From the Editor
Justin McCurry
Allow me to begin by wishing our readers and everyone involved in producing the Number 1 Shimbun a very happy new year. In this, the first issue of the Year of the Horse, Eric Johnston, James Brady and Fred Varcoe look ahead to what lies in store for Japanese politics, diplomacy and sport in 2026. Mark Schreiber’s ceaseless travels take him to the grave of a hitherto unknown American victim of the violence that followed the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, while David McNeill and David Umeda report on a recent appearance at the FCCJ by Shiori Ito, whose documentary Black Box Diaries has finally been screened in Japan after months of controversy. If theories about beechnut crop cycles are accurate, 2026 should see fewer bear encounters in Japan. But authorities in hotspots such as Akita Prefecture are taking nothing for granted, as Dan Sloan reports. Amid evidence of mass oyster deaths in Hiroshima Prefecture – a major production center – Stephen Mansfield shucks open the bivalve’s important place in Japanese cuisine. In their regular columns, Philip Brasor looks at the harmful, and often tragic, consequences of media intrusion into the lives of the relatives of notorious criminals, while Eric Johnston suggests it is going to be a very long winter for Hokkaido’s tourism industry due to a fall in the number of Chinese visitors. Anthony Rowley uses a recent FCCJ Deep Dive event to unravel cryptocurrencies, and Suvendrini Kakuchi resumes her series of interviews with the club’s associate members.
Cover artwork by Julio Shiiki
The Number 1 Shimbun
January 2026
Publisher FCCJ
Editor Justin McCurry
Designer Julio Kohji Shiiki, www.sedo.co.jp
Website Paul Braganza
Editorial Assistant Naomichi Iwamura
Photo coordination Hiroko Moriwaki
Publications Committee
Justin McCurry (Chair), Suvendrini Kakuchi, David McNeill, Andy Sharp
FCCJ Board of Directors
President Dan Sloan
1st Vice President Randy Schmidt
2nd Vice President Aviraj Gokool
Treasurer Anthony Rowley
Secretary Kathleen Benoza
Directors-at-Large
Michael King, Taeko Nagayama, Michiyo Nakamoto, Masayuki Watanabe
Kanji Martin Fackler, Knopf Doubleday Publishing & Simon Farrell, Custom Media K.K.
Reserve Director
David Umeda
FCCJ Committee & Ad-hoc Committee Chairs
Publications (Number 1 Shimbun) Justin McCurry
Associate Members’ Liaison Simon Farrell & David Umeda
Entertainment Simon Farrell & Douglas Montgomery
Exhibition Peter Lyon
Film Karen Severns
Finance Anthony Rowley
Food & Beverage Shuri Fukunaga & Michiyo Nakamoto
Freedom of Press David McNeill & Ilgin Yorulmaz
House & Property Randy Schmidt
Human Resources Avi Gokool
Library, Archives & Workroom Suvendrini Kakuchi & Robert Whiting
Membership Randy Schmidt & Dan Sloan
Professional Activities Eric Johnston & Martin Fackler
DeRoy Memorial Scholarship Martin Fackler
Compliance Yoshisuke Iinuma & Masayuki Watanabe
Election (2025-2026) Yoshisuke Iinuma
Deep Dive Anthony Rowley
Information Technology (Web) TBD
Membership Marketing TBD
Sports Akihiko Tanabe
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
Marunouchi Nijubashi Building 5F
Marunouchi 3-2-3 Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0005
Tel: (03) 3211-3161・fccj.or.jp
Published by the FCCJ All opinions contained within the Number 1 Shimbun are those of the authors. As such, these opinions do not constitute an official position of Number 1 Shimbun, the editor or the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.