Yasuo Abiko

Nisei journalist. Yasuo Abiko (1910–88), a second-generation San Francisco based newspaper publisher and editor, reestablished the family newspaper after World War II as the Nichibei Times .

Abiko was born on January 7, 1910. After graduating from Lowell High School in 1927, he studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin for two years before returning home to San Francisco to work for the Nichibei Shimbun , the newspaper founded by his father Kyutaro . He became the prewar English section editor of the paper. Abiko was also an early and active member of the Japanese American Citizens League , serving on the board of the San Francisco chapter.

During World War II, Abiko and his wife, Lilly, were incarcerated at the [[Tanforan (detention facility)|Tanforan Assembly Center] and the Topaz , Utah, concentration camp. The Abikos left Topaz in November of 1943, eventually resettling in Philadelphia . They returned to San Francisco in January 1946, and he resumed publishing the paper in May. Under his leadership, the postwar Times became one of the leading institutions of the Japanese American community in the San Francisco Bay Area. Abiko remained active with the JACL, serving as the San Francisco chapter president and holding various district level offices. He was also active with the YM/YWCA. He continued to work as a journalist for the rest of his life. He passed away at the age of seventy-eight in 1988. The Times continued to publish until 2009, when it evolved into the nonprofit Nichbei Weekly , later becoming the Nichi Bei News .