THE JAPAN SOCIETY
2018
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
TRUSTEE ELECTIONS

Notice of the 2018 Annual General Meetingat the Embassy of Japan, London on Wednesday 18 July

THE JAPAN SOCIETY (THE “COMPANY”)

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGNOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the Company will be held on 18 July 2018at 6.00pm at the Embassy of Japan, 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT. The business of the meeting shallbe to record thanks to Sponsors and Benefactors and to consider, and if thought fit, pass the following
resolutions:
1. To receive and adopt the audited annual accounts of the Company for the financial year ended 31
December 2017 and the Trustees’ Report.
2. To reappoint Richard Place Dobson as auditors and to authorise the Board to approve theirremuneration as thought fit.
3. To elect Bill Emmott as Chairman of the Japan Society with effect from 1 January 2019.
4. To elect or re-elect Ordinary Trustees of the Japan Society to fill certain vacancies arising.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD___________________________H C POTTER
Chief Executive
Dated: 29 June 2018
Registered office: 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP
NOTES
1
2
3

4

5

The full accounts may be seen on the Company’s website (www.japansociety.org.uk) or may be requested in hard
copy from the registered office.
A list of candidates for election or re-election to the vacancies as Ordinary Trustees, together with biographicaldetails of the candidates, are also enclosed..
A member of the Company is entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of his or her rights to attend,
speak and vote at the meeting. A form of proxy is enclosed with this notice. The proxy must be a member of theCompany or, in the case of a corporate member, its authorised representative.
To be effective, the instrument appointing a proxy and any authority under which it is executed (or a certified
copy of such authority) must be deposited at the registered office of the Company not less than 48 hours before
the time for holding the meeting. Completion and return of the form of proxy will not preclude members from
attending and voting in person at the meeting. If you have appointed a proxy and attend the meeting in person,
your proxy appointment will automatically be terminated.
To comply with security policy at the Embassy of Japan, members are asked to notify the Society in advance of
their intention to attend the AGM. Please bring a copy of your booking confirmation, together with some form ofphotographic ID with you to the meeting.

3Appendix
Election of Trustees
The Board of the Company currently consists of a Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen, two appointed Officers(Solicitor and Treasurer), two ex officio Trustees (one additional Vice-Chairman, the deputy head of mission at
the Japanese Embassy, and one Ordinary Trustee, a member of the Japanese Embassy) and eleven Ordinary
Trustees.
As set out in the Articles of Association, the total number of Trustees on the Board should be no more thantwenty, and there should be no fewer than four Ordinary Trustees.
One-third of the Ordinary Trustees is required to retire by rotation each year. Those who have retired byrotation may stand for re-election but no one may serve for longer than six consecutive years as a memberof the Board.
The Board has appointed a nominations committee currently comprising David Warren (Chairman), Marie
Conte-Helm, Andrew Fraser, Tetsuro Hama, Shinichi Iida (ex-officio Trustee) and Heidi Potter (Chief Executive).
This committee reviews the skills that are required on the Board from time to time and the succession policy;
and it makes recommendations to the Board on possible future appointments.
Sir David Warren will stand down as Chairman after serving for six years. Following a selection process by thenominations committee, your Board is most happy to recommend Bill Emmott, the former Chief Editor of
The Economist, for this role. Bill’s credentials are impeccable; as well as being an active member and Principal
Benefactor of the Society, he headed The Economist’s bureau in Tokyo 1983-86 and continues to be a regular
visitor to the country. Sir David’s term as Chairman took effect on 1 January 2013, so his formal term on the
Board will end at the end of this year. It is therefore proposed that Bill Emmott be elected as Chairman witheffect from 1 January 2019.
This year it is expected that, as a result of the requirement to retire by rotation and some resignations, there
will be six vacancies for Ordinary Trustees which may be filled at the annual general meeting (the “AGM”).
Three Ordinary Trustees, Janet Hunter, Jason James, and Eiji Wakiwaka, who will retire by rotation, haveindicated that they are willing to stand for re-appointment. They are enthusiastic and valuable members of
the Board, which warmly recommends their re-appointment.
There are three other people standing for election to the Board as Ordinary Trustees. Tim Harding, Martin
Hatfull, and Julie Rogers; they share between them a varied experience and active involvement in developing
links between Japanese and British communities which will be of great benefit to the Japan Society. The
Board proposes their election. Biographical details of all six Ordinary Trustee candidates are set out in thisAppendix.
Overall, there is one candidate for election as Chairman and six candidates for election to fill a possible six
Ordinary Trustee vacancies on the Board. Members are therefore asked at the AGM to cast their votes “For” or“Against” each candidate. Members may also select the “vote withheld” option if they do not wish to vote foror against any particular candidate, although a vote withheld in this way is not a “vote” by law and will not becounted in the calculation of the proportion of votes “For” and “Against” a candidate.
We are always looking for new people to be involved with the Japan Society in different capacities, including
as committee members and as Trustees and are delighted that so many people are willing to volunteer theirskills to the Society. We encourage members to let us know at any time during the year if they would like to
be more involved. Suggestions of names of people to be considered for committees or for the Board should
be made to any member of the nominations committee or indeed any member of the Board.
Members may vote, as normal, in person at the AGM on 18 July 2018 or by proxy. A proxy form is enclosed
in this booklet for this purpose.

