A NEW ERA IN THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE POLITICS began with the change of government in mid-September. While many of us have already become accustomed to frequent changes of governments in Japan in the recent past, they could hardly be termed as a new beginning, since a mere change of guard didn’t bring any radical policy shifts. However, this time the change is seen by many as so drastic that the people’s expectations for the new government are much higher than what was expected from them before the Aug. 30 election.

A time of change always fascinates and attracts journalists and media representatives more than those in other professions, as our professional involvement calls for recording every detail by keeping a watchful eye over the gradual unfolding of news of such a new beginning. Most of our regular Club members were also keen observers of the events of recent days as they followed the process of change. To facilitate their work commitments and to assist in the performance of their professional duties, the Board took the unusual step of shifting the date of the September General Membership Meeting to the end of the month, as the planned date of the meeting coincided with the announcement of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s new cabinet lineup.

The Hatoyama administration is also showing signs of Japan’s desire to rid itself of many of the old practices for which the country in the past was strongly criticized. As we sincerely hope to see an end to the preferential practice of dissemination of news through the existence of bodies that run contrary to the idea of the free flow of information, we’re also working hard to bring the new frontline players of Japanese politics to our professional events to explain in more detail the new government’s ideas and visions. I’m hopeful that the change will also pave the way for the new prime minister to set foot in the FCCJ. The last time we saw an incumbent Japanese prime minister address a press conference at the Club was in 2001. With the wind of change now sweeping over Japan, we hope that the period of our expectation and waiting will soon end.

Our Board is now in its fourth month, and looking back at our achievements during this 12-week period, my personal feeling is rather a mixed one. I must confess that our initial initiatives in solving the most pressing issues and making the Club management more transparent could not match those in other areas, where many unsolved problems remain to be addressed.

While our financial situation continues to be critical, we’re hoping for better results from October onward. The Board is pursuing a policy of freezing all non-urgent capital expenditure and also trying hard to implement cost-cutting measures in other areas. We need to follow austerity practices at this critical time. Our past mistakes in financial management should not stand as a barrier for us to move forward by learning valuable lessons from those mistakes. Constantly playing the blame game will simply be a drag on us at this crucial juncture, when we simply cannot afford to waste our valuable time.

The three-way leadership that has assumed the responsibility of running the Club after the departure of the GM has so far been able to prove its ability in managing Club affairs no less efficiently than we have seen in the past, although questions have been raised about the lack of a single appropriate supervisory authority at the top of this interim arrangement. But this new arrangement definitely calls for more time before we decide the future course of Club management.

The various committees that have been formed are all busy working in their respective fields. To activate the Freedom of the Press Committee with the participation of all regular members, an open e-mail forum has already been launched, and I’ve requested fellow Board member Joel Legendre-Koizumi to act as a co-Chair of the Committee along with myself to help initiate discussions and debates on this important issue related to our professional interest. I’m sure a fruitful and timely exchange of opinions at the forum will help us all in the process of performing the responsibilities that we’re entrusted with by our respective media organizations from various parts of the world.

As for the Club, what we need more at this crucial stage is to move forward so that our aim to make the Club a better place for both regular and associate members can be realized without further delay. I’m hopeful that a unified stand taken by all of us will help us reach that desired destination in due course.

– Monzurul Huq