I’M SURE MANY OF YOU WOULD AGREE THAT
our Board has passed its first critical test. Although it might not have been to the satisfaction of all Club members, one of the major problems that our Board faced from the start was solved amicably with the voluntary resignation of the General Manager. Following our inauguration in July, we tried to find an acceptable solution that would not undermine the June GMM decision. Our 2nd Vice President and the HR Committee shouldered the bulk of the responsibility of the negotiations and working out the details, and I joined the negotiation process later on. I would also like to note with sincere appreciation the cooperative approach shown by our outgoing GM, Tom Kermabon, throughout the process of negotiation. The departure of the GM now opens a new chapter in Club management and also underscores the need for reconciliation. This is the message that I would like to convey to all our members, staff and the management. Let us join hands and try our best to uphold the image of our Club as the best press club in Asia.

As the current issue of the Number One Shimbun goes to print, Japan is encountering one of its most critical general elections in recent history. We journalists always look for signs of possible changes whenever election time approaches, and in Japan there is no shortage of signals coming from various corners. This makes our work interesting at a time when the media everywhere are too narrowly preoccupied with the impact of the global economic slowdown.

The Club tried hard to attract speakers from the political world who might give us more inside understanding of what exactly was going on in Nagatacho and beyond. We might have failed to get the incumbent Prime Minister and his possible successor as guest speakers at this critical time, but the line of speakers at election-related Club events was still impressive and this reflects the high working standards of the committee entrusted with this difficult task.
With the departure of the GM, the Troika arrangement that the HR Committee had worked out earlier started operating from the first day of August. I would like to remind you that this should in no way be seen as a fixed arrangement. The Troika leadership is handling Club issues in a professional manner and I’ve reason to believe that the three managers should be given time to prove that an internal arrangement to fill the gap created by the departure of the GM is a workable one, at least until we come to a final decision concerning the appointment of a new general manager.

Many of you are already aware that the Club is facing a serious financial situation. To overcome its present financial difficulties, the Club needs to increase sales and also implement cost-cutting measures. The freezing of all non-urgent capital expenditure is one measure that is now being implemented. But we also need to look forward to ways of improving our sales and marketing position. This is now being addressed in various ways and will, I believe, bring the desired results in the course of time.
In order to help improve the Club’s overall functioning, I’ve taken a few steps in line with decisions taken at recent Board meetings. A Grievance Panel has already been set-up under the leadership of a senior Asahi Shimbun journalist, Yoshio Murakami. The panel will try to find ways of resolving disputes arising among Club members and by doing so help the Club maintain harmony and a good working atmosphere.

A second panel has been formed – with Kaz Abiko as its head – to negotiate with the relevant Japanese authorities about our Shadan Hojin status. The two other members of the panel are our present Kanji, Khaldon Azhari, and Treasurer Yoshisuke Iinuma. The panel will work in close consultation with the President and two Vice Presidents.

One of the issues that many of us are talking about these days is how to make the functioning of our Club more transparent, so that members are aware of decision-making processes within the management and also within various committees. The Board members are already receiving copies of all e-mail exchanges of most of the committees that maintain e-mail forums and I’m sure this will open further the doors of committee activities to elected members of the Board. I know much still remains to be done to satisfy the desires of all our members, but I can assure you that we’re moving in the right direction. I’ve asked our IT manager to make an arrangement so that the Freedom of the Press Forum can remain open to all regular members of the Club so that they will be able to share their ideas on this important issue.

I’ve received a number of suggestions in recent days from Club members concerning improvement of Club functioning and also about broadening the scope of our Club. We’ve discussed some of these proposals at the Board level and I would like to remind you once again that we not only remain open to your suggestions and comments, but also consider them to be essential for making the Club a place liked by all of us.

– Monzurul Huq