Ken Kashiwahara (July 18, 1940) is a broadcast journalist. He was a correspondent for ABC from 1974 to 1998, and was one of the first Asian American journalists to appear on national television.

Early life and education

Kashiwahara was born in Waimea, Kauai on July 18, 1940. His parents were both teachers. When he was ten years old his family moved to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, but they returned to the United States and lived in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

when Kashiwahara was a teenager. He later moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and graduated from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in 1958, then went on to attend

Washington and Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

. He left after two years after facing significant

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

. He returned to Hawaii and studied pre-medicine at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

until he became interested in broadcasting and transferred to

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

. He completed his bachelor's degree in 1963.

Career

After graduating from college Kashiwahara enlisted in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

, where he served as an information officer for five years. His first civilian position was as a political reporter at KGMB. He became a news anchor in 1971. In 1972 Kashiwahara got a position at KABC and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. He covered stories internationally and was one of the last American journalists to leave Saigon in 1975. That same year he was named chief of ABC's

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

bureau, and served in that position until 1977, when he returned to the United States. He later became the San Francisco bureau chief. In 1978 Kashiwahara met his wife, Lupita Aquino, while covering a story on opposition to Ferdinand Marcos in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Aquino's brother,

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aqui ...

, was a political prisoner at the time. He was later exiled. When Aquino returned to the Philippines with Kashiwahara in 1983, he was assassinated. Kashiwahara won Emmy Awards for his stories in 1986 and 1988. In 1993 Kashiwahara was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Asian American Journalists Association The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational and professional organization based in San Francisco, California with more than 1,500 members and 21 chapters across the United States and Asia. The current presi ...

. Kashiwahara retired in 1998.

References

1940 births Living people {{DEFAULTSORT:Kashiwahara, Ken People from Kauai American journalists Emmy Award winners Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni San Francisco State University alumni