Issue:
FIRST, SINCERE THANKS TO EVERYONE who made the effort to vote in the election for the board of directors. I admit I used to be a lackluster voter. A few years back, I finally came to realize how important it is for our membership. Your vote is a vote for the sustainability and dynamism of our Club. (Okay . . . lecture ended.)
I am honored and thrilled to be the FCCJ’s new president. As only the third woman president in the Club’s 68 year history, it is a special feeling indeed. Not like a shot of power, or a well deserved pat on the back. More like an exciting opportunity to test the survival techniques I’ve learned after many years in this (decidedly patriarchal) foreign land.
Among those, patience and humility top the list. Humor too. Sure to come in handy when tackling the Club’s many issues. I’ve listed some of those issues with tackle strategies in my election statement. Most vexing: how best to handle the thorny issue of member conflict; the bitter infighting and negativity? Donning my reporter’s cap, I decided to do a bit of historical research.
I turned to the The Foreign Correspondents in Japan, a history of the FCCJ’s first 50 years. Written for the Club’s 50th anniversary in 1998, and edited by Member Charles Pomeroy, it is a treasure trove of stories from and about Members and the Club’s small and great dramas during half a century of historical upheavals.
I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it yet. (It’s conveniently sold at the front desk.) The book has renewed my respect and love for the Club, and reminded me of the incredible importance of this institution and the vital role it has played in world events and the pursuit of truth.
Trolling through the pages I discovered that, indeed, upheavals and conflict at the Club go hand in hand. Journalists, it seems, naturally like a fight, clean or dirty. The thing that makes us brave radioactivity, needle a politician or unveil the findings of a whistleblower is exactly what makes us argumentative and combative.
One episode in the book makes the argument for congeniality with language at its best. It was 1989 and Mike Tharp, bureau chief of US News & World Report, was FCCJ president. I remember him fondly as a gentle giant with a sweet, sharp wit. As he is quoted in the book, “The tone I hoped to set was one of old fashioned gentlemanly behavior. We could disagree on issues, I reasoned, without resorting to personal animosity.”
He gave this example. “At a particularly rancorous general meeting, tempers were fraying, voices were being raised. I didn’t remember the cause. One member stood, spoke heatedly for several moments, then said something along the lines that if we didn’t follow his course of action, we ‘should all be hung.’ Leaning to the microphone at the head table, I said quietly: ‘It’s hanged. But most of us guys would like to be hung.’ Mass merriment ensued, and a tense moment was defused.”
Unfortunately, I can’t be hung, but I can certainly laugh at the thought. Please join me this year with laughter, cordiality, friendship, and the mission to make our Club the best and hottest spot for news in Japan.
— Lucy Birmingham
