Uploaded by Shige Higashi on December 31, 2025 at 2:00PM
LOS ANGELES, CA – On July 18, 2025, Akira Fujimoto, the owner of the Olympic gift shop in Little Tokyo, made a generous donation of $10,000 to the Seinan Koreisha Senior Day Care Program at the Seinan Senior Center, located at 3116 W. Jefferson Blvd in the West-South district of Los Angeles.
The donation was gratefully received by Rachel Koza, a member of the Seinan Senior Citizens Club, along with Dr. Kenji Irie, Dr. Keiko Ikeda, John Kanai, and Shinichiro Koga of Koreisha Senior Care & Advocacy (KSCA). Fujimoto’s support for the program began in 2022 at KSCA’s first fundraising bazaar.
Since its inception in 2016, KSCA has aimed to build a non-profit nursing home with Japanese/English bilingual and Japanese/American bicultural capabilities. The first step towards this goal is the launch of an adult day care program in 2025, which will serve Japanese-speaking older adults in the nearby communities of Los Angeles. Fujimoto’s donation will be used as a scholarship fund for a student intern in the day care project. This year’s scholarship recipient is Yoichi Shimizutani, a graduate student majoring in gerontology at the University of Southern California.
Despite suffering major damages to his gift shop during the January 2025 riots triggered by protests against federal immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles, Fujimoto chose to make this generous donation to benefit the Japanese seniors.
According to a 2019 nationwide survey by KSCA, 207 out of 1,500 participants reported an immediate need for elderly care. The Seinan Koreisha Day Care Program aims to serve seniors who cannot be cared for at home and to support families who need daytime care for their senior members.
The day care program is awaiting government approval for its facilities, which will provide services to 45 seniors a day. All necessary staff have been recruited, and major fundraising plans have been prepared by Shinichiro Koga, a retired fund manager in Irvine. Fujimoto expressed his desire to be a trailblazer for the Koreisha fundraising efforts with his donation. Additionally, a request for donations has been made to the Japanese American community to support the day care center.