Working at the Rafu Shimpo, it’s in the job description that we know about the issues. Staying aware of what happens in the community is the whole reason the paper exists. So, in what little time I’ve been there, I would consider myself relatively well versed in the biggest issues facing Little Tokyo. These issues are the primary things that brought me to the NCI internship. The fading vitality of Little Tokyo, the massive demographic shift, the struggle to preserve cultural character and heritage amidst private outside development and gentrification.
There’s a complex calculus behind being young and a part of Little Tokyo – participating in community organizations, doing work for non-profits and working for preservation – which, as interns, we all are doing now. We talk about staving off 3D, rejecting an influx of businesses that don’t cater to Japanese American tastes, and saving the small businesses over frozen treats topped with Lucky Charms at Yogurtland. As youth, we have the capacity to put in the most work and dedication to raising up the community, but at the same time, our newer tastes and faster paces are what bring Little Tokyo down.
18 – 34 year olds are the prime demographic for virtually all commerce. Television, movies, fashion, food, almost anything that is bought and sold is targeted towards our choice slice of society. Most of us barely on the cusp of this group, we seem easy targets to industry execs who want to bag us while we’re young. If commercial spaces can be saturated with enough consumables that seem fun to buy, we will flock there like flies on manure. And their strategy works. We are the reason that there are two Starbucks in Little Tokyo. We are the reason Weller Court was bought out. We are the reason that Central Avenue now offers visitors a choice between spaghetti, burgers, Cuban food, or sandwiches, but forces them to look elsewhere for a bowl of rice.
Looking through the Rafu’s story archives, there are so many instances of community rallies, demonstrations, petitions, movements from LTSC or the Chamber of Commerce, efforts to ward off the invasive forces. I had known for a long time that Little Tokyo was struggling to retain its Japanese character, but I had envisioned it as a more individual fight, one shop owner repelling a sticky fingered franchise, one restaurant swaying between offers from numerous wealthy Korean entrepreneurs and a couple of struggling JA restaurateurs. I had thought there was an issue of organization or of knowledge. I thought each singular owner was pooling their own scarce resources, and if everything were more fully integrated, if each owner knew the laws and practices to keep their business healthy and all worked together, it would be a simple matter to turn around the direction Little Tokyo has been toeing. It’s rather disheartening, then, to learn that the dilution of Little Tokyo is not being done storefront by storefront, but in great swaths of retail and residential space by commercial behemoths. The community is already standing together. As it stands now, though, its stature is not tall enough.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised to learn that so much of the staff for all of the community oriented organizations is composed of folks in their twenties. Maybe it’s just because nobody else is willing to work for so little pay. But I’d like to believe that the idealism that is responsible for most of the job satisfaction will not temper with age. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised to learn that there has been such an active effort to provide for the older generation. Not just in terms of affordable housing – that much is a given. But learning of the movie nights and social events to mediate differences between older Japanese and Koreans, visiting the Diskovery Center and learning about their classes, not just in the basics of pc and internet use, but in leisure and self expression, really demonstrates how committed our community organizations are to ensure our older generation is not just cared for and respected, but enjoys a high quality of life.
But between these two ideals there is a disconnect. We want to attract more people to Little Tokyo, we want to redefine what the community means, but at the same time we don’t know whether it’s okay for people with different names and colors to settle down, we don’t know whether we should welcome the gold line for bringing visitors in or reject it for separating our own space. We, the young generation, can be the arbiters of change, but if we don’t define what that change is, others will define it for us.
So, to me, the biggest issue I’ve seen over the course of NCI is not any specific struggle against powers that be or debate over a particular plot of land. It is instead an issue of the community’s own visions. Change is inevitable. That we must admit. We cannot afford to tread water, fighting to keep our businesses and spaces the same while trying to figure out what it is that can attract the J-town diaspora back to Little Tokyo. Everyone must be part of the process, and everyone must be on the same page. Money chases trends. If 3D thinks that Starbucks and Subway are what young JAs want, they’re not going to let a few organizations with confusing acronyms stop them from giving it to the kids. Much of SoCal’s JA population has moved past Little Tokyo, seeing its values, its businesses as irrelevant to their own situations. It is not enough to work on bettering Little Tokyo, for and within Little Tokyo. It should be remade, not as a trendy destination in spite of the older generation and quainter establishments, but because of them. The goals of young and old should be one and the same. And if that can happen, developers won’t focus on how to sidestep the community’s desires to make the most profit, but will work with them to ensure they make the most profit. There will be no hesitation in choosing between Mikawaya and Yogurtland. And my utopian ranting will seem less irrational.
