DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI joined The Wall Street Journal in December as the paper’s technology reporter in Tokyo, mainly following the electronics industry, although he also keeps a close eye on developments within the telecommunications and Internet sectors. Like his Journal colleagues, he is expected to write features and analysis stories that tell a broader story about developing trends in Japan. Prior to the Journal, he worked at Reuters for nine years, including nearly five years in Japan. Most recently, he worked at a one-person bureau for Reuters in Seattle covering everything from Microsoft to Gov. Sarah Palin in Alaska.

MASAKI KUWABARA is a freelance writer, specializing in the analysis of terrorism in Asia. After graduating from Waseda University, he spent 34 years with Kyodo News as a writer and editor, resigning last February due to reaching retirement age. In Kyodo News, he spent many years in the city news section and took on the National Police Agency beat. He regularly covered the Japanese Red Army and the kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea. From 2000 until 2004, he was in Manila as a correspondent. During his four-year posting, he covered the fall of President Jose Estrada, the Arroyo administration and the terrorism of Islamic guerrillas, and he visited many areas where Japanese reporters never set foot. From October 2004 until March 2007, he was chief editor of the Fukuoka regional office, and from April 2007 to February 2009 he worked as deputy general editor at the News Center in Tokyo, mainly engaged in choosing the front-page news.

MAKOTO HARADA joined NHK in 1975 as a reporter. He worked at a local station for eight years, which he regards as the most pleasant part of his career. After that, he was transferred to the Economic News Division in Tokyo, where he spent his busiest time. Since then he has worked as bureau chief in Singapore, Beijing, Bangkok and Beijing again. That was the most interesting part of his career. Since September 2008, he has been director-general of the International Planning and Broadcasting Department responsible for NHK World, NHK’s international television service, which broadcasts news in English around the clock. This has been the most challenging part of his career.

JAMES TOPHAM is an energy correspondent for Reuters News in Tokyo. Before joining the company in January 2008, he worked briefly in the multimedia department at Bloomberg News and was an intern at Dow Jones Newswires in Tokyo. A native of the United States, he is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama.

REGULAR MEMBERS
Daisuke Wakabayashi,
The Wall Street Journal
Masaki Kuwabara, freelance
Makoto Harada, NHK
James Topham, Reuters

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
William Attridge, HTM Corporation
William H. Saito, Intecur, K.K.
Yap Sze Hunn, Japan Airlines
Patricio Cifuentes, Embassy of Chile
Simon Wood, British Embassy
Susumu Hoshiba, Multus International Inc.
Setsuko Takita, Ungaro Japan Co., Ltd.
Katsufumi Nakamura,
Nakamura Dental Clinic
Susumu (Sam) Kagayama,
Symantec Japan, Inc.

REINSTATEMENT (ASSOCIATE MEMBERS)
Jeong Jiun, Embassy of the Republic of Korea
Tomoya Ando, Green Stamp