4

Biographical Details of the Candidates for Chairman and Ordinary Trustees 2018
BILL EMMOTTBill Emmott is an independent writer, lecturer andconsultant on international affairs. He has just completed
a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and ischairman of The Wake Up Foundation, a charity dedicatedto education and communication about the decline ofwestern societies using film, which he co-founded in2013 with an Italian film-maker, Annalisa Piras, with whom
he had made a documentary about Italy, “Girlfriend in aComa” (2013).
He was previously the Editor-in-Chief of The Economist(1993-2006) and has written eight books on Japan, thefirst of which was The Sun Also Sets: Why Japan Will Not
Be Number One (1989). He has just completed a book on
the future role of women in Japan’s economy, politics andsociety, which will be published in Japanese by Nikkei atthe end of 2018.
In 2016 the Japanese government awarded him the “Orderof the Rising Sun: Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon” for services
to UK-Japan relations.
Bill Emmott was chairman of the trustees of the London
Library from 2009-15; was group economic adviser for
Stonehage Fleming in 2011-15; and served on All Nippon
Airways’ UK Advisory Panel until 2016. He is currently atrustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies; amember of the advisory board of the Reuters Institute for
the Study of Journalism in Oxford; a member of Swiss Re’s
Panel of Advisors; a member of the Global Advisory Boardof the University of Tokyo; a Visiting Professor at Shujitsu
University in Okayama, Japan; and a member of the senioradvisory panel of Critical Resource, a consultancy.
Born in 1956, Bill is married to Carol. They live in Somerset
and Oxford with their three dogs. Bill has been a member of
the Japan Society since 2005 and an individual benefactor
since 2013, as well as having frequently addressed society
events as a speaker since the early 1990s.

TIM HARDING
Tim Harding is the Japan and Korea Market Specialist at
the Department for International Trade, providing support
to Japanese Investors throughout the UK, helping themto access government services and assisting further
investment. He holds responsibility for stakeholder
engagement with Japanese business and culturalorganisations as well as coordinating Japan-focusedgovernment events.
Tim graduated from the University of West England in2008 with a degree in History, and from 2008-2010 he lived
in Ehime-ken in Japan working as an Assistant Language
Teacher on the JET Programme. During this period, heprovided English tuition in 5 primary schools and 3 JuniorHigh Schools, as well as establishing and running a private
adult English language class.
Upon his return to the UK Tim spent several years working
in Import/Export Operations for Itochu Corporation andExport Sales for Hanjin Shipping, followed by four years

working in the Economic Section of the Embassy of Japanin the UK. During this time Tim provided support toJapanese government and business across a diverse rangeof policy areas including Trade, Commerce, Agriculture
and Climate Change issues. He was also deeply involvedin the Embassy’s business engagement and networking
activities.
Tim has been an ardent supporter of the Anglo-Japanesecommunity in the UK, volunteering annually at the Japan
Matsuri since 2011 and fundraising for the charity Aid forJapan, as well as attending and supporting a range ofJapanese networking events.

