He was president of the National Association of Japanese Canadians from 1984 to 1992, and is best known for his work in seeking compensation for Japanese-Canadians who were interned by the Government of Canada during World War II.
Miki was born in British Columbia, and was among the 22,000 Japanese Canadians from that province who were displaced and interned during World War II.
[5] Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government responded to Miki's request by expressing its regret for the wartime internment policy, but did not offer financial compensation.
[7] Following the election of Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives in 1984, Multiculturalism Minister Jack Murta announced that the government would offer a formal apology to Japanese-Canadians.
In May 1986, Miki released a Price Waterhouse study which indicated that Japanese-Canadians had lost $443 million in the 1940s due to discriminatory government policies.
[16] Miki's association requested $25,000 for each of the 14,000 survivors and a $50 million community fund, figures that Crombie rejected as beyond the government's means.
[17] A breakthrough finally occurred shortly before the 1988 federal election, when Miki and Gerry Weiner (the Mulroney government's fourth Multiculturalism minister in as many years) concluded private negotiations for a comprehensive settlement.
[18] The government agreed to pay $21,000 for each survivor and $12 million for a community fund, and pledged to set up a Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
Regarded as a star candidate, he received an endorsement from the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, a railway union with some influence in the area.