to up to $500 per full-time employee in its first two years at the estimated 585 businesses in Seattle to which it would apply would have a much larger relative impact on smaller companies like hers “The margins are way different,” said Moriguchi whose company has 250 employees in Seattle and would be subject to the tax “We make less than a dime on every dollar that we sell so it would definitely impact our bottom line We would have to think twice about bonuses or other employee perks we do today.” Few other businesses have voiced specific plans to halt work on planned projects or to sublease office space they’d already claimed as Amazon has — a move that implied the technology and commerce giant would add 7,000 fewer jobs in Seattle if the tax were implemented An economic-impact study commissioned by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce found that those 7,000 jobs represent $908 million in direct wages a year hundreds of millions more in lost compensation for employees at businesses that sell to Amazon and reduced economic activity more broadly prepared by ECONorthwest and released Tuesday suggests low-margin firms and low-wage workers could bear the brunt of the impact which could in turn “exacerbate the root causes of homelessness.” Companies that have at least $20 million in revenue in the city of Seattle are subject to the proposed tax The council’s finance committee meets Wednesday to consider and possibly vote on the measure A vote of the full council could come as early as Monday; at last count five of the council’s nine members had stated they support the tax Meanwhile, more than 100 business executives, entrepreneurs and investors — mainly from the tech industry — posted an open letter Tuesday afternoon opposing the tax even though not all of them would have to pay it because of the message it sends to every business: if you are investing in growth The tech executives say they’re aware of the city’s homelessness challenges and acknowledge a “shared responsibility to offer solutions not just criticism.” The letter calls for more dialogue and offers to help convene business labor and City Council members “to collectively design a plan that works for all groups.” said she and her employees at the company’s Chinatown International District store and Sodo headquarters see the city’s homelessness crisis up close on a daily basis “We want to help people get out of homelessness,” she said “My perspective is we want to make sure before we throw any more money at it that there’s a well-thought-through plan.” the tax proposal is emblematic of a worsening business climate Washington Technology Industry Association CEO Michael Schutzler calling the tax “possibly the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said the leaders of growing tech companies particularly those that already have operations elsewhere are always looking for alternative places to expand A company with 1,000 people in Seattle would face more than half a million dollars of added expense each year if Seattle implements the tax — money that otherwise could go toward more hiring and if the cost is added on top of the existing high cost of operating in Seattle then the question is what are other cities where we can recruit and operate?” he said chief executive of Seattle software company Tableau said the company would consider placing some new hires in its Kirkland office or other satellites which has spread throughout the Fremont neighborhood over the past decade there is no discussion about Tableau leaving Seattle,” Selipsky said which has been headquartered in Seattle for 70 years says the tax would cost his company directly but his broader concern is how it could impact growth in the city Laird Norton and Seattle-based Spectrum Development last year launched a $500 million program to build badly needed apartments aimed at middle-class earners like teachers and nurses The venture has at least three developments in the works that could break ground in the next 12 to 18 months including projects in Pioneer Square and South Seattle “We definitely have not put anything on pause” because of the tax proposal “But it has caused us to step back and think about things The company is weighing where to direct its real-estate investing — if Other big technology companies with major Seattle growth plans in the works have so far held the course Expedia is perhaps the most significant test case. The travel-tech company announced plans in 2015 to move its headquarters from Bellevue to the shores of Elliott Bay buying the former Amgen Helix campus for $229 million with plans for as many as 4,500 employees While the scope and timing of its move have shifted in the intervening years the company said this week it remains committed to coming to Seattle — even though its chief executive signed on to Tuesday’s open letter “Expedia Group will move to Seattle at the end of 2019,” said company spokeswoman Victoria Cagliero Another major company that recently moved its headquarters to Seattle did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday on the impact to its business of the proposed tax Facebook, which has doubled in two years to more than 2,000 people in Seattle, pointed to its March announcement of plans to accommodate up to 2,900 more when asked about the potential impact of a head tax March 3, 2016 By Northwest Asian Weekly Denise is slated to take over as CEO of Uwajimaya Inc women make up only 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs according to data from Pew Research Center women comprise only 17 percent of corporate board membership in Fortune 500 companies They are women of color leading a local institution that is turning 88 years old they discussed what company decisions they make to maintain their dominance as a top Asian food retailer and wholesaler Moriguchi’s new role as president of the $118 million business occurs a week before International Women’s Day on March 8 where gender equality is the theme of this year’s campaign The movement is seen as both an opportunity to celebrate the economic and social achievements of women but also as a platform to promote progress for women #IWD2016 and #PledgeForParity are being used to spread the theme of International Women’s Day Moriguchi joined Moriguchi-Matsuno as a leader of the Seattle organization on March 1 Pocky sticks line the shelves of Uwajimaya Bellevue on Monday Uwajimaya employees said the snack is a reoccurring favorite among customers The Moriguchi women offered insight on how they run Uwajimaya to maintain their successful business: Moriguchi-Matsuno said their primary concern is keeping their nearly 480 employees happy and well-paid in both Washington and Oregon Ensuring that employees get benefits and are treated fairly is our main our goal The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that happy or satisfied employees perform 20 percent better Moriguchi-Matsuno also said keeping up with product trends is a priority Leadership at Uwajimaya routinely evaluates the company and its products to determine how to stay relevant The Moriguchis plan to remodel the Seattle Uwajimaya location to meet the needs of their consumer base which has changed over the past 15 years to include both Asian and non-Asian customers “We try to find ways to stay on top of everything,” said Moriguchi One of the shopping trends surfacing in Seattle right is customers are not doing as much cooking and instead are buying ready-made meals Times were