1993 年 10 月 15 日 第三種郵便物認可 毎月 1 日発行 Vol. 45 第 5 号 No. 1 Shimbun 2013 年 5 月 1 日発行

May 2013
Volume 45 No. 5
¥400

SAM
JAMESONIN MEMORIAM

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Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

In this issue
The Front Page		 4 		President's message
Georges Baumgartner
Room at the inn for FCCJ members
John R. Harris
Click on thisSteve McClure
Race to the bottom

David McNeill

6

Profile Lucy Birmingham

Bob Neff8

Remembering Sam

10

Swadesh Deroy Scholarship award winner
Shinchimachi Story

Alison Kwesell

12

FCCJ exhibition The Japonism of Paper

Shu Kubo

13

Seiko Noda: Japan's Iron Lady?

Suvendrini Kakuchi

14

Defense report targets China
and North Korea

Julian Ryall

15

Boomtime for South Asian newspapers

Monzurul Huq

16

Goodbye Nakayama-san

Haruko Watanabe

17

New members		
New in the library		
FCCJ Sayonara Party for Nakamura-san and Nakayama-san

18
18
18

Heard at the Club“For China, the top priority is
the stability of the region …
so they are being very careful.”Eiichi Katahara,
director of the Regional Studies Departmentof The National Institute for Defense Studies,on North Korea
page 15

Volume 45, Number 5

May 2013

contact the editors

no.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp
Editor Gregory Starr
Publisher John R. Harris
Art Director Andrew Pothecarywww.forbiddencolour.com
Assistant Editor Geoff Tudor
Editorial Assistants Naomichi Iwamura,Angela Erika Kubo. Elena Omura, Tyler Rothmar,
Albert Siegel
Photo Coordinator Akiko Miyake
FCCJ BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Georges Baumgartner,
Swiss Radio and Television
1st Vice President Martin Koelling,
Handelsblatt
2nd Vice President
Masaaki Fukunaga, The Sanmarg
Secretary Suvendrini Kakuchi,Inter Press Service
Treasurer Jonathan Soble, Financial Times
Directors at Large
Lucy Birmingham, freelance
Yoshio Murakami, IHT
Yozo Hasegawa, BS Japan and Radio Nikkei News
Tetsuo Jimbo, Video News Network, Inc
Kanji Charles Pomeroy
FCCJ COMMITTEE CHAIRSAssociate Members Liaison Joan Anderson
DeRoy Memorial Scholarship+ Professional Development Masaaki Fukunaga
Entertainment Sandra Mori
Exhibitions Bruce Osborn
Finance Jonathan Soble
Food & Beverage Michael Penn
Freedom of the Press Khaldon AzhariHouse & Property Martin Koelling
Human Resources Masaaki Fukunaga
Improvement Mary Corbett, Ed MernerInformation, Technology Policy Council
Tetsuo Jimbo, Video News Network, IncKoeki Yoshio Murakami
Library/Workroom Suvendrini Kakuchi,
Koichi Ishiyama
Membership Monzurul Huq
Marketing Advisory Mary Corbett
Movie Edwin Karmiol, Karen Severns
Professional Activities Beryl Tung, Rick Wallace
Photo Archive Lucy Birmingham
Publications John R. Harris
Shadan Hojin Kaz Abiko, Yoshisuke Iinuma
Special Project Haruko WatanabeSports Duke Ishikawa
Kanji Advisory Panel Charles Pomeroy
Foreign Press in Japan Justin McCurry
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
Yurakucho Denki Building, North Tower 20F,
1-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006.
Tel: (03) 3211-3161 Fax: (03) 3211-3168
www.fccj.or.jp
Published by the FCCJAll opinions contained within Number 1 Shimbun arethose of the authors. As such, these opinions do notconstitute an official position of Number 1 Shimbun, theeditor or the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
Please pitch and send articles and photographs, oraddress comments to no.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp
Cover photo: Dreamstime

FCCJ

3

THE FRONT PAGE

President's message
THAT TIME IS ALMOST
upon us again. June, theonset of rainy season andthe FCCJ elections. It istime to ask who will step
forward to take the baton.
Several of us on the
Board have been in the same positions forthree years now. We have made some toughdecisions and enacted a number of longoverdue reforms. As a result, the Club is now
on a much more sound financial footing.
And we are on the way to securing publicinterest non-profit status that will give us asolid legal footing in Japanese society.
We have made progress because, unlike
the Boards in years past, we have shared
a common purpose; we have not been
wracked by continual disagreements. And
I think I can speak for my fellow Board
members in saying that we are proud ofwhat we have achieved.
However, we are more than a bit weary
from our efforts. So we are eager to findresponsible, clear-headed Regular Members
who are prepared to step up and carry on thework of securing the FCCJ’s future.
Personally, I would like nothing better
than to hand this job over to someone who
could build on what we have done. So I
have been asking everyone who might beappropriate to run. Unfortunately, it seems
those who have the right credentials don’t
have the time and those who have the time
don’t have the credentials.
When you have a pool of just 300
journalists from which to draw, it is a
struggle to find 10 people who have thetime, the competence and the willingness
to serve. The toughest seats to fill are
Treasurer (since journalists are usuallymore literate than numerate) and
President (given that the job demands ameasure of seniority).
Fortunately, from next year it will beeasier once we can draw on the skills andexperience of Associate Members who will
be given seats on the Board. But we have
one last election under the old rules.
Of course, we can expect candidates whowill run with the intention of undoing all
our work over the past three years. In thatevent, if there is no one willing to stay thecourse, what am I to do? I have no wish tobe “president for life.”
If necessary, though, reluctantly I will
run again.

