KIKUMURA YANO NAMED PRESIDENT OF JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM

The Board of Trustees for the Japanese American National Museum announced that National Museum Chief Executive Officer Akemi Kikumura Yano, Ph.D. will also assume the position of Museum President as of July 1, 2008, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Kikumura Yano was named CEO for the National Museum in February of this year. She succeeded Irene Hirano, who formerly held the titles of CEO and President and guided the Museum for over 20 years. Hirano, who recently married U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawai`i in May, retained her title of President when Kikumura Yano was appointed the new CEO.

"The Board of Trustees feels the appointment of CEO Akemi Kikumura Yano as President continues the on-going leadership transition that is vital to the long-term future of the Japanese American National Museum," explained Ernest Doizaki, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. "Akemi has been the CEO since February and we are grateful for the support she has received from Irene during this period. Because of her long tenure with the Museum, Akemi has been able to manage her new responsibilities very adeptly, so the Board voted to move forward with the on-going transition."

Hirano will continue to work as Executive Advisor for U.S.-Japan relations activities for the National Museum, an area she had pioneered as head of the Museum. She will also continue to help with fundraising.

The Japanese American National Museum, a private nonprofit national organization dedicated to the preservation and sharing of the experiences of Americans of Japanese ancestry, was incorporated in 1985 and first opened the doors of its renovated Historic Building (a former Buddhist temple) in 1992. The National Museum, which has created landmark exhibitions, traveled shows across the country and to places as faraway as Brazil and Japan, and developed innovative educational programs, opened its main facility, a state-of-the-art Pavilion in Los Angeles’ historic Little Tokyo, in 1999. It further expanded its Historic Building for its educational project, the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, in 2005.