From the Editor

Justin McCurry

Why has an award-winning – and now Oscar-nominated - documentary that has been screened in dozens of countries never been shown publicly in Japan? In this month’s cover story, David McNeill and I attempt to answer that question, and to address the simmering controversy over Black Box Diaries, Shiori Ito’s account of her 2015 rape and its aftermath. Elsewhere, Dan Sloan previews next month’s opening of the World Exposition in Osaka and Mark Schreiber explains why Japan’s media is going wild for the 100th Year of Showa. Peter McGill sounds a warning about the possible consequences for Japan of Trump Mark II, and Eiichiro Tokumoto delves into the mystery surrounding the discovery in 2011 of bottles containing a highly radioactive substance in a Tokyo neighbourhood. In FCCJ-related news, Steve Romaine whets our appetite for two forthcoming sake events, and Anthony Rowley reports on a recent appearance by the respected economist William Lazonick. In their regular columns, Eric Johnston wonders when Hokkaido’s vaunted microchip revolution will finally see the light of day, while Philip Brasor looks at Japanese media coverage of a sexual assault scandal that has ripped through the corridors of Fuji TV.

Cover artwork by Julio Shiiki

INDEX

 

The Number 1 Shimbun

March 2025

 

Publisher FCCJ

Editor  Justin McCurry, no.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp

Designer  Julio Kohji Shiiki, www.sedo.co.jp

Website  Paul Braganza

Editorial Assistant  Naomichi Iwamura

Photo coordination  Hiroko Moriwaki

Publications Committee
Justin McCurry (Chair), Suvendrini Kakuchi, David McNeill, Andy Sharp

 

FCCJ Board of Directors

President  Dan Sloan

1st Vice President  Khaldon Azhari

2nd Vice President  Randy Schmidt

Treasurer  Anthony Rowley

Secretary  David M. Umeda

Directors-at-Large
Shuri Fukunaga, Suvendrini Kakuchi, Dave McCombs, Taeko Nagayama

Kanji  Martin Fackler, Knopf Doubleday Publishing & Simon Farrell, Custom Media K.K.

 

FCCJ Committee & Ad-hoc Committee Chairs

Publications  Justin McCurry

Associate Members’ Liaison  Simon Farrell & David Umeda

Entertainment  Jake Adelstein & Simon Farrell

Exhibitions  Peter Lyon

Film  Karen Severns

Finance  Anthony Rowley

Food & Beverage  Shuri Fukunaga & Michiyo Nakamoto

Freedom of Press  David McNeill

House & Property  Khaldon Azhari

Human Resources  Randy Schmidt

Information Technology  Hinza Asif & Yusuke Wada

Library, Archives & Workroom  Suvendrini Kakuchi & Robert Whiting

Membership  Randy Schmidt

Professional Activities  Tetsuo Jimbo & Martin Koelling

DeRoy Memorial Scholarship  Martin Fackler

Compliance  Kunio Hamada & Yoshisuke Iinuma

Election  Yoshisuke Iinuma

Deep Dive  Anthony Rowley

Membership Marketing  Gary Bremermann

Sports  Akihiko Tanabe

 

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan

Marunouchi Nijubashi Building 5F
Marunouchi 3-2-3 Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0005
Tel: (03) 3211-3161・fccj.or.jp

Published by the FCCJ All opinions contained within the Number 1 Shimbun are those of the authors. As such, these opinions do not constitute an official position of Number 1 Shimbun, the editor or the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.