Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) National Youth/Student Council (NY/SC)
The mission of the National Youth/Student Council is to raise awareness of Asian Pacific Islander
American Pacific Islander (APIA) issues and to engage and develop young leaders who create
positive change in our community. Our vision is a network of collaborative young community
leaders and allies with the collective power and passion to make change.
03/31/2026
Come join us in Salt Lake City, UT 🌄 on April 11th at 5:30PM for our kick-off Civic Dinner 🍽️ at our upcoming Spring Retreat!! 🌸
We welcome anybody ages 16-27 to RSVP, & food will be provided!!
03/31/2026
Become a member & connect to other youth in the Japanese American community today with the JACL ✨
Benefits of membership include:
🇯🇵 Japanese cultural exchange programs
đź’µ Scholarships
🏛️ Leadership summits in Washington, D.C.
and more!!
Find your chapter & get involved today!!
03/20/2026
Thank you to everyone who attended the Intermountain District Youth Board’s first event… bowling!! 🎳 Stay on the lookout at .idcyouth for upcoming events!! ✨
12/11/2025
Thank you to everyone who participated in our NY/SC 2025 Art Contest! We had many wonderful submissions & after reviewing them, we would like to introduce our winning submission! Here’s Leila’s artist bio:
My design is about looking back on Japanese-American history. The girl representing the future, is reminiscing about internment camps and the historical contributions of previous generations to the legacy of Japanese-Americans. The backdrop is a red circle representing the sun on the Japanese flag, and literally, our Japanese background. My submission shows how I hope in the future our community will retain the knowledge and history it holds.
11/17/2025
A successful EDC Youth Board Fall Summit in the books! ❤️💛
10/28/2025
Meet the 2025–26 NY/SC Team! 🎉 We’re excited to represent JACL youth this year and can’t wait to share our upcoming projects, events, and initiatives. Follow along as we bring our ideas to life!
10/27/2025
Meet the 2025-26 NY/SC team! 🎉 We are thrilled to represent JACL youth this year and can’t wait to share our amazing upcoming projects, events, and initiatives. Stay tuned as we bring our ideas to life!
10/17/2025
The NY/SC is excited to announce a new art contest to design our next merch item — stickers! We want to create a platform and encourage the creativity of our community. Whether you are an avid artist or just enjoy a quick doodle every now and again, we encourage you to apply! Application will close November 7th at 11:59 PM HST
APPLY VIA LINK IN BIO!
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
10/14/2025
The NY/SC is excited to announce a new art contest to design our next merch item — stickers! We want to create a platform and encourage the creativity of our community. Whether you are an avid artist or just enjoy a quick doodle every now and again, we encourage you to apply! Your design will be submitted via this google form, and your submission will be judged by current NY/SC members. Application will close November 10th at 11:59 PM HST
APPLY VIA LINK IN BIO!
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
07/19/2025
Our 2025 Vision Award winner, Austin Fujii!
Austin Fujii, a San Jose JACL youth member, is an incoming second-year honors scholar at Foothill College in the Bay Area—studying sociology and economics. Austin joined the JACL in 2022, mentored by former Congressman Michael Honda during the reintroduction of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act. In the San Jose JACL, he has helped design new marketing panels, additionally creating a “social justice walking tour” of San Jose Japantown with his fellow interns—an updated tour coordinating print brochures and digital Google Earth QR-codes to promote local small businesses and uncover the depth of Japantown’s history.
Outside of the JACL, playing taiko has always been a large part of Austin’s life. During high school, he played in San Jose Taiko’s Junior Taiko Performing Ensemble for four years and is now an active member of Taiko SOBA—a local semi-professional adult group.
07/17/2025
Join the National Youth Student Council (NY/SC) for our Youth Awards Luncheon titled Youth in Unity where we highlight the work youth have been doing across our community.
🗓️: July 18 at 12:15pm
đź“Ť: Alvarado DE at Hotel Albuquerque Old Town
📨: Register through the JACL website!
07/14/2025
Join the National Youth Student Council (NY/SC) at the 2025 JACL National Convention for our youth mixer: Art as Activism!
đź“… When: Thursday, July 17th @ 8:30 PM MDT
🌄 Where: Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town, Alvarado G
Art has long held a vital role in social movements, and has been instrumental in raising public awareness and building cross-cultural solidarity. For this year’s NY/SC Mixer, we’ll be making zines and patches so that you can create your own pieces of distributable and wearable art to advocate for issues you care about (and we’ll be sharing some of your creations here)!
For more information regarding our workshop and convention, please visit https://jacl.org/2025-national-convention