OJCA is hiring a Bookkeeper for January 2026

The OJCA – Ottawa Japanese Community Association is seeking a Bookkeeper to assist our treasurer with the organization’s financial management.

We are offering an independent contract to complete 90 hours of work over twelve months beginning in January 2026.

We will be offering an hourly wage of $60.00 plus HST according to the following schedule: 

January and February 2026: 40 hours @ $60.00/hour (+HST) (20 hours/month)

March through December 2026: 50 hours @ $60.00/hour (+HST)  (5 hours/month) 

The successful candidate will be able to work independently and must have access to a desktop or laptop computer capable of running our online accounting applications (QuickBooks) and accessing our shared online folders.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The job is primarily focused on supporting the OJCA in the management of its books of account and financial reporting. 

The responsibilities are outlined below:

Bookkeeping Responsibilities

· Help complete our migration from Excel spreadsheets to QuickBooks

· Posting receipts and deposits (QuickBooks)

· Preparing and checking expense submissions 

· Issuing invoices (QuickBooks)

· Event Related Accounting

· Supporting the development of event-related budgets (Excel)

· Accounting for and reconciling ticket sales relating to events (QuickBooks)

· Checking and tracking of expenditure reimbursement requests 

· Reporting and tracking of event-related revenues and expenditures versus budget (QuickBooks/Excel)

Merchandise Sales Related Accounting

· Track inventories (before and after the event)

· Calculate sales associated with each event

· Calculate receipts (cash, credit card) and balance against sales records

· Compile a record of event-related expenses and assist in the compilation of an event financial statement

Reporting and Reconciliations

· Completing bank reconciliations (Excel/QuickBooks/Online Banking)

· Completing investment accounting (Excel)

· Producing a monthly budget versus actual accounting statements

· Supporting the AGM reporting process

· Supporting the year-end audit process

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

This position requires the candidate to have a laptop computer and be proficient with:

· Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook Email)

· QuickBooks Online

ASSETS

· Familiarity with the Japanese community in the Ottawa area, and membership in the OJCA/OJCC.

· Japanese language skills

Please submit your Application, including CV and Cover letter to the OJCA Executive at communications@ojca.ca by Monday, December 15th

Candidates may be asked for a phone/Zoom interview. 

Should you have any questions about this posting, please get in touch with the OJCA Executive at communications@ojca.ca

Thank you for your interest! 

Mochitsuki 2025

It’s that time of the year again – let the countdown to Mochitsuki begin✨

Important!-The method for purchasing tickets and menu items has changed this year. Prices and purchasing methods differ between members and non-members. Please read the explanation below.

Mochitsuki2025
Mochi menu
Cooked food menu

It’s that time of the year again – let the countdown to Mochitsuki begin✨
The OJCA/OJCC MOCHITSUKI 2025 returns to the Preston Event Centre this year! 

📅 December 7, 2025

⏰ 12 pm to 5 pm

📍 Preston Event Centre (523 Anthony St)

Come celebrate with …

🌸 Live mochi pounding demonstrations

🌸 Delicious Japanese food for sale

🌸 Performances by local Japanese cultural groups

🌸 Japanese Vendors from Ottawa and Montreal

Kirimochi Pre-purchase and Pick-up

If you would like to purchase mochi in advance, pickup will be on November 29th, between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
The purchasing method differs for members and non-members; please use the method below accordingly.

Non-member ticket and food item purchases

Members’ ticket and food item purchases

If you have completed your password reset on Communal and are able to log in, Please complete your password reset on Communal, log in, and access “Programs & Events” and “View Programs & Events” on the left side menu to make your purchase.

Instructions for resetting your password are provided at the end of the membership page.

See the vendor list and performance schedule here

Accompanying Book Launch

Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution

November 12 2025
7 – 8 pm EST. Doors at 6:30 pm
Pellan Room at Library and Archives Canada

395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4
FREE EVENT

Join us for the launch of Challenging Exile: Japanese Canadians and the Wartime Constitution by Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross, presented by Library and Archives Canada.  In September 1945, Canadian democracy faced a fundamental question of constitutional law: could citizens be expelled on the basis of race? Canada proposed exiling Japanese Canadians to Japan, a country devastated by war. Thousands who had already experienced uprooting, internment and dispossession were now at risk of banishment. Challenging Exile investigates the origins, administration, litigation and aftermath of this attempt at gross injustice and shares the stories of resilience of those who faced it.


How did Japanese Canadians navigate the challenges arrayed against them? Eric M. Adams and Jordan Stanger-Ross detail the circumstances and personalities behind the proposed exile. They follow the lives of families facing government orders that forced them from their homes, stripped their livelihoods and possessions, and deprived them of fundamental rights. They also analyze the constitutional framework of the court case in which lawyers and judges grappled with the meaning of citizenship, race and rights at a time of change in Canadian law and politics.


Unfolding in a context of global conflict, sharpened borders and racist suspicion, the story told in Challenging Exile has enduring relevance for our own troubled times. This meticulous and moving account of a shameful episode in Canada’s past tells a necessary story not only for scholars and historians of law, politics and human rights, but also for lawyers, judges and readers of Canadian history.

Kimono Fashion Show

Kimono Fashion Show – A Cultural Evening

Join us on November 1, 2025, at the Canadian Museum of History for an elegant celebration of kimono and Japanese culture. This special evening will feature the unveiling of stories and photographs from the Kimono Connections / Kimono Tsunagari Project, made possible thanks to the support of the Japanese Canadian Legacies Society.

Your ticket includes:

  • Access to see the kimono on display, interviews and photography exhibitions in the Grand Hall
  • Admission to the Kimono Fashion Show
  • Post-show light refreshments, including food and one non-alcoholic drink

Doors open at 6 pm, and the show begins at 7 pm.

Experience an enchanting evening of Japanese culture, timeless tradition, and artistic elegance — a special and unique celebration you won’t want to miss!