Issue:
Regular Member
Emmanuel Pionnier
AFP
Emmanuel Pionnier has been appointed as AFP's Tokyo Bureau Chief. An experienced international journalist and manager with Agence France-Presse for almost 25 years, he was previously posted in Paris and Los Angeles. Altogether, he has spent most of his career at the sports department in Paris and California and as a Manager (since 2011).
He was sports reporter from 2000-2005 in charge of Olympic sports and then sports coordinator for North America (2005-2009) based in Los Angeles. 8ack in Paris, he was rugby correspondent (2010) and then became head of the sports desk (2011-2013), head of French desk general news (2014-2016) then deputy to the Global News Editor in charge of Journalists' mobility and careers. In 2020, he was appointed Sports Director.
He covered multiple international sporting events such as FIFA and rugby World Cups, athletics, winter sports and swimming world championships etc. He has also covered 9 Olympic Games (Summer and Winter) including Tokyo 2020.
He graduated from the Paris-Sorbonne Nouvelle University. He is married and has a daughter.
Professional / Journalist Associate Member
Yuichi Kawarada
The Shotousha
Yuichi Kawarada is a Representative Director of Shotousha and a former Professor at the School of International Politics and Economics, Nishogakusha University, Japan, where he taught private international law at Nishogakusha University, Keio University, Daito Bunka University and Shibaura Institute of Technology. He is a scholar of civil procedure and private international law and is the author of research books and articles as well as undergraduate textbooks. He obtained a LL.B (Bachelor of Laws) from Keio University in 1976 and a LL.M. (Master of Laws) in 1982. He then entered a doctoral programme, which he left in 1985 after completing his course requirements.
He was elected as a trustee of the Youth Forum Japan, where the FCCJ was the main venue for events from 2012 to 2019 and as an auditor of the Alliance Forum Foundation from 2012 to 2019. He is also a member of the Japan Society of Comparative Law, the Private International Law Association of Japan, the Japanese American Society for Legal Studies, the International House of Japan and The Kojunsha.
Professional / Journalist Associate Member
Hajime Takizawa
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
Policy Researcher, Climate and Energy Area
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
M.A., Brandeis University, Heller School
B.A., Waseda University, Faculty of Commerce
Associate Member
Hidekazu Morishima
Morishiplan Office
Hello, I'm glad to be able to touch base with you at FCCJ.
I used to work at a "shosha", an international trading, financing & investing company, by the name of Nissho Iwai (renamed Sojitz Corp., in 2004 after a merger with another shosha). I went through Oslo, London and New York, for a half year each on a shipping traineeship during 1966-67, working at a shipping company at each place. Then, like tracing back my own footprints, precisely in this order, I lived and worked in these three cities as an expat, and this time for about 5-6 years each, doing ship-related business. And in 1999, I went to Seoul to live there for about 2.5 years. During my stay in Seoul, I was invited to join a newly formed business forum named International Business Council, advocated and led by Mr. Park Young-Sung, the then-chairman of Doo-San Heavy Industries and the then-chairman of Korea Business Council. Other members in IBC included representatives from U.S. and EU Business Federations. It was with an honor that I was presented with the Industrial Medal Award by the Korean government just before my departure from South Korea to Japan. My total tenure in these four overseas assignments amounted to about 24 years. We had two children, a boy and a girl, born in Oslo, and they went to local kindergarten there, and they went to King Alfred School in Hampstead Garden Suburb in NW London, and to Scarsdale Middle & High Schools in New York. Both of them are now married and live in Tokyo. Our son is married to an American woman with Korean ancestry, and our daughter is married a Japanese shipping and finance man with roots in Kyushu.
Back in 2002, I moved from Nissho Iwai to Sasebo Heavy Industries, a shipbuilding company, and worked there for 12 years, as President, Chairman and Advisor, subsequently, and retired from it all in 2014. Then I opened my SOHO (small-office, home-office) - a work setup that is becoming more prevalent this era of remote working.
I translated Nordsjoe Oljen, a book written by Odd Carsten Tweit (1974). The title means North Sea Oil in English. During 2016-17, I translated two English-language novels, both written by Mathew McCleery, published by Marine Money International, listed and sold on Amazon. The two books (original) are titled The Shipping Man and Viking Raid, and the Japanese translations have their own titles close to the original English titles. In 1997, I wrote Japanese-English Crossword Puzzles, Following New York Times Rules, which was published by Yamashita Publications (now defunct - no, my book didn't cause the closure of the company, I hope!)
I run a blog named Morris' BILOG (BILOG standing for Bilingual Logbook), and carry various articles including the English translations of about 90 tanka (short poems) from the Man'yōshū poetry collection.
I subscribe to the New York Times, the Japan Times and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. I hope to gain access to other interesting papers and magazines, as well as books and materials in FCCJ library, and to meet people representing media and culture from overseas.
I wish to encourage young generations to broaden their view of the world, and to promote cultural and business exchange between Japan and overseas, especially now that globalization looks set to take off again in these post-Covid times.
Associate Member
Fumiko Nakayama
Casa De Rei
I used to work as an assistant at NANA [North American Newspaper Alliance] in the Asahi Shimbun building in Yurakucho. In those days, news manuscripts were sent using telex and teletype. For international calls, depending on the circumstances of the country, we had to make a call through KDD.
