18 Facts About Japanese Americans

Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asian American group at around 1, 469, 637, including those of partial ancestry.

Significant Japanese Americans immigration did not occur again until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries.

In general, later generations of Japanese Americans speak English as their first language, though some do learn Japanese later as a second language.

In Hawaii however, where Nikkei are about one-fifth of the whole population, Japanese Americans is a major language, spoken and studied by many of the state's residents across ethnicities.

Japanese Americans have the largest showing of any ethnic group in nationwide Advanced Placement testing each year.

Related searches

Large majority of Japanese Americans obtain post-secondary degrees and are often confronted with the "model minority" stereotype, a characterization that first gained media attention during the 1960s.

Japanese Americans school opened in Hawaii in 1893 and other Japanese Americans schools for temporary settlers in North America followed.

Across the country, Japanese Americans gather on fair grounds, churches and large civic parking lots and commemorate the memory of their ancestors and their families through folk dances and food.

Japanese Americans have shown strong support for Democratic candidates in recent elections.

One study, called the Japanese American Community Diabetes Study that started in 1994 and went through 2003, involved the pro-bands taking part to test whether the increased risk of diabetes among Japanese Americans is due to the effects of Japanese Americans having a more westernized lifestyle due to the many differences between the United States of America and Japan.

When Japanese Americans returned from internment, many settled in neighborhoods where they set up their own community centers in order to feel accepted.

Jay Shimotake, the president of the Mid America Japanese Americans Club, an organization located in Arlington Heights, said "Arlington Heights is a very convenient location, and Japanese Americans people in the business environment know it's a nice location surrounding O'Hare airport.

Many Japanese Americans companies have their US headquarters in nearby Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg.

Japanese Americans was the first American of Asian descent to be elected governor of a state of the United States.

In 1979, biochemist Harvey Itano became the first Japanese Americans American elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Japanese Americans first made an impact in Olympic sports in the late 1940s and in the 1950s.

In figure skating, Kristi Yamaguchi, a fourth-generation Japanese Americans American, won three national championship titles, two world titles, and the 1992 Olympic gold medal in singles figure skating.

Japanese Americans took a two-year hiatus between these titles to serve in the United States Army in the American occupation of Japan.