New York Nichibei

Nearing the end of WWII, Isaku became a business manager, and later, president of the <i>Hokubei Shimpo</i> (renamed <i>New York Nichibei</i> in 1945). During its run from 1945 through 1993, the paper documented the life of New York's postwar Japanese American community, serving not only as a place to obtain community news but also as an important outlet for Asian American writers. A range of progressive causes from civil rights to women's and gay rights found expression within its pages. In addition, the paper regularly documented developments in the Asian American Movement born in Chinatown in the late 1960s and 1970s, the Asian American arts movement, and the redress movement of the 1970s and 1980s.

The <i>New York Nichibei</i> and its earlier incarnation, <i>Hokubei Shimpo</i>, served as a resource for news and opinion within the Japanese American community. The newspaper documented political developments in New York's Asian American Movement, born in Chinatown in the late 1960s and 1970s, the Asian American arts movement, and the redress movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The title also acted as an important outlet for Asian American writers. Regular contributors included Karl Akiya, Yuri Kochiyama, Kazu Ijima, Chris Ijima, and Fay Chiang, with stories otherwise gathered from mainstream newspapers, or submitted by members of the community. A range of progressive causes, from civil rights to women's and gay rights, were discussed within its pages. By 1980, a staff of four was printing 1,500 copies of <i>New York Nichibei</i>, approximately 80% for readers in the greater New York area and 20% for readers along the Eastern Seaboard and in California. The paper ended publication in 1993.