MARTIN HATFULL
Martin is a public affairs professional with in-depth
experience of Asia from both the public and private
sectors. He spent most of his earlier career as a UK
diplomat, serving twice in Japan, first in the 1980s andlatterly as Minister (Deputy Head of Mission) from 20032008. He was subsequently Ambassador to Indonesia andTimor Leste and the first UK Ambassador accredited to
ASEAN (2008-11).
Martin left the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2013
and joined Diageo plc, the FTSE top-ten global drinks
company. As International Public Affairs Director, he was
responsible for public policy issues globally and for advice
to the Chairman and CEO on political risk, including inrespect of the company’s major businesses across Asia.
Since 2017 Martin has run his own political risk advisory
practice. He is a Senior Adviser to Kreab Worldwide, theinternational communications and public affairs company,
which has a significant business in Japan. Martin is Acting
Chair of the Anglo-Indonesian Society, a Vice-Chair of
the UK-ASEAN Business Council, a Trustee of the City and
Guilds of London Art School and a member of the UKJapan 21st Century Group. He speaks good Japanese,
Italian and French and conversational Finnish and Bahasa
Indonesia. He is married with two grown-up sons andenjoys walking and the visual arts.

JANET HUNTER
Janet Hunter took her BSc at the University of Sheffield
and her DPhil. at Oxford University. She has taught at the
London School of Economics since 1984, and has since2003 been Saji Professor of Economic History.
She has published widely on the development of thefemale labour market in Japan, the history of AngloJapanese economic relations and the development ofcommunications. Her books include History of AngloJapanese Relations, 1600-2000, vol.4, Economic andBusiness Relations (jointly edited with S. Sugiyama,
Palgrave, 2002); Women and the Labour Market inIndustrialising Japan: the Textile Industry before the5Pacific War (Routledge, 2003); The Historical Consumer:
Consumption and Everyday Life in Japan since 1850
(jointly edited with Penelope Francks, Palgrave, 2012).
She is currently working on attitudes to commercial
morality in late 19th to early 20th century Japan, and amonograph on the economic impact of the Great Kanto
Earthquake of 1923. Her paper ‘“Extreme Confusion andDisorder”? The Japanese Economy in the Great Kanto
Earthquake of 1923’ appeared in the Journal of AsianStudies in 2014. She has served as President of the British
Association for Japanese Studies, and has just taken up
the post of co-editor of the Journal of Japanese Studies.
She is an academic member of the Council (governingbody) of LSE, and a trustee of the Great Britain Sasakawa
Foundation. She received the Order of the Rising Sunfrom the Japanese Government in 2014.

JASON JAMESJason James has been Director General of the Daiwa
Anglo-Japanese Foundation since 2011. Having beenfascinated by Japan on a choir tour at the age of 13,
he read Japanese Studies at King’s College, Cambridge,
graduating First Class with Distinction.
Subsequently he worked for many years in the financial
industry, mostly specialising in Japanese equities,
becoming Head of Research in the Tokyo office of HSBC
Securities, and eventually Head of Global Equity Strategy
at HSBC’s London headquarters. From 2007-2011 Jason
was Director of the British Council in Japan, during whichtime he also served as Cultural Counsellor at the British
Embassy, Chair of the European Union National Institutesof Culture (EUNIC) Japan cluster, a Board Member of theJapan-British Society (and Chair of its Awards Committee),and a Board Member of United World Colleges Japan.
Having lived in Japan for 15 years, and with a Japanesewife, Jason’s interest in the country is broad, covering the
economy, financial markets and tax, as well as Japanese
literature and arts, and the relationship between the
UK and Japan. Publications range from The Political
Economy of Japanese Financial Markets (co-author,
Macmillan 1999), to Edmund Blunden and Japan (Asiatic
Society, 2010).

JULIE ROGERS
Julie Rogers was born in Tokyo to Japanese and English
parents and moved to the UK aged seven. She later
graduated from Sheffield University in Japanese Studies
and Politics.
Julie has spent most of her working career at Mitsubishi
Corporation, where she is currently on the board of
directors of the London operation and General Managerof the Communications and Sustainability Department.
She is also Chair of the company’s UK-based corporate
foundation, the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe
and Africa and Deputy Chair of Bee London, the Business
Improvement District (BID) for the Holborn, Bloomsbury,
St Giles, Farringdon & Clerkenwell areas.

6

In her current role she is in charge of communications,which covers both internal, staff focused communicationsfor Mitsubishi Corporation in the European region as
well as external stakeholder relationships including with
cultural and academic institutions. She is also responsible
for social and environmental considerations for business,reporting and advising on key sustainability priorities andbest practises. She worked in Mitsubishi Corporation’sTokyo head office in the mid-2000s.
Having lived with two cultures all her life, she has astrong interest in the importance of language, culture
and context when building relationships and mutual
understanding.

