Issue:
. . . on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 pm for The Actor, Satoko Yokohama’s first film since the much-lauded Bare Essence of Life. Busy TV actor Ken Yasuda gives an extraordinarily versatile performance in the role of a lifetime, demonstrating his skill in a range of parts on a variety of film sets and theatrical stages. The Actor, which world premiered at the 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival, highlights Yokohama’s flare for surrealistic touches, unusual imagery and offbeat musical selections. A witty, warm-hearted paean to a bit-part player you recognize his face, but you can never remember his name the film follows Takuji Kameoka as he auditions, rehearses and shoots, then drinks away his loneliness with fellow low-achievers in nearby bars. Then one night, he awakens from a nap and falls in love with the radiant bartender Azumi (Kumiko Aso). As if that isn’t enough, he’s invited to audition for world-famous arthouse director Alan Spesso (Ricardo Garcia). Suddenly, Kameoka is facing an existential midlife crisis . . . (Japan, 2015; 123 minutes; English with Japanese subtitles.)
The Club’s Christmas Party was held on Sunday, Nov. 13 and was a great success. It was attended by over 150 people (including 50 children and one Santa Claus) making it the most successful event of the year. (See also page 5.)
Discount LexisNexis Subscriptionsfor FCCJ Members
The FCCJ is pleased to offer members a substantial discount on subscriptions to LexisNexis’ news database service, Nexis.com
The Members only deal allows for flat rate access at¥7,900 per month offeringbig savings on a service that normally costs ¥126,000 per month
The service will be billed by the Club. The FCCJ benefits from all subscriptions sold under this arrangement.
Nexis provides access to news and information from more than 34,000 sources, including Kyodo News, Jiji, Yonhap, Xinhua, AP, Reuters, AFP, all major world newspapers and specialist news sources. Also included is a database of U.S. and international company information, biographical databases, country profiles and a U.S. legal database.
For those already in on the secret, the application form is available on the FCCJ website or from the 19F Club office.
REINSTATEMENT (REGULAR)
URSULA HYZY is the bureau chief of Agence France Presse Tokyo. It is her second Tokyo assignment, after a stint between Sept. 2001 and May 2005. Hyzy studied economics at university in Paris as well as Russian at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales. Since joining AFP in 1992, she has held posts in Lille, Lyon and on the Africa and Europe desks in Paris. She was then based in Washington D.C. and Moscow before heading AFP’s Warsaw regional bureau, which covers Poland, the three Baltic states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Prior to her Tokyo assignment in June, she was covering French macroeconomics at AFP’s Paris headquarters. Her native language is French and she also speaks English, Russian and Polish.
REGULAR MEMBERS
SONG KAN KAN is the chief correspondent for Shanghai SMG Media Center. Hailing from Beijing, Song has lived in Japan for 18 years, and has received a master’s degree in environmental information from the Musashi Institute of Technology. After her graduation, she has held positions at CCTV, NHK and Phoenix TV before joining Shanghai SMG, where she reports on political, economic and social news from Japan.
MICHIRO OKAMOTO is a Senior Research Fellow following the Middle East and the international affairs at Yomiuri Research Institute of the Yomiuri Shimbun. He studied Arabic and Middle East affairs in Tokyo University of Foreign studies, before joining the Yomiuri as a staff writer in 1983. He worked as a resident correspondent in Tehran and as Cairo bureau chief before he was assigned as the general bureau chief of the Americas in June 2008. He returned to the Tokyo head office in October 2011, where he has held posts as a commentary & analysis editor, international news editor and as deputy managing editor. Okamoto was born in Chitose-shi, Hokkaido.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Masaki Sakuraba, Cornes Technologies
Limited
Takao Furukawa, Sankyo Corporation
REINSTATEMENT (ASSOCIATE)
Yutaka Hokura, Tokyo College of Music
New in the Library
311 iko – nichibei wa bosai de kyoryoku dekiruka?
Keiichi YoshikawaKindai ShoboshaGift from Keiichi Yoshikawa
Okinawa Solution: Futenma o owaraseru tame ni
Akikazu Hashimoto; Mike MochizukiObirin Gakuen Shuppanbu Gift from Akikazu Hashimoto
Censored 2016: Media Freedom on the Line
Mickey Huff; Andy Lee RothSeven Stories PressGift from Brian Covert
Why Japan?: A Diplomat’s Perspective
Manlio CadeloShogakukanGift from Manlio Cadelo
Kamen no nichibei domei
Mikio HarunaBungei ShunjuGift from Mikio Haruna
Atarashii kuni e: utsukushii kuni e kanzenban
Shinzo Abe Bungei Shunju
Ohotsuku no akari: Karafuto, senzo kara no mura ni umarete
Yoko Abe Crews
RICOH's Visual Communications
When we say, "imagine. change." it's no idle boast. For all of us at RICOH it's an urgent call to action. We rode the wave of office automation for decades, making printers and copiers to help people put their ideas on paper. But watching work-styles evolve we realized the need to imagine what's next and lead the way to change.
"Visual Communications" is one direction imagination leads us. Taking the value we've always offered to a whole new level. Sharing vital information securely across time zones and language barriers to achieve seamless teamwork worldwide.
Our imagination takes shape in a suite of new solutions like the RICOH Interactive Whiteboard D5500. Its high-definition LCD display lets you present drawings, review designs and share comments in real-time with both on-site and remote audiences over a secure connection. Its electronic pen makes it easy to write and save notes as you go. With no software required, invited remote users can easily log on with a PIN code. At the end you can share the presentation or delete it. And, yes, you can still print it.