not always as bright as there are now Fujimatsu Moriguchi started the business in 1928 and shortly after with the signing of Executive Order 9066 in 1942 he was forced into internment at Tule Lake in California Not until after World War II were the Moriguchis able to return to Seattle to reopen Uwajimaya Bags of rice line the wall near the entrance at Uwajimaya in Bellevue To find out what is popular among American consumers Uwajimaya leadership analyzes grocery industry trends The Moriguchi’s are headed to a food show next week in Japan to gain insight about what popular items they should sell at Uwajimaya This will give them an idea of what the next big thing is out of Japan long lasting relationships that Uwajimaya has with their vendors has helped the retailer consistently be the first to sell new and hot items the green tea Kit Kat has been very popular,” said Moriguchi “We were the first one’s with Hello Kitty Soy Sauce containers and those are flying off our shelves,” said Moriguchi-Matsuno The Moriguchis said they are concerned with meeting the needs of non-Asian shoppers We hire strong English-speaking employees to educate non-Asian customers This includes giving customers cooking suggestions and advice Employees of Uwajimaya said certain brands of sake and beer are popular and are used as drink mixers Moriguchi-Matsuno reflected on her leadership role at Uwajimaya over the past nine years and felt that during her time as CEO she received respect by the people she did business with because others knew that she knew what she was doing as head of the company “In the Asian culture traditionally the eldest male was more elevated but somehow that didn’t translate to the next generation in our family which is fortunate for us because [Tomoko’s] brothers felt confident she could run the company even though she’s a female and the youngest sister,” said Moriguchi The live fish and crab tanks capture the attention of Uwajimaya customers on Monday said that one thing that comes to mind when she thinks of Uwajimaya are the tanks “For me it was not [about whether] I’m female or male,” she said Her mentors have taught her to have confidence Moriguchi talked about her new title as president a position she felt she is qualified for because of her resume which includes experience in business consulting and brand management She has an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Sloan School of Management and worked for Dove Consulting and Bayer HealthCare before returning to Seattle to work at her family’s business The Moriguchis say the next important decisions they will make have to do with looking to new opportunities and providing positive customer experiences Gabriella Neal can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com Interior upgrades in the store will include improved displays to better highlight offerings like Uwajimaya's sashimi selection The exterior entrance to Uwajimaya in Bellevue will get a new look and some outdoor seating Uwajimaya began remodeling its Bellevue store this week to modernize its look Asian grocer Uwajimaya began remodeling its Bellevue store this week to modernize its look and improve customer flow through the building it has occupied since 2011 Uwajimaya has its flagship store in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District The Bellevue project is inspired by the remodel Uwajimaya completed at its Seattle store in 2020 but it will be a multimillion-dollar undertaking “It’s very much kind of celebrating some of the concepts we had at Seattle and bringing them to our Bellevue store,” said Moriguchi, a third-generation leader of Uwajimaya who was featured in 425 Business two years ago Bellevue store enhancements include better displays and treatments for the sashimi products; improvements to the seafood and produce departments; expanded sake offerings and improved displays; new refrigeration cases and lighting including using refrigerant better for the environment; designs to improve customer flow into and out of the building; a modernized entrance; and addition of outdoor seating but the exit will move closer to the neighboring Total Wine & More store so people walking in won’t feel like they might bump into carts as people leave “You’ll really just come into the produce department and be able to pause and really just — the colors and the fragrances from the fresh produce — be able to enjoy that and have a better shopping experience,” she said and seafood areas to improve displays and flow and create a sashimi counter that’s “a place where we can really showcase the product and make it pop a little bit more,” Moriguchi said even if not every department’s getting all brand-new equipment,” she said but they also will improve overall customer flow and experience a number of tables and chairs will be added offering customers a place to enjoy their lunch or dinner Moriguchi said people often ask about parking that is not within our ability to change,” she said “We’re just exited to better serve our customers in Bellevue and felt like it was time to (do) … upgrades Email notifications are only sent once a day The song's CD will go on sale on June 1 with the accompanying tracks "Ima wa Oyasumi" (I'm Going to Bed Now) The CD will have a standard edition as well as a limited first edition with "Ubugoe's" music video on a bundled Blu-ray Disc. Another edition with an LP-sized jacket packaging will be available in limited numbers at participating theaters. Director Yoshikazu Yasuhiko illustrated the two limited editions The film's original announcement described the film as a retelling of the 15th episode of the original Mobile Suit Gundam television anime The episode itself has been omitted from English releases of the series The story is set after the Federation defense of Jaburo, with the Federation planning to renew offensives on Zeon's invasion headquarters in Odessa. Amuro and the White Base head to Belfast to resupply, but the White Base receives new orders: to head to the "Island of No Return" to Search and Destroy any Zeon stragglers Amuro set out on the island in search of Zeon spies but find a group of children and a Zaku mobile suit on the supposedly uninhabited island Amuro encounters a man who calls himself Cucuruz Doan Amuro attempts to make his way back to the Gundam to escape The team members all fields MS-06GD Zaku mobile suits with increased leg thrusters for enhanced maneuverability and custom loadouts The film will open on June 3 The manga is a spinoff of Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga. The manga tells the story of Cucuruz Doan, a character who appeared in the similarly-titled 15th episode of Yoshiyuki Tomino's original Mobile Suit Gundam anime series the titular character is a Zeon pilot who abandoned his post after refusing an order Yasuhiko's Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga is also inspired by and re-imagines the original Mobile Suit Gundam series. Viz Media published part of the manga in North America from 2002 to 2004, before it halted publication of the series. Vertical licensed the series in 2013 The manga inspired a six-episode anime project in Japanese theaters from 2015 to 2018. Yasuhiko worked as chief director, character designer, and storyboarder for the anime. A 13-episode television series recompilation of the anime premiered in April 2019 Sources: Cucuruz Doan's Island film's Twitter account, Gundam.info This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.