The 2026 Pioneer Spirit Award honorees will be recognized during the Nisei Week Pioneer Spirit Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, August 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, Bunker Hill Ballroom, located at 251 South Olive Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Tickets for the luncheon are $105 per individual seat or $1,050 per table of 10. Registration is available through NiseiWeek.org. Questions may be directed to pioneerluncheon@niseiweek.org.
Yuriko Shikai – Nominated by Japanese Women’s Society of Southern California, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, Little Tokyo Senior Nutrition Services
Yuriko Mary Shikai graduated from Southwestern Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude and passed the State Bar in 2003. She works at the law firm of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, specializing in Business, Commercial Law and Civil Litigation.
Yuriko is fluent in Japanese, which she uses at both work and in volunteer activities for the Japanese communities. She has served as president of the Japanese Women’s Society of Southern California (JWSSC) that promotes Japanese culture, arts, friendship and goodwill between America and Japan.
Since 2015, Yuriko has been an active member of the Little Tokyo Business Association (LTBA) and is currently the senior vice president (VP). She is also a VP of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California (JCCSC). As a member of LTBA, JWSSC and JCCSC, she has helped organize the Oshogatsu Festival in Little Tokyo every New Years Day, and helps to coordinate the JWSSC efforts to recognize Japanese women leaders for their “Woman of the Year” program. She recently spear-headed the welcome reception for the Consul General and Deputy Consul General of Japan.
Yuriko is a member of the Japanese American Bar Association and its Educational Foundation, which awards scholarships to outstanding law students. She is also a volunteer legal counsel for the Little Tokyo Senior Nutrition Services that provides meals for congregate and home bound seniors in the Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights communities.
Yuriko has participated in kendo since she was a young girl. She holds a 6th degree black belt and is an active member of the Southern California Kendo Federation, which is the largest regional kendo federation in the United States.
Yuriko has consistently held leadership roles in numerous organizations with her bi-lingual skills and extensive knowledge of law to protect, promote and advance the welfare of the Japanese and Japanese American community.