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Pierce County designates Feb. 19 as Day of Remembrance; survivors urge vigilance
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Summary
The Pierce County Council and executive designated Feb. 19, 2026, as a Day of Remembrance for Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Survivors and community leaders recounted family histories and urged the county to use remembrance to guard against contemporary injustices.
Pierce County on Feb. 10 designated Feb. 19, 2026, as a Day of Remembrance honoring Japanese Americans who were forcibly incarcerated during World War II, as council members and invited speakers recounted wartime losses and urged action to prevent repetition of similar injustices.
The council read a proclamation that cited Executive Order 9066 and the 1983 federal commission finding that the incarceration was driven by racial prejudice rather than military necessity, and referenced the Civil Liberties Act of 1988. Council member Brian Yambe read the proclamation into the record and invited community witnesses to speak.
"Mass incarceration is not a thing of the past," Tomiko Nomura said, urging that the remembrance be an opportunity "for our community to demand justice once again." Nomura and other speakers tied the county's history — including the Puyallup Assembly Center that served as a temporary detention site for about 7,000 Nikkei — to present-day concerns about detention and civil liberties.
Hana Konishi, introduced by an organizer as a survivor of the 1942 removals, described personal memories of being taken at age nine and the losses her family endured. "I was 9," she said. "Don't let it happen again." Her testimony drew gratitude and reflection from council members.
Denise Moriguchi, identified at the meeting as CEO of Uwajimaya, recounted that her grandparents operated a grocery in the Tacoma area before the war and said returning the family business to Tacoma next year made the proclamation especially meaningful. "Days like this remind us of our history," she said.
Council members responded with personal reflections on resilience and the history of legal challenges to incarceration policies, and noted the role of local remembrance efforts. The Puyallup Valley Japanese American Citizens League will host a day-of-remembrance event at the Puyallup Fairgrounds Expo Hall on Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to noon, where attendees can hear survivors and authors discuss wartime experiences.
The proclamation and public testimony were presented as part of the council's regular meeting agenda; no formal legislative action was required for the designation. The council encouraged residents to attend the Feb. 21 remembrance event and to use the observance as a prompt for civic reflection and education.