— Georges Baumgartner

Number 1 Shimbun | April 2013

Room at the inn for FCCJ Members
FOR ‘COUNTRY MICE’ VENTURING, IT’S ALWAYS A DILEMMA. DO WE
miss the last train or miss out on the fun? It’s even worse to ride the latetrain knowing that come dawn you have to ride two hours back the way you
came. Injury adds to insult for those of us who who pay JR ¥5,000 return.
The good news, I recently discovered, is that someone who can help
now cares. A sayonara party I didn’t want to miss didn’t start till nine andthe place I usually stay was full. So on a whim I decided to seek help fromthe Tokyu people who now run the Club’s restaurants.
“We’d be delighted,” was the immediate response from Kenji Itakura,manager of international sales & marketing at Tokyu Hotels. “We want tointroduce FCCJ Members to all our properties, so where would you liketo stay?”
My sensible intent had been the Atagoyama Tokyu Inn, the better-thanaverage business hotel handily located near Kamiyacho Stn. Or perhaps the
mid-market Akasaka Excel
Hotel Tokyu, conveniently
on top of Akasaka-mitsuke
Stn. But caught up in the
moment, I blurted out,
“Why not the Capitol
Tokyu?” The ¥22,000
special offer for FCCJ
Members was a bit beyond
my budget, but I thought,
what the hell?
Checking in, I was
charmed to find myself
upgraded to the nicest hotel
The lobby of the Capitol Tokyu
room I’ve ever stayed in,with huge windows thatoffered a stunning view of the Kantei, Diet and Imperial Palace with Mount
Tsukuba in the distance. With work still to do I was glad to find an ample deskand (unlike the nickel-and-diming Westin) free high-speed internet. Even
better was the spacious shower with nozzles coming from all directions.
The old and much-loved Capitol Tokyu – with windows that opened andBeatles-slept-here cachet – was a hard act to beat. With its confusing lobbies,
the new Capitol may not inspire love at first sight but the garden view frommy table and the best-ever Western breakfast in Japan won my heart.
Okay, so not everyone can expect such an upgrade. But Itakura-sanand his team are working on ways to make a wide range of benefits
accessible to FCCJ Members. In a nutshell, we are entitled to two streams
of preferential treatment: one individual, the other corporate.
Individuals can get the Tokyu Comfort Member card. And where mere
mortals pay to join, FCCJ Members get it free, along ¥500 worth of points
just for filling out the form available at the Club’s Front Desk. When
reserving online or by phone, your Comfort Member number will get you
lowest rates on all Tokyu Hotel properties, plus points for your spending.
The FCCJ’s membership in Tokyu’s corporate program is accessed
through an online password entrusted to our Front Desk staff. Along with
rates comparable to the individual program, booking via the corporatechannel gets you preferential booking when everything is fully booked – adefinite plus when visiting Kyoto in high season. What’s more, you don’t
have to enroll. The Front Desk staff can reserve for anyone they deem partof the FCCJ family. Ask them for further info.
For Members who live out of town, for those traveling around thecountry or for alumni returning to visit Tokyo, our new Tokyu privileges
probably represent good value. So consider picking up a Comfort
Member application next time you pass the Front Desk.

– John R. Harris

4

FCCJ

Steve McClure bites into Bento.com and finds a tasty treat
PERUSING ONLINE
restaurant guide Bento.
com, I became awareof a nagging, gnawing
sensation: hunger.
You can read only
so many restaurant
reviews describing thegastronomic pleasureson offer at the manyfine eateries in Tokyo and other major
Japanese cities before the gastric juices
start flowing and the need to noshbecomes uncontrollable.
Bento.com is aimed at people hungry
for information about dining in Japan,
and the info it serves up scores highmarks in terms of fairness and reliability.
It is without question the best Englishlanguage site of its kind (it also publishes
reviews in Japanese).
It is selective and subjective bydefinition, but for the most part therestaurants reviewed on bento.com are
well-chosen and fairly assessed. The site’s
been going since 1994 and now lists
more than 2,000 restaurants, izakaya andbars in Tokyo and Yokohama, as well as
500 establishments in Kansai.
Bento.com says its reviewers raterestaurants “anonymously andimpartially” and that the site doesn’t
accept advertising from restaurants. Sohigh marks for credibility.
Bento.com editor Robb Satterwhiteand his team of food critics write in a
simple, accessible style. There’s none ofthe pretentious gastro-snobbery thatfood writers all too often indulge in.
Instead, they deliver the straight goods
when you’re weighing dining options– giving praise when praise is due andnot mincing words when they find fault
with a restaurant or bar. The site is acornucopia of information not just about
restaurants, but all aspects of eating anddrinking in Japan, including recipes forthe culinarily adventurous.
Bento.com appears to have been patched
together over the years and can be a bitof a labyrinth to navigate. The site could
do with a makeover to make it moreuser-friendly, but that’s a relatively minor
quibble considering the wealth of useful
info available on the Bento.com menu.
There’s an abundance of search options,

