From the President - February 2021

I’m feeling somewhat encouraged as I write this, hours after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced a tally of 1,070 new coronavirus cases for the day, which is less than half the peak we saw two weeks ago. The lockdown-lite may be playing havoc with our social lives by closing most places down at 8 p.m., but it is clearly taking us in the right direction. ...

From the President - January 2021

I’m writing this column for the last edition of Number 1 Shimbun to be edited by Peter O’Connor, who is stepping down at the end of the year, to be replaced by Justin McCurry. It was with a bit of a jolt that I realised this evening that I’ve been Club President since August, but haven’t met Peter in person even once – we know each other only through Zoom, phone calls and emails. ...

From the President - December 2020

Dear Members,
If you polish your glasses and squint hard enough, you can just about see it. Yes, that tiny, unfamiliar thing in the distance is a faint sign of light at the end of the tunnel. It’s hard to focus on it when Japan has just recorded a new high of 2,684 virus cases in a day and the third wave of the pandemic is casting a pall over the normally lively end of the year ...

From our new President

Dear members,

As Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister prepares to ride off into the sunset, the Liberal Democratic Party is agog over who will be the next Prime Minister and which senior lawmakers will finally get that sought-after post in the cabinet after years of waiting. Hardly less momentous than the successor to Shinzo Abe is the appointment of committee chairs to work on all aspects of FCCJ activities.

From the New President

It is my very great honor and pleasure to have been appointed President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in this, our 75th anniversary year. For those who don’t know me, I’m a reporter with Bloomberg News and I’ve worked in Tokyo for more than 20 years.

From the President - August 2020

Dear members,

The life of my 2019-2020 Board has been inadvertently extended by nearly two months, thanks to the complicated election system imposed on us by the Shadan Hojin Law. A certain voting percentage is now essential for any candidate to be elected. When members fail to vote in sufficient numbers, the Club and our staff consume much-needed resources on establishing the new Board of Directors.

From the (ex-)President

Dear Members,

I assume that some Members will have read the recent mail saying I will soon be leaving Japan and hence have stepped down as president of the FCCJ.
Danish journalist Thomas Hoy Davidsen has been chosen as the new Club president, but I have been allowed the opportunity to write this final message. Someone who is halfway out the door is typically not of much interest to those that remain, so I want use this space to introduce Thomas. 

From the President - June 2020

Dear FCCJ members,

The FCCJ is emerging from the coronavirus lockdown to face new challenges, not the least of which is to put the Club onto a sounder financial footing by extending our professional and social activities.

As we prepare to upgrade our operations in the Club to the "new normal" of reduced hours, distanced tables at the Bar, temperature checks and name registration at the entrance, etc., we are hoping Japan will flatten the curve and get out from the coronavirus soon along with the world.

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