Obata, Roger, 1915-2002 : Roger Sachio Obata was born in Prince George, British Columbia on April 20, 1915 in a family of Japanese immigrants. In 1916-17, the family moved to Prince Rupert, British Columbia where Roger received his early education. He graduated from high school in 1933 and later that year enrolled at the University of British Columbia. He studied electrical engineering and graduated in 1937 with a degree of Bachelor of Applied Science. As a student he was involved in Japanese Canadian community affairs and in 1936 he was selected as a member of a delegation to Ottawa seeking the franchise. But he could not go due to final exams at the university. In 1936, he was elected President of the Japanese-Canadian Students' Club.
In 1938 he moved to Toronto and from 1939 until 1945 worked for several firms including Industrial Fine Castings Ltd. In 1945 he served in the Canadian Army Intelligence Corps and was posted to Washington D.C. where he was on loan to US Military Intelligence.
In 1946, he married Mary Ogawa in Washington D.C. After he was discharged from the Canadian Army, he returned to his former position at Industrial Fine Castings Ltd.
In 1947, Roger Obata was elected as the founding President of the first national Japanese Canadian organization in Canada called the National Japanese Canadian Citizens' Association. The main purpose of this association was to seek redress from the Canadian federal government for the internment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. In 1980, the name of the organization was changed to the National Association of Japanese Canadians.
In 1956 Roger Obata started his own business in Montreal and opened a second plant in Brampton, Ontario. He sold his business in 1970 and semi-retired. He continued to provide consulting services.
In 1977 Roger Obata was the Chairman of the Japanese Canadian centennial celebrations. This event renewed the redress campaign which came to a conclusion on September 22,1988 when the Conservative government under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney granted redress after negotiations with the National Association of Japanese Canadians. For his fifty years of involvement in the Japanese Canadian community and his dedication to the redress campaign, Roger Obata was awarded the Order of Canada in 1990.
Roger Obata died on May 28, 2002 in Toronto.