FCCJ

which is very helpful.
Cross-links between the
English and Japanesereviews of the same
restaurants on the PC
version of the site would
also help (there are such
links on the mobile
version, however).
A site like Bento.com
obviously can’t hope to rate every single
dining or drinking establishment inTokyo or other Japanese cities, where thededicated trencherman (or woman) is
spoiled for choice several times over. But
why does Carmine, one of Tokyo’s best
Italian restaurants (in my semi-informed
opinion) get just a one-sentence
description informing us that it is “thehome base and launching pad of one ofTokyo’s most famous Italian chefs?”
And why isn’t Popeye – offering themost extensive selection of Japanese
craft beers of any Tokyo beer bar – notincluded in the section on brewpubs andbeer bars, along with the many othermore mediocre establishments? (There is,however, a review and news about Popeye
in Bento.com’s “Brews News” section.) I was
surprised to see just how many Belgianbeer bars there are, by the way. No fewer
than seven “Brussels” bars have now
sprouted up in Tokyo, for example.
The “Special Features” section lists
various restaurants and bars according
to criteria such as the view they offer,late-night opening hours, Wi-Fi
accessibility, pet-friendliness and nonsmoking environments. Information
on wheelchair access would also be agood idea. Each review has a Google
Map feature showing how to find theestablishment being rated, which isextremely useful. Also cool are theglossaries of Japanese food terms, suchas this guide to yakitori: http://bento.
com/rf_yaki.html. Photos of the foodsampled by bento.com’s intrepid reviewers
would be helpful as well, but that could
blow their cover, I suppose.
So kudos to bento.com for providing agreat public service. It’s a site to dine for. ❶Discount LexisNexis
Subscriptions
for FCCJ Members
The FCCJ is pleased to offer
members a substantial discount on
subscriptions to LexisNexis’ news
database service, Nexis.com
The Members-only deal
allows for flat-rate access at¥7,900 per month – offering
big savings on a service that
normally costs ¥126,000 per month

The service will be billed by theClub. The FCCJ benefits from all
subscriptions sold under thisarrangement.
Nexis provides access to news andinformation from more than 34,000
sources, including Kyodo News, Jiji,
Yonhap, Xinhua, AP, Reuters, AFP,
all major world newspapers andspecialist news sources. Also
included is a database of U.S. andinternational company information,
biographical databases, country
profiles and a U.S. legal database.

For those already in on the secret,the application form is available
on the FCCJ website or from the
19F Club office.

Steve McClure publishes the online music-industry
newsletter McClureMusic.com. He has lived in Tokyo
since 1985.

5

NEWS

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

back.” Readers will still be picking up The
Japan Times from kiosks. “We are very confident,” he says, that the venture will be“beneficial” to readers of both papers.
The stakes are high. Like all Englishlanguage publications in Japan, andindeed most print ventures, readers havebeen deserting The Japan Times print version
for years. Circulation peaked in 1991 at
71,000 and had fallen to 40,000 when
No.1 Shimbun interviewed then President
Yukiko Ogasawara in 2007.
“We are pretty much plateauing on thebottom,” she said at the time. “Hopefully
we won’t go down any more than this. Six
years later, her successor says circulation
is holding at “around 28,000” copies aday. Ogasawara was replaced last year.
“The market for print newspapers isvery clearly contracting,” accepts Tsutsumi.
“We had to respond to these circumstances and decided that the International New YorkTimes would complement the kind of content we provide in The Japan Times. Our readers will continue to enjoy our coverage ofJapan and they will also get the rebranded

years ago, after being swelled by thousands of free giveaways to airlines – anddespite being cheaper than The Japan Times.
In an effort to get some traction in amarket that has slipped relentlessly southfor over a decade, The Daily Yomiuri wasreborn on April 1 as The Japan News.
The makeover was accompanied by atypically portentous announcement thatJapan faced a “challenge” over its ability to “communicate about itself to theworld.” The newspaper promised to be“more active than before” in “our pursuit of enhancing knowledge and understanding of Japan. We consider this tobe a social mission of The Japan News.” A
new website – http://the-japan-news.com –dropped the Yomiuri title altogether.
If bets were placed on which newspaper would survive, the odds would surely
favor the Yomiuri’s Japan News, partly becauseof its quasi-official role as the voice ofJapan in a region where China is producing increasingly slick English-language
publications – but mostly because of its
deep pockets. One indication of the com-

Mainichi newspaper went online in 2001,
gutting its editorial division and leaving behind the skeleton-staffed http://mainichi.jp/english/. The Nikkei still publishes an English-language tabloid weekly,
but long ago abandoned plans for a daily
and is represented globally by the subscriber-only Nikkei.com.
The Japan Times, although still stubbornly
broadsheet, also maintains a free websitethat averages 900,000 unique users permonth. The site was completely rebuilt
this year, partly to make it more responsive to the growing number of smart
devices now used to access it. But online
advertising revenue is still a fraction of its
hardcopy equivalent.
Still, Tsutsumi says the company will
stick with paper, for now. “We…think
there is still scope to try new things in
the print realm and, hopefully, to increase
print circulation. That is the reason we
have tied up with INYT.” The newspaper’s
team says it has not yet settled on a coverprice, but is keen to not stray too far fromthe current ¥180.

MORALE AMONG STAFF AT THE NEWSPAPER TODAY IS REPORTEDLY LOW,THOUGH THE INYT PARTNERSHIP HAS GIVEN JOURNALISTS A LIFT

JAPAN’S ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS TWISTAND TURN AS THEY TRY TO STOP WHAT APPEARS TO BE
THE TERMINAL DECLINE OF THEIR PRINT EDITIONS

Race to the bottom
by David McNeill

Later this year, Japan’s oldest and best English-language daily will drop throughletterboxes with the added heft of the mostprestigious name in American journalism.
The Japan Times/International New YorkTimes will have two combined sections,
one edited here in Tokyo, the other inthe global offices of the International New
York Times (the new name for the International Herald Tribune). Despite the apparently
mismatched pairing, the JT will remain“proudly independent” said its president,

