Includes documents relating to Wakao's community organizing activities in Los Angeles, California. Also includes material relating to Wakao's legal case against the Japanese government regarding voting rights in Japan for Japanese citizens living abroad.

Wakao Tatsuhiko (1940-); Japanese American voting rights activist. Wakao was born in Hampyeong County, Jeollanam-do, on the Korean Peninsula in 1940. In 1945, after the end of World War II, the Wakao family returned to Japan. Wakao later worked for the Japan-based manufacturing company, Harada Industry Co., Ltd. In 1981, Hamada transferred Wakao to its United States subsidiary. While residing in Los Angeles, Wakao was involved in several community organizations, including the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, the Asian American Chamber Association, and the Japanese Food Culture Association. Wakao was one of the lead plaintiffs in a lawsuit that reached the Japanese Supreme Court; the plaintiffs argued that barring Japanese citizens living abroad from voting in National Diet elections is unconstitutional. On September 14, 2005, the Japanese Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to limit voting rights for nonresident Japanese citizens living abroad. Wakao returned to live in Japan in 2009.

1 manuscript box, memorabilia (0.3 Linear Feet)

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Box OCM9 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.