Issue:
Dear members,
I hope you are enjoying a relaxing Golden Week ahead of an eventual return to work and the rain and humidity of the months ahead. The Club will come out of the holidays with a variety of activities for all tastes, including a special exhibition-reception on May 8, when H.I.H. Princess Takamado will attend and a chorus comprising ambassadors and their wives will perform. On May 14, we will host a sneak preview of the film Never After Dark attended by the actor Kento Kaku. The Professional Activities Committee line-up is expected to include the chief of a political party and the head of the Committee to Protect Journalists, among others.
Speaking of journalism, the FCCJ will host its annual Freedom of the Press Awards on May 28. If you want to know more about the best in the field in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, please join us. Every year, the committee puts in a tremendous amount of work to select the winners, some of whom will be represented at the event. Our core Club mission is to foster and support the next generation of journalists, as well as honor those doing great work today, so I do hope you can attend.
I’d also like to highlight members of the Board who have been doing exceptional work in trying to shore up our financial position, which was highlighted at the truncated GMM in March. A Task Force led by Michiyo Nakamoto, and supported by Secretary Masayuki Watanabe, Michael King, Treasurer Anthony Rowley, and Associate Member Rick Dyck, has been instrumental in taking things forwards, as has our General Manager Wayne Hunter. I again encourage you to contact the team to see what you or your organization can do to make a better, stronger Club. We need you.
Finally, I again encourage all eligible members to consider running for office or joining a committee after the new FCCJ Board is selected. We need to have a full slate of candidates and a proper election process, led by Committee Chair Yoshisuke Iinuma, and Associate Member Liaisons David Umeda and Simon Farrell, to enable us to tap into new skillsets and enthusiasm. If you have any questions about what the voluntary job involves, don’t hesitate to contact me or any other BoD member – we’ll have mostly good things to say!
Best regards,
Dan Sloan
FCCJ President