6

Takeharu Tsutsumi, in a press release, calling it an “important step” in the newspaper’s 116-year-old history. (Full disclosure: I am a contributor to The Japan Times.)
But wait, haven’t we been here before?
Twelve years ago, Asahi Shimbun shut down
the Asahi Evening News and launched a loudly ballyhooed joint venture with the IHT,
also “uniting some of the finest names
and the highest standards of journalism,”said the glossy press kit.
The result was a sort of frankenpaper,

inelegantly bolting two separate publications together, complete with overlapping
stories and editorials. It juddered to a halt,
unloved in 2011, and the Asahi went online.
The new publication will be different,
insists President Tsutsumi. For one thing,
the name is the New York Times, not the IHT,
he says. And instead of the single-section
Asahi/IHT paper, with the Asahi in theback, “we will be publishing a two-section newspaper, with our section being
in the front and the INYT section in the

FCCJinternational edition of one of the mostrespected newspapers in the world.”
Observers have long wondered when
his newspaper’s parent company Nifco
Inc., a manufacturer of plastic parts andcomponents, might cut its losses and run,an option Ogasawara (daughter of Nifco
Chairman Toshiaki) insisted was not on
the table. “We are very passionate about
this project,” she said. “What The Japan Times
allows for Nifco is a certain exposure andconnection to the society of Japan.”Morale among staff at the newspaper
today is reportedly low, though the INYT
partnership has given journalists a lift,
said one source, who spoke anonymously. “There is a sense that there might besome impact from a professional organization and that some of it might rub off
on us. The big worry is repeating news
– if we’re covering the same stuff people
are not sure how that’s going to work.”
Not that the situation over at the newspaper’s main competitor in Ginza is muchbetter. The Yomiuri Shimbun’s English-language daily is bleeding about $3 million
a year, according to insiders, though that’s
half its losses in 2010, before it launcheda cull of editors and writers. Official circulation fell below 30,000 about three

FCCJ

pany’s financial health is the constructionof a new headquarters in Otemachi, at areported cost of around $600 million.
For all its resources, however, The Yomiuri
is saddled with a major handicap, points
out Mark Austin, an editor and journalist
who left the paper in 2010. “The main
problem, as was the case for the last several years of The Daily Yomiuri’s life, is that
virtually all domestic news is translated
from the parent paper,” he says. “No matter how talented the translators and copy
editors are, this means that The Japan News,
like its predecessor, has no soul.”
As for the Asahi Shimbun, its evolution
may prove to be the most intriguing ofall. This month the company formed a
digital joint venture with The Huffington Post,
bringing together one of the most staid if
venerated names in print news with perhaps the most successful modern online
upstart. Huffington claims 46 million visitors a month with a controversial formulathat relies heavily on cannibalized content
and views rather than the costly, gumshoe
reporting of old. The venture will launch
its first edition, in Japanese, on May 7.
With the under-30s now seldom
inclined to buy a newspaper, the march
to cyberspace seems unstoppable. The

The newspaper is partly resting its
hopes on a rise in subscription sales, tied
to the NYT. “We intend to start accepting the kind of long-term subscriptions
that IHT currently accepts,” says Tsutsumi – six- and twelve-months, in addition to one month. Subscribers will havefree access to the NYT.com and the Times’
applications. “We think those will greatly
enhance the value of our product, too.”
Avoiding the same fate as The Asahi,
however, will not be easy. Sources at the
The Japan Times say they are expecting a raftof changes in the coming months as they
prepare for the tie-up. The changes aremainly thought to involve more focus
on domestic material and more freelance
commissions, and a shift away from foreign coverage where the paper cannot
hope to compete with its U.S. partner.
One source said the paper’s staff ismoving ahead with their heads heldhigh but under no illusions about whatmight lie ahead. “It’s a delicate time.
There are mixed feelings about what isgoing on.” ❶David McNeill writes for The Independent, The Economist,
The Chronicle of Higher Education and other publications.
He has been based in Tokyo since 2000.

7

of in o Ano
Cl ur thproub M seri erfile em ess ber

PROFILE

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

Lucy Birmingham
by Bob NeffS

pend an hour speaking with Club
Director-at-Large Lucy Birmingham,Time magazine’s Tokyo reporter, andyou’re bound to hear the word “serendipity” several times. That’s because Lucy
thinks this is how she became one of theClub’s most successful freelancers, forget about her talent and determination.
Her story should serve as inspiration anddirection for many of our members.

night I had to borrow 100 yen from afriend to get home.”
In the late 1980s she heard that BusinessWeek’s photo editor was visiting Japan insearch of photographers. So she went out
and bought some Japanese magazines toshow him what photos of Japan looked
like. “That got my toe in the water aheadof other competitors,” she says. They
hired her as their main photographer andThen serendipity struck again – theTohoku earthquake and tsunami. Timemagazine had closed its Tokyo bureau,
along with many media outlets. Lucy had
begun writing for Time.com as a stringer
in January 2011, and leapt at the chance
to help them cover the disaster. That led
to her co-authoring a book with Club
colleague David McNeill, the criticallyacclaimed Strong in the Rain, about the disas-

ANDREW POTHECARY‘I WAS ALWAYS BROKE, EATING DONUTS AND CUPNOODLE TO SURVIVE. ONE NIGHT I HAD TO BORROW
100 YEN FROM A FRIEND TO GET HOME.’

