Nominated and seconded by:
Kaz Abiko; Per Bodner

Many FCCJ members feel that our Club is going through one of the worst periods in its history. Club finances are not good, membership figures are trending downward, and there is growing concern about an erosion of trust between management and staff. These are the hard facts as we approach the Club’s annual election.

I am running for President of the FCCJ in hopes of changing the direction we are now headed, which clearly, at least to me, threatens our future. I have served the Club over the past five years on the Professional Activities, Membership and Membership Marketing committees, although I have not served on the Board since 2004. Thus I am not tied to any policy or position if I feel it is not working. I come in with fresh eyes, yet with considerable knowledge of the issues.

The erosion of trust between management and staff, more specifically between the General Manager and the Club’s union, is something that we cannot allow to linger, as it has the potential to damage the FCCJ’s reputation for years to come. Thus the first priority of the next Board must be to do everything in our power to find the right way to return us to the path of decency and mutual trust. Of course there will be differences of opinion about the best way to resolve the issue. But the need for resolution cannot be disputed. It is a matter of the greatest urgency that we look back to find the fault lines and correct the mistakes of the past so that we don’t ever encounter a similar unhappy experience again. I believe it is critical that we establish a mechanism for expressing grievances by our employees so they might have a better place to work and ultimately be motivated to provide us better service. This will be my first priority if elected.

As for other Club problems, I believe the greatest cause is lack of transparency. Members have been kept in the dark on many important issues. Unlike business organizations where the main goal is to earn profits, the principal objective of the FCCJ as outlined in its Articles of Association is to provide better services, in particular journalistic services, to our members. Of course we have to generate sufficient income to support our operations. But to do so in a way that meets our “mission” requires greater transparency about our financial situation. I believe members will pay for services if they know in detail what they’re being asked to pay for. Moreover, as a shadan hojin that enjoys special tax breaks, the Club’s financial transactions must be more open and transparent if we hope to maintain our privileged status. We must follow spending guidelines in the Club’s Bylaws. Again, transparency is the key. And for senior management, specific targets must be set and performance judged on meeting those targets.

On other matters dear to me, I would like to remind you that our Club is a unique combination of professionals who come from various regions of the world. The primary purpose of the Club has always been to provide essential services for foreign correspondents working in Japan. So if elected, after beginning a process of reconciliation with our staff, I will focus my attention on the Club’s professional activities including our library, workroom and speaker program. I believe, for instance, that we can further improve the Club’s already highly acclaimed speaker program. I would like to see a more diverse list of speakers, including “less-famous” but nevertheless important people who have legitimate issues to raise concerning human and minority-rights violations – and who have no other place to hold small news conferences.

Finally, we face a serious membership problem, as had been reflected in the lengthy debate in March to change our Bylaws and create two new categories of Regular members. There is no doubt that the number of foreign correspondents in Japan from Western industrialized countries has declined steadily throughout the past decade. It is not true, however, that the number of “foreign” correspondents in Japan has declined. In fact, we have seen growth in correspondents from many Asian countries including China, South Korea and Hong Kong. As a Club representing ALL foreign correspondents in Japan, we can no longer afford to continue ignoring their growing presence. The first step should be to launch a Web page in Japanese in addition to the existing English one, as many Asian journalists are not proficient in English, yet are fully fluent in Japanese.

Finally, I would like to introduce myself to those who don’t know me. I come from Bangladesh and represent the largest-circulation national daily, Prothom Alo. I started writing in the early 1970s when, joining our war of liberation, young Bangladeshis dreamed of freeing our occupied land and I too reflected that desire not only on the battlefield but also in the form of writing. My involvement in full-time journalism dates back to the early 1980s when I started working for a vernacular daily. I then worked briefly for the United Nations after which I joined the BBC World Service in London in 1990 and continued working there before moving to Japan in 1994. At present, in addition to Prothom Alo, I also represent the leading English-language daily of Bangladesh, the Daily Star, and contribute regularly to a number of reputed Bengali- and English-language periodicals in my country.