SERGUEI MINGAJEV has lived and worked in Japan for almost one-third of his life. He first came here in 1998 for a short period of time and most recently in 2000 as a correspondent for ITAR-TASS News Agency. Mingajev worked there as a news reporter until last November, when he got a chance to change his job description by becoming a reporter for Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting. He found it much more exciting than to be just a print journalist, but there’s no doubt that it’s more complicated. He says that sometimes it seems that in Japan people with a tripod and a camera are considered dangerous intruders, as if the things that they are holding in their hands were not just a microphone and a camera, but a pistol and a machine gun. But Mingajev has become used to this, and even manages to have fun when such situations occur. At times like that, he says, the most important thing is simply to talk to people. Mingajev isn’t sure whether it’s possible for a journalist to be 100 percent objective, but thinks journalists should try to be sincere and clear enough to avoid any misunderstandings.

In 1997, ALEXEY PICHKO began to work in the news department of the NTV television network, one of Russia’s most popular television channels. From 2001 to 2002, he worked as a cameraman at Moscow-based broadcaster TV-6, and from 2002 until 2004 he was a news cameraman for Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting. As a cameraman-reporter, Pichko produced reports for both news and analysis programs, and as a director of photography he took part in making documentaries and publicity programs. During this period he had to travel a lot inside and outside of Russia, producing reports on a wide variety of themes. In Moscow he also was a member of the presidential press pool. Since December 2004, Pichko has been living and working in Japan as the cameraman-correspondent of the foreign-correspondent network of Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting. His main job is to help create news reports and stories, focusing on major news events and general lifestyle topics in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. Pichko thinks the mission of television journalists is to convey information about events in the most attention-grabbing and interesting way.

REGULAR MEMBERS
Serguei Mingajev, Russian State Television and Radio
Alexey Pichko, Russian State Television and Radio

PROFESSIONAL/JOURNALIST ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
David Chester, Metropolis
Gardner Robinson, Outdoor Japan Inc.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Michel Theoval, Thales Japan K.K.
Justin Bowles, Gartmore Investment Japan Ltd.
Hitomi Tokuda, FotUN Japan
Hideaki Arai, Pacific Basin Shipping Limited
Tadanori Sano, Toho Gas Living Co., Ltd.
Reiko Noda