8

FCCJ

Lucy was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and is a graduate in communications
from George Washington University inWashington, D.C. In 1980 she went to
Kyoto to briefly visit a friend, but liked
it so much she decided to stay. She foundwork as an English teacher and hostess.
(Her blonde hair didn’t hurt). But she
also drew upon her childhood fascination
with photos and her minor in photography at college to venture into writing andpicture-taking.
After more than two years in Kyoto
she took off for a year-long trip around
Asia as a backpacker. “That’s probably thebest thing I’ve ever done,” she reflects. “Ilearned about life. It was a much better
education than going to graduate school.”
It was in 1984 that she went back to theStates and reconnected with her family. But
she couldn’t shake Japan. So after a year she
found herself in Tokyo and “serendipitously” landed a freelance string in the mid’80s with the global photo agency Gamma
Presse through its veteran Japan rep andClub member Kaku Kurita.
“I learned on the job,” Lucy recalls. “Itwas very tough. Lots of heavy equipment
and on-the-spot shooting.” But royalties
from Gamma were not enough to pay
the rent, so she pursued other opportunities such as the New York Times and theclassic photo album A Day in the Life ofJapan. Still, there were days she couldn’t
afford to eat. “I was always broke, eating
donuts and Cup Noodle to survive. One

FCCJ

helped get her a working visa. “BusinessWeek was the savior of my photographic
career. It launched me to a higher level. “Soon thereafter she married a Japanese
Harvard MBA who had high-flying jobs
with Western companies in Tokyo. They
had three children. “That thrust me into a
totally different scene,” she reflects. “Afterten years of scraping by as a photographer
it was a culture shock. I became the ultimate corporate wife.” She had to concentrate on being a homemaker and motherbut desperately wanted to continue links
to her former life. Throughout the 1990s
she was too busy with her young children
to visit the Club. Then one day she got acall from an FCCJ staffer asking if she wasstill a journalist. Although she had only
managed to continue with small writing
jobs, she said yes.
That led her to start frequenting theClub again. One day former FCCJ vicepresident Brad Martin, then a senior writer for Bloomberg, “serendipitously” suggested she contact Bloomberg headquarters in New York. They were starting a newarts and culture section called “Muse.” Shesoon became a regular Bloomberg contributor. One of her art stories was about
the late Donald Richie. She learned that
not only was he a great writer but alsoa very talented painter. After the Lehman
shock of 2008, Bloomberg throttled backon its use of freelancers.

ter aftermath, and to a continuing gig
with Time.
Meanwhile, Lucy continues to write fora variety of publications such as the Financial Times for their Japan business specials.
She also continues to write for NHK,
where she recently began co-anchoring abusiness program. Her perseverance, talent, and serendipity shine a path for otherresourceful journalists. ❶Previous profilee Pulitzered
One of a team of ten reporters — the others
were David Barboza, Keith Bradsher, Charles
Duhigg, David Kocieniewski, Steve Lohr, John
Markoff, David Segal, David Streitfeld, andBill Vlasic — Hiroko Tabuchi was among thewinners of the staff of The New York Timesfor EXPLANATORY REPORTING.
The Pulitzer board honored a series of
10 articles about the business practicesof Apple and other technology companies.
The series, titled “The iEconomy,” included
articles on how American manufacturers lostout on iPhone work to cheaper factories in
China as well as on the surprisingly meager
pay of Apple’s 30,000 retail workers in the
United States. Keith Bradsher, 48, one of thereporters, said the series was not just about
working conditions in China but also about‘whether the U.S. could be a competitive
place to make things.’

Bob Neff is a former FCCJ president

9IN MEMORIAM

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013S

am Jameson, former president of
the FCCJ and life member of theClub, died on April 19 in Tokyo of a
stroke. He was 76.
Sam first joined the Club in 1963
when he arrived here as the first
Tokyo bureau chief of the Chicago
Tribune. He then moved to the Los
Angeles Times as Tokyo bureau chief in1971. Before getting elected as Club
president in1973 he served on several
committees and spent two terms as
Secretary and one term as chairmanof the FPIJ. One of his proudest
achievements was helping to arrange
the first-ever formal press conferenceof the Showa Emperor with the foreignpress in 1971. Since leaving the L.A.
Times in 1996 he worked as a freelancer
until his stroke.
Sam was born in Pittsburgh, PA.,on Aug. 9, 1936, and graduated from
Northwestern University’s school ofjournalism. He worked at the head
office of the Chicago Tribune for one
year before being drafted into the U.S.
Army. That brought him to Tokyo,
where he worked for Pacific Stars andStripes from November 1960. He served
as everything from copy editor tonews editor until his discharge fromthe army in 1962, then received an
extended leave of absence to remain in
Japan and continue studying Japanese.
After about a year as a special student
at the Tokyo University of Foreign
Studies, he was recalled to Chicago for
consultations at the Tribune’s head office
before coming to Tokyo as the paper’s
bureau chief in August, 1963. He lived
here ever since.
n Bob Neffof homework, whether for a press conference or the courtly grilling of fresh
bureaucrat over an elegant meal.
n Tracy Dahlby, Prof. of Journalism, U. of Texas
AFTER HE LEFT THE POSITION AS THE
LA Times Bureau Chief I was impressed thathe continued to turn up at FCCJ lunches
and, almost always, had a question; often
a fairly simple and basic one – because,
inevitably, he was not a specialist in manyof the topics covered – but perhaps all thebetter for that.
n Charles Smith, former Tokyo bureau chief,
Financial Times
WHEN HIS LA TIMES CAREER CAME TO
an end after a quarter century, I wasproud to bring him over to Asia Times forhis amakudari. His professional accomplishments – and friends in high places – are well known. Less well known
is his after-hours conviviality. I doubt
even Sam could count the number ofhole-in-the-wall nomiya where he wasenthusiastically welcomed. Wheneverhe said, “Let’s go for drinks,” I never saidno – and consequently never failed tolearn about a new and delightful place.
We’ll miss Sam.
n Bradley Martin, former Newsweek Tokyo
Bureau Chief

