USJC NY & Vicinity Region | Raised in Hiroshima, Fought in Vietnam

A Conversation with Tak Furumoto and NHK World Japan’s Mayu Nakamura

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. In recognition, NHK recently produced a new documentary profiling New York-based Takeshi Furumoto. You can watch the documentary in English here and in Japanese here (fee required).

The film’s director, Mayu Nakamura, will visit New York City in July, and we are planning a special “Behind-the-Scenes” conversation with both Ms. Nakamura and Mr. Furumoto.

Mr. Furumoto will reflect on his extraordinary life journey — from being born in the Tule Lake concentration camp to growing up in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing and later serving in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Ms. Nakamura will share insights into the making of the documentary and the importance of preserving stories like Mr. Furumoto’s, particularly in the context of today’s global challenges.

Following the conversation, in-person attendees will have an opportunity to network over light refreshments.

Featured Speakers

Takeshi “Tak” Furumoto

Takeshi Furumoto was born in the Tule Lake Segregation Center. After being released from the  incarceration camp in December of 1945, his family moved temporarily to Hiroshima, Japan four months after the atomic bombing. Living in Nishihara, a suburb of Hiroshima City which was only seven miles from the epicenter of the atomic bomb, his extended family and many of  his classmates were hibakusha, or victims of the atomic bomb. In May of 1956, his family returned to the United States.

After graduating from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, Tak volunteered in the United States Army and eventually was commissioned as a Military Intelligence Officer. Tak was sent to Vietnam in 1970. He was an Army Intelligence Officer at the District  Intelligence and Operation Coordinating Center (DIOCC) and also served as Phoenix Program District Advisor to the Vietnam National Police (a CIA sponsored counter-insurgency operation). He was decorated with a Bronze Star Medal in 1971.

After returning home from Vietnam with severe PTSD and experiencing difficulty in holding a job, Tak and his wife, Carol, started Furumoto Realty in 1974. Tak is the CEO and Chairman of Furumoto Realty Inc, a Board member of the Japanese American Association of New York (JAANY), Founder and Honorary Chairman of the NY Hiroshima Org, and one of the founding members and a current  board member of the Japan History Council of New York. He is also a life member of the Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA), member of Troop 2342 VFW in Fort Lee, NJ and a member of the NY/NJ 1^st Cavalry Division Association in Ridgefield Park, NJ. Tak serves as  an AAPI Commissioner under Governor Murphy in the state of New Jersey. Along with his wife, Tak won senate approval for Fred Korematsu Day in New Jersey, assisted with Fred Korematsu Day in New York City, and is currently working on its adoption in the state of New York.

In addition to his Bronze Star Medal, some of Tak’s major accolades include the Key to the Borough of Fort Lee, NJ for his community service, the Human Rights Award from Bergen County, NJ, and the Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays from the Government of Japan under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General of Japan in New York for promoting the status of the Japanese American community in the United States and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.

Mayu Nakamura

Mayu is a traveler and a challenger all her life. She was born in Japan but left home at the age of 16 to study in the U.K. She then moved to NYC, where she aspired to become a director, and earned an MFA from the Graduate Film Program at New York University. She
makes both fiction and documentary films. Her strength is uncovering and representing hidden narratives.

Her fiction feature film, Intimate Stranger, premiered at the 2021 Tokyo International Film Festival. She also directed a documentary feature film, Alone Again in Fukushima, which premiered at the 2020 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Recently, Mayu won a BAFTA award for the BBC documentary, Atomic People, in which she worked as a producer. She is a green card holder and divides her time between Tokyo and New York City.

Moderator

Akemi Ooka

Akemi is a fourth generation Japanese American and the Executive Producer and Narrator of the Emmy-award winning film Three Boys Manzanar about her father’s experience in the US incarceration camp at Manzanar. She deeply believes in the power of storytelling as a means to humanize complex subject matter and make it relevant to a broad audience. Akemi has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. to share her film. Through these screenings she has recognized that not only must this history be taught, but the preservation and archiving of stories like her father’s must be prioritized by future generations so that we may all remember and learn from this period in American history. Akemi is the CEO of a non profit organization servicing the beauty industry and holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles.