Living in Harmony?

by alex tagawa

Influx of Korean Americans in Little Tokyo forces two communities to learn to live together despite past conflicts

When you walk into Little Tokyo, you probably expect to enter the heart of southern California’s Japanese American community. Most would go there for a taste of Japanese food, culture, or shopping. However, this may no longer be the case.

Once a thriving Japanese American community, Little Tokyo in Los Angeles is now one of three remaining Japantowns in the United States. In 2007, parts of Little Tokyo were bought out by 3D Investments, a Beverly Hills based real estate company. The sale of the New Otani Hotel and the Garden and Weller Courts has led many community members to fear that Japantown will eventually cease to exist. They worry that 3D Investments will not look out for the best interests of the community or continue efforts to preserve its history.

Little Tokyo has also experienced a series of demographic shifts. The majority of residents and businesses are no longer Japanese or Japanese American, especially after the Little Tokyo Shopping Center was purchased by a group of Korean American investors in 2008. According to the L.A. Business Journal, the investors are planning on turning the Little Tokyo Shopping Center into a Korean-themed shopping and entertainment center.

This sale has brought about a different tension within the community. It is no longer an issue of Japantown simply being bought—race is now being added to the problem. People emphasize the fact that Japantown was bought by Korean Americans, rather than just being worried that it has been bought.

In reality however, Japanese Americans and Korean Americans have been sharing the space for years. Koreans actually already own many of the restaurants and shops.

Moreover, the demographics of Little Tokyo reflect the changing shape of the Japanese American community. As the Japanese American community becomes more “Americanized”, residents gain the mobility to move outside of Little Tokyo. Even the new Japanese immigrants have chosen not to live in Little Tokyo. Instead, they choose to live in ethnoburbs such as Torrance, where there is a large Japanese American population.

Although many Japanese have left, they continue to see Little Tokyo as a symbol of the Japanese American community. This is why they are opposed to Korean Americans coming in. Many still believe that there is the need for a physical space that the Japanese American community can claim and hold as a symbol. However, only a handful of people are making efforts to actually try to maintain what is left.

As more Japanese Americans begin to move out of Little Tokyo businesses, there is an increasing need for someone to take them over. Koreans currently have a higher immigration rate than Japanese. Many Koreans who have bought property in Little Tokyo are part of the post-1965 immigration. The 1965 Immigration Act ended the use of a quota system, allowing more Asians to enter the United States. Under this Act, a preference system was set up that selected immigrants from seven different categories. Family reunification was the main focus, but skilled workers, laborers to fill positions where there were labor shortages, and political refugees were also given preference under this system. The 1965 Immigration Act has made it possible for more Koreans to immigrate to the United States.

Dr. Sachiko Kotani from Kyoto University also attributes the number of Korean-owned businesses in Little Tokyo to Korea’s postcolonial association with Japan. In her studies, Kotani found that although most Korean American business owners are not directly influenced by Japan’s colonization of Korea, the linguistic and cultural familiarity with Japan has been passed on to the younger generation. She also found that the Korean tenants in Little Tokyo had no intention of changing the symbolic images of the community or taking over their space.

Maybe the younger generation of Japanese Americans needs to follow the steps that their elders have taken to accept Korean Americans as part of the Little Tokyo community. As more Koreans move into the Little Tokyo Towers senior facility, Japanese American and Korean American seniors are setting their differences aside. They are looking beyond the history and the terrible memories of Japanese colonialism in Korea, and finding things that they have in common, such as singing karaoke. They have formed a “Good Neighbors” group to help work out conflicts, they hold joint karaoke nights with songs in Korean and Japanese, Koreans learn Japanese and Japanese learn Korean so that they can communicate better, and they have a Korean-Japanese bilingual newsletter called “Bridges” through which they can share parts of their culture. Most would assume that the older generation of Japanese Americans and Korean Americans would be affected by the demographic change the hardest, given the history of Japanese colonization in Korea. However, they are actually the ones learning the most from it, by taking a proactive role and turning the increase in the Korean population into a completely positive thing.

The issue that Little Tokyo faces is extremely complicated. Little Tokyo is an important part of the Japanese American identity because Japantowns serve as an important symbol of the history and struggle of the community. They serve as a meeting place and a location for non-profit agencies and community organizations, which helps bring the Japanese American community together. It is sad that the changes occurring in Little Tokyo are being viewed more in terms of race than in terms of the actual development. People focus more on the fact that the community is being bought by Korean investors than they focus on the implications the changes have on the Japanese American community. Changes are occuring in the types of stores that are opening and the people that are running the businesses; however, many Japanese Americans are not stepping up to open stores or restaurants to maintain Little Tokyo as their own community.

In another light, these changes in ownership might be just what the community needs. Perhaps they will motivate Japanese Americans to make a difference and do something for their community. Most importantly, perhaps these changes will mobilize younger Japanese Americans to follow the example set by their elders and learn to live in harmony with their Korean neighbors in Little Tokyo.