Masani ‘Mas’ Fukai, 79; Longtime Member of Gardena City Council
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Masani “Mas” Fukai, 79, a longtime Gardena city councilman and an influential voice in Southern California’s Japanese American community for decades, died Sunday at Community Hospital of Gardena after a long illness.
Fukai was one of four children born to a farmer in Gardena. During World War II, the family was sent to an internment camp at Gila, Ariz. Fukai was drafted in the latter stages of the war and served until 1947.
After his discharge, he returned to Los Angeles and attended Trade Tech College. He also started his own auto body repair business.
While running a sports league in Gardena for at-risk youths, he caught the attention of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who named him to a post on the county’s Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Commission.
In 1974, Fukai ran for the Gardena City Council and won. A short time later, Hahn appointed him to his staff as a liaison with the growing Japanese American community in the 2nd Supervisorial District.
He retired from the county post in 1993 but stayed on as a councilman in Gardena until 1998. His health began to decline when he suffered a stroke in 1995.
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