William Kunpei Hosokawa (Japanese: 細川 勲平, January 30, 1915 – November 9, 2007) was an American writer and journalist.

[4] In 1936, Hosokawa's professor and adviser strongly recommended that he abandon his journalism career goals, because no newsroom would hire a Japanese American.

[1][2] After briefly working as a press secretary for the Japanese Consulate, Hosokawa and his new wife, Alice Miyake, moved to Singapore in 1938 because he was unable to land a job at any major metropolitan newspaper in the United States.

[2][4] At The Herald, Hosokawa reported on political turmoil around East Asia, travelling to China, Japan, and Manchukuo.

[2] Hosokawa's later writings and news reports were influenced by his time spent interned with fellow second-generation Japanese Americans, who were known as Nisei, and their children, such as his son, who were known as Sansei.

[1] Hosokawa and his family were released from the internment camp in 1943, so he could work as a copy editor at The Des Moines Register.

[1] Hosokawa finally received a position with a major metropolitan newsroom after World War II, when he accepted a job with the Denver Post.

[5] In his column, "Out of the Frying Pan," he wrote about topics including his own family life, civil rights, and Japanese American literature and culture including John Okada's 1957 novel No-No Boy, which told the story of a young adult Japanese American man throughout his life in Seattle following his internment.

[4] He defended and advocated for the Japanese American community during this time of distrust, convincing The Seattle Times to print a full page of photos depicting Japanese Americans engaged in everyday life to humanize them to readership, and to show that they were "peaceful, law-abiding," and "constructive" as told to Densho.

[2] Even after he retired, Hosokawa was involved with organizations such as the Japan America Society of Colorado and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

[4] Hosokawa's books and writings were deeply influenced by his experience as a Japanese American in the internment camps during World War II.

[6] Hosokawa received on honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Denver in 1990 for his work in journalism and literature.

[1] Bill Hosokawa died on November 9, 2007, at the age of 92 at the home of his daughter, Christie Harveson, in Sequim, Washington, where he had lived for the previous four months.

[1][2] In a column published in the Denver Post on November 22, 2007, Hosokawa's colleague Fred Brown called him a "champion of civility, dignity and human rights".

[1] A memorial service for Bill Hosokawa was held at the Gates Concert Hall at the University of Denver on February 17, 2008.

[7] The list of speakers honoring Hosokawa included Colorado Governor Bill Ritter and Ryozo Kato, the Ambassador of Japan to the United States.