NIKKEI Community 2026 | Japanese Language “Nikkei Help Line” Marks 40th Anniversary in Los Angeles
Nikkei Help Line, Japanese language hotline services, held the 40th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Centenary United Methodist Church in Little Tokyo.
On a cold January day in 1985 in Santa Monica, a 32-year-old mother walked into the ocean with her two kids, ages 4 and 6 months, in an attempt to end their lives. Both her children died, but she managed to survive the waters.
A Japanese immigrant, when she discovered that her husband had been cheating for 3 years, she had no one to turn to for support. The mother was depressed and isolated, with nobody to talk to in her native language.
This incident became widely known in the Japanese community, and soon after, Nikkei Helpline was created by concerned people with the help of Little Tokyo Service Center, with a toll-free hotline for anybody, especially Japanese speakers, to call and speak anonymously about their plight.
Nikkei Helpline continues to serve its original purpose with an all-volunteer hotline. On Saturday, people gathered to celebrate this vital lifeline’s remarkable 40-year existence.
(Source: Facebook/Mike Murase)