From the April 2012 issue Editor's Note:

The past month has been quite crazy in Toronto with drastic temperature ups-and-downs ever since Spring kicked in. And as usual, Spring brings along a whole array of events. One such recent event was the Keisho: The 70th Anniversary of the Japanese Canadian Dispersal Conference held on March 31 and April 1 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC). Coverage of Day 1 is included on the front page of this April 2012 issue, and more on the conference will appear in the next issue.

And here’s a reminder that May is Asian Heritage Month (AHM), which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Make sure you check out your local listings for related events in your area. On that note, the Second National Asian Heritage Month Video Conference takes place on May 6 at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver), University of Toronto, and McGill University (Montreal). The theme of the conference is “Mutation, What will Asian Canadian mean tomorrow?” For more information on the event and other AHM events in those three cities, visit the websites for explorAsian, Virtual Museum for Asian Canadian Cultural Heritage, and Festival Accès Asie.

Speaking of AHM, Leslie Shimotakahara who will be at the JCCC in late May for a book reading, Q&A and book signing event (see Page 9) is also giving readings as part of the Toronto Public Library’s AHM programming. The locations include George F. Locke Library on May 22 and College/Shaw Library on May 24. Both library events begin at 2 p.m. For more information, see the Upcoming Events section of the website for her book, The Reading List. An interesting note about Shimotakahara is that her great grandfather is Kozo Shimotakahara—the much-remembered first Japanese-Canadian medical doctor.

And last but not least, Nikkei Voice is introducing a new “student” subscription rate of $25 for those 25 years old and under. If there are any youths out there contemplating on subscribing, take this opportunity and subscribe now especially during our year of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Nikkei Voice.