THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE TREMENDOUS RESPONSE I received to my previous messages. I received many e-mails and spoke with many of you by phone. I was especially pleased by the number of skilled, professional Associate members who volunteered their services to the Club. I believe it is crucial to utilize these members in bringing much-needed governance and structure to the FCCJ.

It has been an honor to serve as FCCJ President for the past 12 months. I hope you agree that despite problems, we accomplished a lot, for example, passing a bylaw that allows more journalists to become regular members, renovating the entrance hallway, creating a space for photographers to display their work, starting a successful Journalist Training Program and FCCJ Toastmasters, which now has 36 members. In addition, we hired a first-rate Executive Chef, and had an excellent speaker program this year, which included the Dalai Lama, a debate between the five candidates running for the LDP presidency, former Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Toshio Tamogami, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, film director Hayao Miyazaki, Japan Business Federation Chairman Fujio Mitarai and former Livedoor CEO Takafumi Horie.

There have also been many enjoyable social events, more women and Associate members serving as committee chairs, more transparency with Board Minutes published in No. 1 Shimbun and on the Club’s Web site (a redesigned version of which will be online soon) and meetings where we followed the rules and were courteous to each other and respected the opinions expressed. (By the way, we are still in negotiations with JR East to acquire discount tickets for journalists.)

Although there have been some difficulties relating to working conditions, new channels have been opened with the staff to ensure better communication.
I want to thank all of the chairs and their committee members for their hard work, my friends who supported me, and, of course, my wonderful husband and daughters for their patience in putting up with all this.
Most of all I would like to thank our amazing staff.

Best regards,
– Catherine Makino