Okaeri Conference: First held in 2014, the Okaeri conference is the only continuously running conference in the U.S. dedicated to the Nikkei LGBTQ+ and ally community. The conference has been a strong reflection of our community, with 52% of attendees identifying as female, 29% over age 60, over 75% identifying as either monoracial or multiracial Japanese/Japanese American, and nearly 60% identifying as LGBTQ+.
Evaluations from our 2023 conference showed that attendees strongly agreed that (1) they would “recommend this conference to a friend,” (2) that the conference was “culturally relevant,” and (3) that they “found this conference to be useful.” Attendees also agreed with the statements that (4) they felt “more connected to the Japanese/Japanese American LGBTQ+ community,” (5) “gained knowledge,” and (6) were “more empowered to advocate for and with the Japanese/Japanese American LGBTQ+ community” as a result of this conference.
Letters To Home: Published in 2024, Letters to Home is an anthology of 47 stories, poems, and art from Japanese and Japanese American LGBTQ+ and allies that explores, challenges, and reflects on what it means to search for home, find acceptance, and build community. Contributors represent a range of personal and professional backgrounds, and come from locations including California, New York, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Hawai’i, and Japan, reflecting the diversity of the Nikkei community. The book has also been on tour in locations including Little Tokyo, West Hollywood, Emeryville, and Honolulu, and has sold over 300 hundred copies locally and nationally.
Okaeri Connects: First started in 2020, it is the only ongoing, free, monthly, English/Japanese language-accessible, virtual support group in the U.S. that caters specifically to the Japanese/Japanese American LGBTQ+ and ally communities. Okaeri Connects currently has three branches – LGBTQ+ Japanese Americans (English speaking), LGBTQ+ Japanese (Japanese speaking), and LGBTQ+ parents and allies (Japanese speaking).
Through engaging in our Okaeri Connects community, individuals have gone on to become volunteers, participate in other programs such as Okaeri Voices, become part of Okaeri’s Steering Committee, and build new relationships across the community.
Okaeri Voices: An ongoing archival video project started in 2018 that seeks to capture and record the voices and stories of trailblazing Japanese/Japanese American LGBTQ+ and allies before they are lost.
Our original Okaeri Voices series has completed two seasons of videos (over 16 in total), capturing important voices and perspectives of Nikkei LGBTQ+ and allies over the age of 60, some of whom have already passed away. In 2025 we launched a second branch of the program titled “Okaeri Voices: Next Gen” which focuses on queer and trans voices under age 60.
Okaeri Matsuri: Launched in the June of 2023, Okaeri Matsuri (formerly “Okaeri Obon”) is a summer celebration that builds off cultural practices such as Obon, Matsuri, and Tanabata to create a space that centers cultural identity and queer joy, allowing LGBTQ+ Nikkei and allies to show up and participate as their full and authentic selves. Okaeri Matsuri is the only recurring Matsuri in the U.S. that specifically centers the queer LGBTQ+ Nikkei experience.
Our 2023 and 2024 Matsuris saw over 400 attendees each, and offered activities including an original Okaeri song and dance, ondo dancing, games and raffles, food booths from Little Tokyo community partners, and performances from drag queens such as Gia Gunn and Bibi Discoteca.
Okaeri Symposiums & Panels: Okaeri has hosted numerous symposiums and workshops through which we’ve explored current issues affecting the Nikkei LGBTQ+ community.
In 2022 we hosted a panel discussing the often overlooked perspectives of Nikkei fathers and their gay sons, and in 2024 hosted another panel featuring Kodo Nishimura, who discussed the intersection of LGBTQ+, Buddhist, and Japanese identities. Additionally, our 2023 symposium explored how to build allyship in different spaces, and our 2024 symposium covered how to inspire greater activism and awareness for the transgender community. These symposiums and workshops provide an important forum for our community to come together on current issues/topics that may otherwise go unaddressed.
