Dr. Masajiro Miyazaki was born in Hikone City, Japan. He came to Canada with his father in 1913. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Miyazaki practiced as a doctor until 1942, when he was removed to a relocation centre during the Second World War. In 1950 he was elected as village commissioner in Lillooet, B.C., becoming the first Japanese Canadian to hold public office in Canada.