Remembering Sam
SAM WAS ONE OF MY CLOSEST FRIENDS.
I first met him when we were neophyte
journos in Chicago in 1960, and succeeded him – at his kind recommendation– as Far East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune when he moved to the LA Times in
1971. I maintained close contact with him
over the decades since. As a correspondent,
Sam focused on Japan but also visited Korea
quite often and ranged to SE Asia, including
Vietnam before “the fall” of Saigon in 1975.
He gave me invaluable material re: the overthrow of Cambodia’s Prince Sihanouk for abook I did in 1971 and was generous withother insights, opinions as well.
n Don Kirk, Christian Science Monitor, Seoul
SAM MESMERIZED ME WITH HIS
knowledge of Japan and the Japanese
language. We officed next door to eachother in the Yomiuri Shimbun building and, through clouds of Golden Bat
smoke, I heard his views on every issueof the day. My life as both a reporterand a man was enriched by Sam’s com-10

panionship and collegiality. Some sortof award for committing journalism inJapan should be named after him.
n Mike “Buck”Tharp, FCCJ president, 1989-90
ONCE THERE WAS A BRIEFING FOR A
dozen reporters by either a senior LDP or
gaimusho official. Taizo Watanabe, (laterthe consul general in Los Angeles), wastranslating. At one point he uncertainly
looked to Sam after translating and said,“Was that right, Jameson-san?”n John Needham, former UPI,Tokyo
SAM WAS SINGLEHANDEDLY GRILLing a defense agency official at a fancy
bistro near the U.S. embassy one day
when he suddenly paused, aghast, to ask
why no one else was asking any questions. The truth of it was that Sam had
prepped so prodigiously he’d exhausted
all the obvious questions the rest of us
had in minutes flat, and was moving
boldly on his own into terra incognita.
Thanks Sam, for teaching me the value

FCCJ

TOWARDS THE END OF MY ASSIGNMENT
in Tokyo, he took me to his favorite haunt.
It was a bar that seated maybe five people.
There, with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, he finally seemed to truly
relax. It’s very sad to hear that he never had
the time to complete the book he had beenworking on for so long. I can still picture
the top shelf along the entire wall on one
side of our office that was stacked highwith files that he always said were for thatbook he would one day write. I imagine it
must have felt impossible to Sam that all

grab news from Japanese sources first
hand. On election night, he was glued to
TV reports and meticulously followed
the votes coming in for each candidate.
We stayed up all night in the office analyzing the results. While he spent a lotof time at work, he also knew how toenjoy his life – he had a good singing
voice and enjoyed singing at a Showaera retro bar with friends.
n Chiaki Kitada, LA Times bureau assistant,Tokyo
IT WAS SAID OF SAM JAMESON THAT HE
knew more about the workings of Japanesepolitics that any of the office-holders andspoke better Nihongo than some of them.
n Richard Pyle, former Asia News editor, AP“GENTLEMAN JOURNALIST” IS THE
phrase that comes to mind when I
think of Sam. He was a “gentle” man indemeanor but that did not prevent himfrom asking searching questions andbeing unrelenting until he got answers.
He would typically raise his hand toquestion a speaker at an FCCJ Professional Lunch, walk somewhat hesitantly to the microphone, disarm a speakerwith an innocent smile and then deliver
a question that would quickly cut the
ground from beneath the feet of any
dissembler. Toward the end of his life,
Sam decided to join those FCCJ Regularmembers who were taking legal action
to overturn Board actions which he saw
as deeply damaging to an institution
whose atmosphere and character he had
helped to mold over half a century.
n Anthony Rowley,Tokyo correspondent,
Business Times
SAM JAMESON, GEBHARD HIELSCHER
and I used to call ourselves “The Three
Stooges” (San Baka Taisho in Japanese, whichroughly means three big fools). This international trio of drinking buddies had one
thing in common – alove for izakaya where
they serve good sakeand yakitori, andSam was an expert infinding such joints. I
remember him talking about Japanese politics over a glass of Kokuryu from Fukui,
and it was like listening to Japan’s postwar
history. Sam, I will be drinking sake at oneof the places where the three big fools
spent an evening and think of you.
n Hideko Takayama, former Newsweek
reporter,Tokyo

SAM WAS A PHENOMENAL HUMAN BEING.
Henry Scott Stokes, freelance, Tokyo
his years in Japan and all those rich memories of reporting on a country and people
with whom he had gone through so much,
could ever possibly fit into a single volume.
Japan won’t be the same without him.
n Leslie Helm, former LA Times reporter, now
editor, Seattle Business Magazine
I WORKED FOR SAM FROM 1990 TO
1996 at the LA Times Tokyo Bureau as acoordinator and assistant. During theyears, I always admired his devotion to

FCCJ

A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, SAM
wrote me saying he knew I must havebeen disappointed in the Korean presi-

