‘Asian-Americans are vital’: New York City to host first-ever parade celebrating Japanese

Organisers initially aimed for the city’s first-ever Japan Day parade to coincide with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the pandemic postponed their plans

At roughly 56,000, the New York area has America’s fourth-largest ethnic Japanese population, behind Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco

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Dancers from the Kazanami Yosakoi Dance Project perform on Wednesday at a news conference in New York to promote the city’s first-ever Japan Parade. Photo: AP

Published: 1:02pm, 28 Apr 2022

People of Japanese descent are gearing up for their first-ever parade in New York City, taking their place among the line-up of groups that celebrate their heritage with marches through the United States’ most populous city.

Set for May 14, the Japan Day parade comes amid activism following a wave of anti-Asian attacks during the coronavirus pandemic, and solidarity is part of the parade’s message. But planning began well before the emergence of Covid-19.

Organisers initially aimed to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, but the virus postponed their plans.

The skyline of New York City’s lower Manhattan is seen from a passenger ferry last week. Photo: AP

“That creates big momentum to make it better, to celebrate the recovery from the pandemic, as well as appreciation from the Japanese community to the city of New York,” Ambassador Mikio Mori, the Japanese consul general in New York, said at a press preview on Wednesday.

The parade stands to boost visibility for the New York metropolitan area’s Japanese and Japanese-American community. At roughly 56,000, the New York area has America’s fourth-largest ethnic Japanese population, behind those of Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to a Pew Research Centre analysis of Census Bureau data.

There has been a Japan Day festival in Central Park for some years, but organisers felt they could reach more people by bringing it onto the streets.

‘Asian-Americans are vital’: New York City to host first-ever parade celebrating Japanese

Organisers initially aimed for the city’s first-ever Japan Day parade to coincide with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the pandemic postponed their plans At roughly 56,000, the New York area has America’s fourth-largest ethnic Japanese population, behind Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco

Organisers initially aimed for the city’s first-ever Japan Day parade to coincide with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the pandemic postponed their plans

At roughly 56,000, the New York area has America’s fourth-largest ethnic Japanese population, behind Honolulu, Los Angeles and San Francisco