Canada’s Mr. Judo During World War II, because the Canadian government considered Japanese Canadians a security threat, Jim Kojima’s fisherman father and other families of Japanese origin were removed from their homes at Steveston, British Columbia, and transferred to sugar beet farms in Alberta. It was at this time that Jim was born. Not until the 1950s did the Kojima family return to Steveston where a judo school (dojo) had been reopened and where Jim enrolled in judo classes. Although he received his black belt in judo, age 19, he never became a recognized international contender so he threw himself into administration and by 1957 was sitting with the Senior Judoka of British Columbia as the secretary treasurer of Judo B.C. Over the last 40 years, Jim Kojima has served as President, Judo Canada, 1988-94, Chairman, 1993 World Judo Championships, Hamilton, Ontario, has received the Order of Canada, 1983, was the Fundraising Chairman for Judo/Kendo, the only Japanese-style judo hall anywhere in the world outside Japan, became the first Canadian-born citizen to receive an international licence to referee with the International Judo Union, and was awarded an honorary third degree black belt in Karate by the Mayor of Wakayama, Japan. Whether it is in Hawaii, at the Pan American Games, the Fukuoka Cup, Japan, at the Olympics (since 1976), Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Helsinki, Barcelona, Belgrade, Panama City, Seoul, London or elsewhere, Jim Kojima is an internationally celebrated Canadian who energetically has put Canada on the Judo map! [Photo, courtesy Judo Canada]

Pioneering Neuroscientist, Compassionate Physician, Esteemed Mentor Dr. Juhn A. Wada has devoted his entire professional life to epilepsy as a clinician, scientist, and advocate. Born, Tokyo, Japan, 1924, Dr. Wada's father was a distinguished Professor of International Law, Hokkaido Imperial University, and his brother, Juro, Founding Chancellor, World Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons, performed Japan’s first heart transplant, 1968. A graduate, M.D., Hokkaido Imperial University, 1946, and a graduate, Doctor of Medical Science, 1951, Dr. Wada had spent time at the University of Minnesota and the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, before being appointed to the Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 1956. From then until 1998, Dr. Wada spent his academic career, other than leaves of absence, at UBC. An Associate, Medical Research Council of Canada, 1966-94, Dr. Wada's main interest as a neurologist has been researching Human Brain Asymmetry and Neurobiology of Epilepsy. One of the recognized world leaders in these areas of research, his major contributions have been the development of the Wada Test, a carotid amytal test for cerebral speech lateralization and short memory assessment. He is also renowned for the discovery of human brain asymmetry, language as genetically dictated as a prenatal rather than a post-natal (speech) development, and for the identification of anterior callosal section as arational, safe surgical treatment modality for difficult generalized epilepsy. Recipient of many internationally renowned awards, Dr. Wada, author of 11 books and over 300 papers in referred journals, was awarded the Wilder Penfield Gold Medal, 1988, the Order of Canada (Officer), 1992, the Order of Japan (Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Star), 1995, and, in 1998, the William G. Lennox Award from the American Epilepsy Society, for his many years as a pioneering neuroscientist who, as a compassionate physician, was an esteemed mentor for generations of students and fellows. [Photo, courtesy Dr. Juhn Wada]