President’s Message

DECEMBER IN JAPAN IS TIME FOR BONENKAI, when we’re supposed to forget all the bad things that might have happened during the year and get ready for a fresh start with the beginning of another year. In many ways 2009 has been a year of turbulence for our Club. We’ve seen the departure of a General Manager who had been hired only a year ago to help the Club overcome a difficult time. Some of the initiatives he took to improve the efficiency of the Club created some controversy, and the prevailing mood of the membership was in favor of his early exit.

This year has also been a year of financial difficulties, the negative impact of which we’ve yet to overcome. The current Board of Directors is trying hard to find a balanced way of cushioning the impact of the downturn with minimum disruption in services that we provide to all our members and also the facilities that are considered essential for a Club of our nature. This is not an easy task at all, particularly at a time when the long-term economic prospect for Japan still looks bleak. Let’s hope for a better new year as we observe bonenkai, while not forgetting the hard task that lies ahead.

As we continue our struggle to overcome all such odds, there are also a number of encouraging signs in other areas. The new government of the Democratic Party of Japan has taken a timely initiative by opening the doors of ministerial press conferences to non-kisha club members, and we extend our sincere congratulations to the Hatoyama administration for taking this important decision, which had long been our demand to Japanese governments. In fact, the Foreign Press in Japan, the body that our Club sponsors and provides logistical and other support, had always been at the forefront of this demand. We have reason to believe that the new wind that is now blowing through Japan will help the Japanese media as much as the foreign media outlets we represent.

November was a significant month for the media in Japan in a number of ways. First, U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a crucial policy speech in Tokyo outlining the importance of Washington’s relations with Asia. Many of my colleagues had the advantage of covering that important event, as well as the joint press conference of the leaders of Japan and the United States.

November also marked the 20th anniversary of the enthronement of Emperor Akihito, whose reign has been designated in Japan as an era of peace and tranquility. I had the rare privilege of congratulating His Imperial Highness on this auspicious occasion on behalf of all our members.

And on the Club side, we celebrated our 64th anniversary with a commemorative party held in November. The Club has gone a long way since the early days of its establishment. But our guiding principles – the Articles of Association and the Bylaws that our predecessors adopted in those early days – still remain the most important set of documents that we need to consult virtually all the time. Going through a number of amendments over the years, the documents are keeping pace with the changes that the media world in general, and Japanese society in particular, are going through. And here comes the importance of input and comments of all our members.

It is particularly pleasing for me to inform you that we’ve received a number of comments and suggestions from our associate members over the decision of the September GMM concerning the transfer of a certain amount of funds from the members’ deposit account. This clearly shows how deeply concerned our Associate members are about the well-being of the Club that we all belong to. Most of those comments expressed caution concerning the GMM’s decision, and some even suggested ways other than resorting to the deposit account. I would like to take this opportunity to inform all our members that despite the GMM’s decision, the Club has not yet taken any steps to withdraw the amount from the members’ deposit account, since our financial situation at the end of October showed a slight improvement, raising the total amount of cash deposit needed for routine regular payments.

Meanwhile, various committees and special panels are all continuing their important work aimed at improving the functioning of the Club. The IT system of the Club went through a change on the managerial side that some might have found undesirable. But what I can assure you is, both the management and the Board are working in the best interests of the Club, and decisions taken at that level, though they might not in times look rational to some of our members, are not necessarily biased in any way. Despite the difference of opinion over certain issues, let harmony prevail in the coming year as well.

– Monzurul Huq