It was a time that is unimaginable today. We now live in a world in which we can do almost everything on our smartphones. I feel happy to have had those valuable experiences, which you can't have even if you visit KidZania.
I am grateful to Ray Falk and Mie Horasawa, for their work style which was extremely useful in my new job later on.
I would like to introduce some episodes from the time when I worked with Mr. Falk.
Minoru Sano, Emi Watanabe and others participated in the World Figure Championship held in Tokyo. ABC Sports came to Japan from the U.S. to film it. (The Wide World of Sports was a popular program in the U.S.)
As a production assistant I went to Narita Airport to pick up Chris Schenkel, a popular American commentator at the time. Many of my friends envied me.
For news correspondents, time is of the utmost importance. They called Mr. Falk's bureau every day to report the manuscripts they were going to send to Hong Kong and the U.S. One day, the correspondent called us while the staff member in charge was away for lunch. To my surprise, as soon as I answered the phone, he read the manuscript over the receiver at machine-gun speed. I could not even speak English well then, and he yelled at me. Oh, even my dad had never yelled at me! Then the correspondent came running toward me with the manuscript, breathing heavily. I read the manuscript and typed the news on the teletype. That angry guy grinned at me, said "Thank you", winked at me and went out.
When I was a student, I enjoyed listening to the Far East Network. I especially loved the Wolfman Jack Show and Hiroko Kubota's English programs. The phrase she used on the show became popular: A little language goes a long way.
Mr. Falk had the opportunity to have dinner with Hiroko Kubota at a restaurant, and I sat at the same table. I felt like I was ascending to heaven. I used a knife and a fork while suppressing my excitement.
A long time ago, Mr. Falk wrote a column introducing restaurants in Tokyo. He told us about many great restaurants and took our staff there. I still go to some of those restaurants. Whenever I visit them, I remember Mr. Falk.
When I worked at Millipore, most foreign companies were using Apple computers. Apple computers had only one click button, and since there was no specialized chemical structural formula app, it was difficult to create triangles and straight lines, but I enjoyed doing it.
I would like to thank Naomichi Iwamura at the FCCJ, the cameraman and video journalist Tomoo Itoh and Mie Horasawa.
There are still conflicts happening around the world, including Gaza and Ukraine. And in Japan, we had the Noto earthquake in January. We pray for the safety of the people in the affected areas, and sincerely hope that the affected areas will recover and that people's lives will return to peace as soon as possible.
Associate Member
Naoaki Takayanagi
All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
Date of Birth March 21, 1968
Education
March 1990 Graduated from Keio University (Faculty of Economics)
Business Experience
April 1990 Cabin Attendant Administration Section 1, Tokyo Airport Office, Sales
July 1992 Public Relations, Airport Administration, Tokyo Airport Office
March 1995 Sales, Sapporo Office
October 1998 Administration, Passenger Services, Sales
April 2003 Manager, Channel Planning, Marketing, Sales Promotion
July 2003 Passenger Services Manager, Passenger Services Section 1, Tokyo Airport Office
April 2005 Manager, Administration, Passenger Services, Tokyo Airport Office
April 2007 Manager, Online Sales, Sales Promotion
July 2009 Senior Manager, Website Management, Online Sales, Sales Promotion
April 2012 Senior Manager, Service Innovation, Innovation, Innovation & IT Strategy
April 2014 Senior Manager, Sales Support Planning, Marketing Planning, Marketing
April 2015 Deputy Director, Public Relations
Deputy Director, Group Public Relations, Corporate Communications, ANA Holdings Inc.
April 2016 Vice President, Corporate Branding and CSR Promotion, Corporate Communications, ANA Holdings Inc.
Senior Director, Public Relations, Corporate Communications, ANA Holdings Inc.
Senior Director, Public Relations
April 2017 Vice President, Public Relations
Vice President, Group Public Relations, Corporate Communications, ANA Holdings Inc.
April 2021 Senior Vice President, Public Relations, All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Branding, ANA Holdings Inc.
April 2022 Executive Vice President, Public Relations, All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications and Branding, ANA Holdings Inc.
Associate Member
Mina Sakai
PR Consulting Dentsu Inc. (PRCD)
Mina Sakai, Chief Consultant Stakeholder Engagement Division
PR Consulting Dentsu Inc.
Sakai Joined Dentsu Public Relations Inc. on April 2015 after a 13-year career as a TV program producer, when she covered current affairs and economy news.
The Dentsu Group is mainly involved in large-scale events, providing communications-focused strategic advice to the public and private sectors.
She studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and hold an MBA from Manchester Business School, the University of Manchester.
Associate Member
Isamu Yorikane
NDA Corporation
Currently providing Family Office services for clients as a financial advisor with a team of experts.
25 years of experience as a private banker for ultra-high net worth families (over 3 billion yen in assets) at a Japanese megabank.
We provide unbiased second opinions on overseas shift, asset formation, tax planning, business succession, inheritance, and real estate.
Qualifications: Securities Analyst, FP Level 1 National Qualification, and Building Licensing.
Career
2022 ~ Representative Director of NDA Co., Ltd.
1998 ~ 2023 Mizuho Bank & Mizuho Private Wealth Management Co.(The first private banking company in the megabanks), Executive Client Advisor, Senior Vice President
1990 ~ 1997 Yamaichi Securities, Investment Trust Department, Hiroshima Branch, in charge of listed companies
