The Japanese American Bar Association Educational Foundation (JEF) was created in 2006 to facilitate the awarding of scholarships to deserving law students and/or recent law school graduates.

Awards are given in honor of Justice John F. Aiso, Justice Stephen K. Tamura, and Judge Edward Y. Kakita, highly distinguished and pioneering Asian American judges, and through the Lim, Ruger & Kim Foundation.

To apply for the 2008 scholarships, please return the application form by February 11, 2008. For more information please review the press release and instruction sheet sheet or contact James Toma, Scholarship Co-Chair, at tomajm@hotmail.com

Justice John F. Aiso Scholarship. Justice Aiso served as the chief instructor of what became the Military Intelligence Service Language School. In 1953, he became the first Japanese American California state judge when Governor Earl Warren appointed him to the municipal court. He was later appointed to the Second Appellate District in 1968.

Justice Stephen K. Tamura Scholarship. Justice Tamura was interned in Poston with his family and later served in the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team. In 1961, Governor Pat Brown appointed him to the Orange County Superior Court and later elevated him to the Fourth Appellate District. Justice Tamura was the first Asian American to sit on the California Court of Appeal. He also served as Justice Pro Tem on the California Supreme Court.

Judge Edward Y. Kakita Memorial Scholarship. In 2006, JEF created the Judge Edward Y. Kakita Scholarship in memory of Judge Kakita (1940-2005). Judge Kakita was interned with his family at Poston, Arizona during World War II. A founding member of the Japanese American Bar Association, Judge Kakita presided as JABA’s first President in 1976. Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Superior Court in 1980.
Judge Kakita is widely recognized for being a major, if not the major force behind the successful formation of JABA.

LRK Foundation Scholarship.  The LRK Foundation Scholarship was established in 2007 with generous funding provided by the LRK Foundation.  LRK Foundation, the private charity arm of the law firm of Lim, Ruger & Kim, LLP, works through bar associations to grant scholarships to minority law students in the pursuit of a more just and equitable society.  Lim, Ruger & Kim, LLP, founded in 1986, is nationally recognized as a leading minority-owned law firm based in Los Angeles, California.

JABA Educational Foundation (JEF) Board of Directors
Honorable Robert M. Kawahara, President
Alex H. Fukui, Treasurer
Ann A. Hashisaka, Secretary
Diana H. Nishiura, Fundraising Committee Chair
Michelle K. Sugihara, Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
James M. Toma, Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
Catherine Endo Chuck
Sabina Helton
Diana Iketani
K. Anne Inoue
Bert Kawahara

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