With deep regret I would like to inform FCCJ members of the demise of long-time FCCJ member William Miller. William passed away on November 5, in Tokyo.

Monzurul Huq
President FCCJ

William Miller

William Miller was a stalwart of the Main Bar (even when ashtrays became impossible to find) from the time he arrived in Tokyo in 1979, and became an Associate and later a Professional Associate, member, until he died, in Nisseki Byoin, on 5 November.

William was born in Kent, in England, in 1934, of Scottish parents, both from sea faring families in the far north. His father, a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy, died of malaria during WW II, and William went to boarding school in England, and then to Oxford, where he read history, and co-edited an edition of the university magazine "Isis", that revealed the government's contingency plans in the event of a nuclear war, that eventually led him to be charged for breaking the Official Secrets Act, tried at the Old Bailey, and sentenced by the Lord Chief Justice to three months in jail (which led to problems when he later travelled to America on EAJ business).

William came to Japan after a stellar career as a publisher in London in the 1960s, and 70s, with Panther, Granada, and latterly Quartet, when, under the banner of 'making good books popular, and popular books good', he enlivened British paperback publishing, and brought authors such as Beryl Bainbridge, Len Deighton and Fay Weldon to public attention, and published the British editions of the Joy of Sex, the Karma Sutra, and The Perfumed Garden.

In Tokyo, William began a second career as a literary agent, as a founder, and the first managing director, of The English Agency, which, under his 24 year stewardship, grew to become one of the leading agencies in Japan, selling the rights of, amongst many others, Karel van Wolferen, Margaret Atwood, J G Ballard, Peter Carey, Kazuo Ishiguro, and Samuel Huntington, and, in the reverse direction, introducing Japan based authors, notably David Peace, to an international audience. Many regular members, most of whom felt they had at least one book in them, were either encouraged to write one, or enlisted his aid to publish their efforts. William's contribution to a Press Club Seminar on 'How to get a book published' was felt by many to be unusually helpful and practical.

William retired as Managing Director of EAJ in 2003, but continued agenting, and, luckily for aspiring writers, his successor, Hamish Macaskill, is also a member of the Club.

William entered hospital on 5 October for treatment of an infected foot. The foot was eventually healed, but, as it transpired, at the cost of his life. Such is the way with hospitals. He was 75.

Peter Thompson