Gov. Kate Brown
Portland, Oreg. — After being unanimously approved by both houses of the Oregon legislature, on March 28, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed House Bill 4009 marking Minoru Yasui Day in Oregon in perpetuity. The signing was followed by a march of over 250 people that reenacted Min Yasui’s historic walk from his office in Old Japan Town to the former site of the Portland police headquarters where he was arrested and subsequently incarcerated for nine months in solitary confinement at the Multnomah County Jail.
In November 2015, Min Yasui was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the first such award to any Oregonian.
The signing ceremony was attended by members of the Portland Japanese American Citizens League, as well as other key elected officials and members of the Yasui family.