Issue:

Dear Members,

Last week, I stood about 10 meters away from reactor 2 in Fukushima Nuclear power station to give a piece to camera reporting on the preparations to decommission the crippled reactors that were hit by the March 11, 2011 Tsunami.

I didn’t wear any protective gear and was only advised to wear long sleeves by the press tour organizers. This stance was unthinkable in the early days of the nuclear crisis when some reports went as far as talking about evacuating Tokyo in the aftermath of the disaster.

Tokyo now, however, is preparing to hold the Olympics later this year, while numerous international-class events in Fukushima and the surrounding region are ongoing.

FCCJ journalists in particular, have been busy covering those developments in Fukushima and elsewhere in Japan from day one, and will continue with our Club playing the backbone of supporting journalism.

"WE ARE VERY HOPEFUL AND WORKING TO NAVIGATE THIS ORGANIZATION TOWARDS A CONTINUED FCCJ SUCCESS STORY"

At the FCCJ, while we are preparing to host events and bring world-class Olympic athletes, we also face serious challenges to cross the logistical and financial bumps caused by our move to one of the most central, important, prestigious, and vibrant locations in Japan: Marounouchi.

The Board of Directors of the Club and our loyal and proud Members, along with our all dedicated staff, are doing everything to change those challenges to opportunities. Maintaining service quality and in fact improving it are our number one goal.

A journalist’s mission is basically to transfer information and reveal the truth. And this is why I say our current challenges are unprecedented. I don’t want to talk about the details because this is a developing story that changes with every passing hour. But I can assure you that we are very hopeful and working to navigate this Club towards a continued success story.

The Board is planning a townhall meeting for the membership in February to discuss all questions and ensure that you are kept fully aware of developments. For that, all Members are welcome to share their thoughts and provide assistance by joining the committees volunteering their time and expertise for the Club to continue.

I have established an advisory panel outside of the BOD comprised of former Club leadership and financial experts to diagnose the state of the affairs and suggest a course of action. In fact we have already started that.

– Khaldon Azhar