dential election result. I wrote backasking him why was it that at every
critical moment of history, the evil side
always won. He then asked me why Kim
Dae-Jung and Roh Moo-Hyun didn’t
make anything of their chances. I waswondering how to make him to see thatthose ten years were only a fraction of
our sixty-year modern history. . . . Now,
I’ll never finish that discussion, which I
know Sam would have loved to pursue.
n Jungnam Chi, former LA Times
correspondent, Seoul.
SAM AND I HAD A SHARED INTEREST
in Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois, since we were both alumni of theschool’s graduate program at the Medill
School of Journalism. Sam was always aserious and meticulous journalist, but healways had time for his other passion –softball. He was an enthusiastic memberof the FCCJ Alleycats.
n Mel Tsuji, prof. Seneca College, former CBC-TV
writer/producer
AFTER THE FAMOUS OCT. 22, 1974
FCCJ luncheon for Tanaka Kakuei, I
remember Sam rushing out after theluncheon to get his hands on the original Japanese text of the Bungei Shunju article which had fueled some rather rudeand very direct questioning of Tanaka
at the luncheon – and which led to his
downfall two months later. I doubt if
anyone else there that day had shownsuch zeal; most had been very happy
just to go with the condensed Englishlanguage version they had before them.
It epitomized not only Sam’s ability tohandle Japanese (though he spoke itwith a rather daunting accent) but also
his emphasis on getting the facts rightbefore writing. Sam for me, as for quite
a few others I suspect, was the gold
standard for reportage out of Japan.
n Greg Clark, former Tokyo bureau head,
The Australian
SAM WAS SIX MONTHS YOUNGER THAN
me, but my senior by six years as FCCJ
member, and by many more years as ajournalist. We became close through Club
politics, and continued as close personal
friends after retiring from Club politics (see Hideko Takayama’s note above).
When Sam was Club president, I was 2nd
vice-president in charge of personnel.
Together we transformed the Club’s staff
policy from post-occupation flavor to amore equitable relationship. We’ll missyou, Sam!
n Gebhard Hielscher, former Tokyo correspondent,
Suddeutsche Zeitung

11

SWADESH DEROY SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Shinchimachi Storyby Allison KwesellT

he winner of this year’s Swadesh Deroy Scholarship is Allison Kwesell, a graduate
student at the International Christian University, hailing from the U.S. Ms.
Kwesell’s entry was a photo documentary of the town of Shinchimachi, 50 km
north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
Akira Nagakura, chief member of the selection committee, remarked on thehigh quality of the photographs and the precise captions that captured the life of a
Fukushima town. He also said, “The pictures were taken over the course of several
trips. This kind of hard work resulted in a report that was of higher quality than theothers. It’s the kind of on-the-spot report that journalists respect.”
The annual scholarship, worth ¥300,000 for the First Prize, is given to support
university students interested in a career in journalism. ❶12

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

Above: Checking on strawberries grownat the temporary housing community.
Shinmachi is known for its figs, flatfish,
apples and strawberries.
Facing page, clockwise from top:
Headlamps light the trail of Mt. Karou on
New Years Day; Waiting for the New Yearsun to rise on Mt. Karou; Rain boots line the
shelves of Shinchimachi Preschool; A tearfalls from a child’s eye while wind gusts
blow across her face at an AKB 48 charity
concert. (The area is known for gusts ofheavy wind, known as Karou Oroshi. It
was this wind that blew radiation awayfrom the town, just 50km north of the
Fukushima Daiichi reactor; Children havemorning exercise and a summer homework
workshop from 6:30 to 7:00 am.

FCCJ

FCCJ EXHIBITION: The Japonism of Paper
Shu Kubo dyes washi paper and creates his original “mixed media” works: a combination ofmaterials such as pastel, acrylic paint, fabric, sand and western papers together with washi.
His work becomes three-dimensional through the layering of multiple thin washi. His themes
include “seasonal traditions” and “food in season.”In the spring of 2008, Kubo held a highly acclaimed New York exhibition. The following
year, his kirie (cut paper) work brought him back to the city as a special advisor for Japan's
Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Since 2010, through the Japan Foundation’s cultural exchange
program, his activities have expanded to Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, Malaysia, Ukraine
and Russia. Last year, he was the principal artist for Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Centennialcelebration and his work was shown in the Empire State Building lobby gallery. ❶Shu Kubo was born in 1951, and held his first solo exhibition in Osaka in 1977.

FCCJ

13

POLITICS

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

IF ANYONE CAN CRACK THE CEILING THAT STANDS BETWEEN A WOMANAND JAPAN’S PRIME MINISTER’S POST, IT MIGHT BE THIS LDP STALWART

Seiko Noda: Japan’s Iron Lady?
by Suvendrini Kakuchi

Liberal Democratic Party member
Seiko Noda is Prime Minister Shintaro Abe’s kanban, or “billboard,” in his
much-touted platform for reform. She
is head of the influential LDP General
Council, a top policy position. She isalso charming, a veteran politician and apassionate speaker for rectifying Japan’s
gender malaise.
“The key to growth in Japan is diversity, and this means creating opportunities for women to become leaders,”
she said at a professional luncheon at
the FCCJ recently. Then she went on tounveil a dramatic remedy – she wants tousher in a legally enforceable quota of
40 percent for women employees and areward system for companies that meetthe requirement.
The reasoning is plain and simple, she
explained, pointing out how Japan’s maledominated corporations are led by revisionresistant salarymen. “To get them to accept
gender equality would become much easierif there was a law to follow,” she said.
Noda, 53, who has been touted in thepast as having the potential to become
Japan’s first female leader, is cleverly tying
gender equality to national goals. The
ruling LDP’s Abenomics has implemented drastic changes to boost
Japan’s economic might now
facing stiff competition froma richer and more confident
Asia. Noda believes that
this is a timely opportunity that must not be
missed.
She believes the battle
to revive growth islinked to the criticalneed to shore up the

