Dear members,

Happy new year from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. In early 2025, we will host (hopefully) the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel and a memorial for former director Mary Corbett on January 10, followed by our Hacks & Flacks party on January 23. Please note that space for this shinnenkai event will be limited and reservations are already peaking, so book your tickets soon to ensure a place at Japan’s best networking night.

December saw another month of excellent speakers, Book Breaks, and fine entertainment, as well as holiday food and beverage offerings underscoring FCCJ’s commitment to our diverse community. The club’s new membership reflects the better value proposition. Post-pandemic, our organization has expanded its reach and activities to better serve everyone, and we are increasingly highlighting exceptional individuals in the Number 1 Shimbun. Last month’s inaugural Ask an Associate series by board director Suvendrini Kakuchi profiled Machiko Chiba, a Japanese culinary expert, while this month features membership marketing chair Gary Bremermann, who with associate co-chair David Umeda is steering the Hacks & Flacks night. We’re proud of our vibrant membership, and these profiles speak to our many contributors.

At halfway in our current board’s tenure, it’s worth looking at what has been done since July. I mentioned membership, and since then we’ve seen almost 100 new members, the vast majority of them associates. We have held 44 PAC and Deep Dive speakers, 26 entertainment events and Saturday Night Lives, five associate and IT Committee events, three sports activities, including the new monthly imperial palace run, seven photo exhibitions, and seven films with directors and casts.

In particular, a must-see on the club’s horizon is Teki Cometh, with director Daihachi Yoshida and actor Kyozo Nagatsuka, on January 17. The movie swept awards at the Tokyo International Film Festival and was the first Japanese film to win the Grand Prix in 19 years. The evening highlights the great work Karen Severns and the Film Committee have done for years - with another movie treat. Again, please reserve a seat soon or miss more history being made at the FCCJ.

If you’ll excuse a personal reflection, but when I was last club president, about 18 years ago, I asked Donald Ritchie, one of Japan’s greatest film scholars, to present a monthly movie of his choice highlighting the decades of the FCCJ’s existence. His selections were all Japanese, and for novices or scholars he offered simple but compelling explanations as to why these movies were masterpieces. When he passed away in 2013, the Film Committee asked director Hirokazu Kore-eda to show his film Afterlife and speak about Donald. One day, when I’m even older and watching a streaming service on a phone or PC, and going to a theater is an increasingly distant memory, I will remember the exclusive and pivotal window on Japanese culture that our club offered, hit pause, and head for a show.

Again, happy new year!

Dan Sloan
President, FCCJ