With the exponential growth in popularity of podcasts, there is no doubt that anyone can find a podcast for just about any of their interests, from the most well-known to the hidden gems only shared among a few. Since February of 2024, Japanese Americans and many others interested in history, particularly as it pertains to Japanese Americans, have had the incredible privilege of a podcast especially devoted to such a topic with Koji Steven Sakai and Michelle MaliZaki’s podcast, Japanese America.

Having already had 8 episodes, ranging from topics such as personal family history to uncovered diaries from internees, Japanese America provides an especially informative, while equally entertaining, perspective for all of those willing to listen and learn.

While the podcast focuses on the stories of Japanese Americans, primarily in the 20th century, only one of the co-hosts has deep roots as a Japanese American. Koji Steven Sakai is a Yonsei (4th-generation American) from Southern California, with maternal roots in Japan and paternal roots in Hawaii. Michelle MaliZaki, however, was born and raised in Japan, only moving to the United States in the late 1980s.

Despite there being only a small connection between MaliZaki and the Japanese American experience of the 20th century, with MaliZaki’s interest in learning more about the history of Japanese Americans, and Sakai’s longstanding relationship with the Japanese American National Museum, including involvement in public programs and exhibitions, Sakai chose MaliZaki to co-host the newest podcast of the Japanese American National Museum, bringing audiences to what is now Japanese America.

As Sakai remarks, every episode comes with a source of inspiration, whether it be a long-awaited topic or a sudden idea for one, followed by the search for material that can accompany and support the topic, such as excerpts from a diary or parts of an official document. Only then can the script finally be made, recorded, and the episode released.

Each episode brings an immense amount of knowledge and every listener is bound to learn an abundance of new facts and points of view on various parts of what makes up the diverse Japanese American experience in the 20th century. However, this impact does not only expand to the listeners, the hosts themselves have also found the creation of each episode to be a time of reflection and discovery as well.

Co-host MaliZaki stated that “every episode makes me appreciate my life better... my life is great compared to people who had to live through and fight for their basic rights.”

Sakai, on the other hand, recalled episodes focusing on the history of his grandfather as a great testament to his long-awaited promise to his father of finding out about what specifically happened to his grandfather during World War II, as well as sharing the message to the world once he did have a clear answer to ensure that history will never repeat itself. MaliZaki similarly noted, “We should always remember what happened to Japanese Americans and what could happen to anybody.”

Despite Japanese America having already covered a wide variety of topics ranging from family history to dissecting the background of Mr. Miyagi from the iconic 1984 film The Karate Kid, there are still many more potential topics that have yet to be discovered. MaliZaki and Sakai reveal that the next episode in the Japanese America installment will center around baseball, something of a passion of Sakai and which MaliZaki has personal stories of her own to share  (editor's note: this episode was released today!). For episodes beyond, however, Sakai hopes to expand beyond the experiences of World War II, potentially looking at topics such as the experiences of Shin-issei (the new immigrants from Japan) as well as the greater Japanese American culture.

Aside from the podcast, MaliZaki is a standup comedian, only beginning this career at 49 years old, yet who was already featured on CNN’s Champions for Change in 2023. Sakai, on the other hand, is the host of many other podcasts, including the Unofficial Story Podcast, delving into the paranormal, true crime, and anything in between, as well as Elucidity and What if Pop, with Elucidity centered around a fictional podcast about an app allowing users to lucid dream.

Japanese America may come off as a podcast catered specifically to those having close ties to the experiences discussed, but in reality, each episode is truly a learning experience and a chance for self-reflection made for everyone who comes across it, and as Sakai notes, “If this podcast was able to change one person’s mind or thoughts, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.”

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Japanese America is JANM’s new podcast that explores unique experiences, challenges, and triumphs of Japanese Americans and illuminates their contributions to the mosaic of American life. Find the latest episodes wherever you listen to podcasts!

©2024 Chiana Fujiwara