EIJI WAKIWAKA
Born and raised in Japan, Eiji Wakiwaka earned anundergraduate degree in commerce from Waseda
University, Japan and an MBA from Harvard University.
He joined Mitsui & Co. Ltd in the Accounting Departmentof their Tokyo Head Office in 1973, and then transferredto their New York Office after the Harvard MBA programin 1978. After 3 and half years in New York, he returnedto Tokyo in charge of Mitsui’s global oil trading activities
in 1982.
In 1985, he left Mitsui and joined BP’s trading team in
London, and became BP’s global oil trading manager,
followed by a series of management positions in the
UK Retail, Rotterdam and Antwerp Refining, and the US
downstream in Cleveland, USA. He came back to London
in 1993 to work for BP Exploration and Production(upstream) in charge of gas strategy in Asia Pacific, andthen became CFO for BP Asia Pacific in Singapore, before
returning to London in 1998 to work for Russia, Central
and Eastern Europe downstream business development.
In 1999, he returned to Japan to develop Retail business(now divested) and later became in charge of BP‘s Gas
business in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. He also became
President of BP Japan in 2001.
He returned to London in June 2009, and joined theClinton Foundation in the area of Carbon Capture andStorage projects in Europe for Clinton Climate Initiative.
He now acts as advisor to Clinton Climate Initiative.
*********************

please detach here and return to the Japan Society

THE JAPAN SOCIETY

PROXY FORM for the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2018
I/We, being a member of The Japan Society, hereby appoint the Chairman of the meeting (see note 3) /........................................................................................................ as my/our proxy to vote for me/us at the Annual General
Meeting of The Japan Society to be held on Wednesday, 18 July 2018 and at every adjournment thereof.
Name (please print).......................................................................................................................

Category of membership

Individual

FamilyCorporate

Name of corporate
member (if applicable).......................................................................................................................

Signature.......................................................................................................................

Dated....................................................................................................................... 2018
Instructions to Proxy

Please indicate with an “X” in the boxes below and overleaf how you wish the proxy to vote. The Proxy will
vote or withhold their vote, at his or her discretion, on (a) any resolution listed below if no instruction is
given regarding that resolution and (b) on any other business transacted at the meeting.
For

1

Receiving the Accounts and the Trustees’ Report2

Re-appointment of the Auditors

3

Election of Bill Emmott as Chairman

4Election of Tim Harding as Ordinary Trustee

5Election of Martin Hatfull as Ordinary Trustee

6

Re-appointment of Janet Hunter as Ordinary Trustee

7

Re-appointment of Jason James as Ordinary Trustee

8Election of Julie Rogers as Ordinary Trustee

9

Re-appointment of Eiji Wakiwaka as Ordinary Trustee

AgainstVote
withheld1 A member of The Japan Society is entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of his or her rights toattend, speak and vote at a general meeting of The Japan Society.
2 Appointment of a proxy does not preclude you from attending the meeting and voting in person. If you
have appointed a proxy and attend the meeting in person, your proxy appointment will automaticallybe terminated.
3 If you wish, you may delete the words “the Chairman of the meeting” and insert the name of a proxy of
your choice. The proxy must be a member of the Japan Society or, in the case of a member which is a
corporation, its authorised representative. Please initial any alteration. A proxy must attend the meeting
to represent you.
4 The completed and signed proxy form (and, if relevant, the power of attorney or other authority underwhich it is signed, or a certified copy of that power or authority) must be received at 13/14 Cornwall
Terrace, London NW1 4QP not less than 48 hours before the meeting or the adjourned meeting or, in thecase of a poll, not less than 24 hours before the time appointed for taking the poll.
5 To direct your proxy how to vote on the resolutions mark the appropriate box with an ‘X’. If no voting
indication is given, your proxy will vote or withhold their vote at his or her discretion. Your proxy will
vote (or withhold a vote) as he or she thinks fit in relation to any other matter which is put before themeeting.
6 The vote withheld option is provided to enable you to instruct the proxy not to vote on any particularresolution. However, it should be noted that a vote withheld in this way is not a “vote” by law and will not
be counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes “For” and “Against” a resolution.
7. Any power of attorney or any other authority under which this proxy form is signed (or a duly certified
copy of such power of authority) must be included with the proxy form.
8. If you submit more than one valid proxy appointment, the appointment received last before the latest
time for the receipt of proxies will take precedence.

Please return this form to the following address:
The Japan Society, 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, London NW1 4QP
or by email to: heidi.potter@japansociety.org.uk

please detach here and return to the Japan Society

Notes