PROFESSIONAL LUNCHEON
Hirotsugu Aida, Kyodo News Senior Writer,
Junichi Fujimoto, Freelancer
Tetsuo Jimbo, CEO and Editor in Chief, VIDEONEWS.COM

The speech and Q & A will be in English and Japanese with English interpretation.

Japan's "Kisha" Club System - A Necessary Evil or?　

Japan's kisha club system has once again come under scrutiny following the inauguration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government, which long promised to open up ministries and agencies to freelance journalists and online media personnel. The issue also raises the question of the degree of foreign media's access to government and other institutions in the United States, Europe, Asia and elsewhere. Do they play fair when it comes to the freedom of the press? An FCCJ panel discussion will address changes in Japanese politics and their possible effect on the kisha club system with three people who have wide-ranging reporting experiences at home and abroad.

Hirotsugu Aida is a senior writer for Kyodo News, lecturer of journalism at Sophia University in Tokyo, and an associate research member at Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Monotheistic Religions at Kyoto's Doshisha University in Kyoto. Aida was on the police beat in Osaka and has worked in Washington D.C. where he covered the U.S. Congress, the White House, and the State Department. Prior to that, he was Kyodo's Geneva bureau chief, where he covered trade negotiations and U.S.-North Korea nuclear issues.

Tetsuo Jimbo is CEO and editor in chief of VIDEONEWS.COM. He worked for The Christian Science Monitor, the Associated Press and other U.S. news organizations before establishing Video News Network in 1996 and Japan's first news-based Internet broadcasting firm in 2000.

Junichi Fujimoto is one of Japan's top freelance journalists. He has worked hard to pry open the kisha clubs to freelance journalists and non-mainstream media. After a stint as a newspaperman and magazine reporter, Fujimoto shifted his attention to the nation's political bastion of Nagatacho. He has written numerous books about Ichiro Ozawa, Hiromu Nonaka and other bigwigs.

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Sandwich Plate: Prawn & avocado wrap with pea shoots, bacon, lemon mayonnaise, salad & pickles.
Hot Plate: Herb marinated grilled chicken with roma tomato, sauteed mushrooms, parsley potatoes & thyme sauce,seasonal salad.

Tetsuo Jimbo, CEO and Editor in Chief, VIDEONEWS.COM

Hirotsugu Aida, Kyodo News Senior Writer

Junichi Fujimoto, Freelancer