The recent death of one of the founders of the Nichi Bei Times, the oldest Japanese-American daily newspaper in the United States, has placed an additional burden on his sub-editor. But despite the 50 year difference in their ages, Kenji Taguma is committed to keeping the newspaper alive. PNS reporter Yuriko Nagano is a Japanese journalist studying at U.C. Berkeley.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Like a samurai who has just lost his master, Kenji Taguma is a man committed to a mission.

The sword in this case is more like a pen. Kenji, a third generation Japanese American, is an editor at the Japanese American daily Nichi Bei Times. His boss, Tsutomu Umezu -- who helped found the paper more than 50 years ago -- died recently at the age of 78.

Umezu created the newspaper in 1946 with the idea of serving his community. "When we came back out here after World War II, we didn't know where everyone was," Umezu said in an interview not long before he died. "So we got together to make a newspaper. It was a way to reconnect."

For Umezu, a Nisei or second generation Japanese American, the mission started in 1942, when the U.S. government took some 117,000 Japanese Americans from their homes on the West Coast and "relocated" them. Umezu was sent to California's Tule Lake internment camp. There he got into a fight with a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and was placed in the Leupp "troublemaker" Camp in Arizona.

Kenji, born in 1969, feels he can understand Umezu's experience because his own father was a Nisei draft resister who refused to fight for a country that stripped its citizens of their freedom, possession and rights.

Kenji has not always been happy about his Japanese American identity. As a child in Sacramento, "I was called 'Chink' or 'Nip' by other kids," he recalls, "I was embarrassed when my mom called me by my Japanese name in the supermarket."

One of five children, Kenji describes himself as a lazy teenager who never did homework and always watched television. He wanted to rebel and distinguish himself from his studious brothers and sisters, he says.

Then at California State University at Sacramento, while helping set up an exhibit in the ethnic studies department, Kenji learned about his father's story and was so moved that he decided to become a civil rights activist, organizing forums and starting a campus newspaper for Asian Americans.

Kenji sees working for Umezu as part of a struggle for civil rights. "The newspaper is the only thing that binds the Japanese American community together -- culturally, historically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially," Kenji said.

Since joining the paper three years ago, Kenji has worked tirelessly to fulfill Umezu's vision.

Most of the paper's seven person newsroom staff work in the Japanese section. Kenji is responsible for filling the two-page English section. He writes stories on the Bay Area Japanese American community. Two other reporters -- one in Sacramento and one in San Jose -- also contribute.

He works from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and even sleeps over at the office once a week. "I just have lots of responsibilities," Kenji says. The long days and missed meals give Kenji a slightly unhealthy air, despite his steel-rimmed Clark Kent style glasses.

His desk, tucked away in a corner, is strewn with press releases, newspaper clippings, mail, and family photos. He can find space for his lap-top computer only by pulling out the top drawer. "It piles up, but I know where all my junk is," he said.

Kenji's sacrifices may even affect his personal life. His girlfriend, "was attracted to me because of my commitment to community and civil rights -- and now she complains because I'm overly committed." Kenji said. "I just got a lecture from her yesterday night about our future."

He feels unable to make any concrete plans, because of his work. "Having a family is very important. But my desire to help my community cannot be tampered. I see it as more than a job, but a responsibility."

Before his death, Umezu praised Kenji's dedication. "He's young, but he's the best English editor in the newspaper's 52-year history. A person like him is hard to find. He has the potential to become a leader in the Japanese community here -- or even the whole Asian community."