Fabiano Takashi Rocha

Fabiano Takashi Rocha is a third-generation Japanese Brazilian. In 1991, he moved with his family to Shizuoka Prefecture, where he lived for almost five years prior to coming to Canada as an international student in 1995. He has a bachelor of arts degree in Asian studies (major in Japanese) and a master of library and information studies from the University of British Columbia.

In his role as the Japan studies librarian at the University of Toronto Libraries, he is responsible for building and maintaining the Japanese studies collection, which includes Japanese diaspora-related materials. As of late 2013, the University of Toronto has been working closely with Mike Murakami and other members of the Japanese Canadian community in preserving and providing access to historically significant archival materials related to the history of Japanese Canadians –specifically Japanese Canadian incarceration and redress.

In the course of working with these materials, he learned a great deal about the important role of the NAJC in negotiating the redress settlement, on behalf of Japanese Canadians who suffered injustices inflicted by their own government during the Second World War, as well as its ongoing efforts to address issues of systemic racism and equal rights for racial and ethnic minorities in Canada. He hopes to contribute to the Toronto NAJC’s efforts, particularly on issues related to the preservation of the Japanese Canadian community’s history and heritage.