Seiko Noda speaking
at the FCCJ

country’s dwindling population – andthat means turning the spotlight on giving women fair and equal chances. “Providing women with lives they are comfortable with is a priority in populationand economic recovery,” she said.
Noda quoted some somber statistics:
at today’s rate of 1.3 babies per woman,
Japan’s population within the next 100
years could drop to just 30 million fromthe current 126 million. She believes thatthe logic clearly calls for finally dumping
Japan’s deeply entrenched gender bias.
She hasn’t hesitated from facing up toeven the most entrenched foes, and haseven tackled the Keidanren. She does,
however, have plenty of solidarity – Goldman Sachs reported last year that by better
utilizing its population of working women, Japan could expand its gross domestic
product by as much as 15 percent.
Noda, now in her seventh term, entered
the world of grim politics as the daughterof a LDP politician from Gifu. She won
her first seat in 1993. “I arrived in parliament at a time when women colleagues
were extremely rare. The hardest partfor me was that I just did not have a rolemodel,” she said.
Not that much has changed.
When the LDP pushedaside the Social Democrats in last year’s
Lower House election,
only 38 women
were elected to the
480-seat chamber.
But Noda is doing
her best to remedy the situation.
Along with Sanae
Takaiuchi,
thehead of the LDP Research Council, they
represent the first female appointments
to these important political positions, achange she seizes to showcase reform in
conservative LDP policies. “My position
is an important indication of prime minister, Shinzo Abe’s intentions to support
women,” she told the audience.
Noda’s political career is characterized
by some striking landmarks: her decision in 2005 to resign from the LDP toprotest the privatization of the postal system, a ministry she headed at the age of37, proved a severe career test. More so
has been her advocacy to permit married
couples to keep their maiden surnames, a
proposal she clings to despite its repeatedrejection by her own party.
Still, perhaps the most revolutionaryof her actions while in office has been to
publicize her fertility treatments documented in a book published in 2004,
named Watashi wa Umitai (“I want to givebirth”). This and the birth of her son at
the age of 50, a process that required
her to seek ova from a third party in the
U.S., finally turned the spotlight on older
women seeking reproductive assistance.
Japanese laws do not permit surrogate
mothers, another archaic law steeped in
gender discrimination.
How has Noda managed in a country
where women, even those who share her
sharp intellect and personal charm, report
bitter struggles? She offers no hard andfast answers. Rather, the woman who says
she was inspired by Margaret Thatcher toenter politics, exudes personal courage,
honesty and determination, traits that are
essential tools for any woman who wants
to get ahead.
Take, for instance, her story of being
able to hold on to her seat in Gifu, locatedin the heart of central Japan and hardly afeminist paradise. “The secret to winning a
Japanese election is not the party but yourlarge association of supporters. It is crucial
to raise the necessary funds, and this is amost daunting task for women who do nothave the kind of financial network that isavailable to men,” she explained.
Her success in competing on such adifficult stage has won her large numbersof female fans in Japan. A young Japanesejournalist vigorously typing on her laptopthat afternoon at the FCCJ, summed it all
up: “Noda encourages women in Japanbecause she displays strength and clarity;
she does not fall into the typical female
image of coy and cute.” ❶Suvendrini Kakuchi is a Sri Lankan reporter for Inter
Press Service, and a regular commentator for Japanesepublications and television.

14

FCCJ

NATIONAL SECURITY

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

THE INCREASING TENSION WITH JAPAN’S NEIGHBORS IS
BEING EXAMINED FOR ITS POTENTIAL SECURITY IMPACT

Defense report targets China and North Korea
by Julian RyallOver the past quarter-century, thedefense and security situation acrosseast Asia has been transformed by a worrying proliferation of advanced missile
systems and nuclear weapons.
Since 1996, it has been the task of The
National Institute for Defense Studies, athink-tank affiliated with Japan’s Ministry of Defense, to monitor the changes
in the nation’s neighbors and to analyze
their potential impact on this country. The
institute’s latest report, released on March
29, once again made sobering readingwhen it was unveiled to members of theClub at a press conference one day aheadof the official release.
The report, for the first time, examined the security and foreign policies ofIndia and Australia as they increasingly
become enmeshed in the military affairsof the region. But inevitably it is China
and North Korea that attract the greatest
attention and concern.
The study admits that current tensions
between Tokyo and Beijing were triggeredby last year’s move by Shintaro Ishihara,then Tokyo governor, to purchase the Senkaku Islands. “China reacted furiously to[Ishihara’s] announcement on April 16
of his prefecture’s proposal to buy theislands and to the Japanese government’s
decision on Sept. 11 to purchase three of
the islands,” the report says
But the NIDS analysts believe a diplomatic assault on the sovereignty of theislands was already being plotted. “Theactions that China subsequently took
clearly reveal that it was already meticulously planning measures for advancing
its claim over the Senkakus from a very
early stage,” the study claims. “China has
used the same approach with regard to
the South China Sea and shows no hesitation in carrying out actions that cause
friction with its neighbors.”
Dr. Eiichi Katahara, director of theRegional Studies Department of the NIDS
and editor-in-chief of the report, said thatJapan’s responses throughout the ongoing
dispute have been measured and appro-

priate. “The Japanese government’s stanceis that long-term, strategically mutual relations will benefit both sides and they wantto make sure that individual issues do notruin the overall relationship,” he said.
Dr. Katahara added that he believes
dialogue between the leaders of the twonations could lead to a resolution of manyof the problems that continue to bedevil
the relationship. He pointed out that theefforts Prime Minister Shinzo Abe madeto improve ties the last time he was leaderof Japan, in 2007, mean that Beijing mayvery well be anticipating some sort of“breakthrough in bilateral relations.”
While showing that he is happy to talk,however, Abe has already stated that hewill revise the National Defense Program
Guidelines drawn up by the previous
Democratic Party of Japan administration.
The report states that “the strengtheningof Japan’s defense posture in the southwestern islands will continue to be one of
the most important issues.”
In addition to improved intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, “It
has become imperative to strengthen seamless deterrence and response
capabilities
through
improvementofthe Self-Defense
Forces’ mobile
deployment
capabilities
and in preparationfor
more intense
conflicts.”

Beyond that, the SDF requires improved
amphibious capabilities and enhanced air
defenses, at the same time as the “resiliency” of bases used by the SDF and US
military is stepped up.
The report touched on suggestions that
China is attempting to build closer relations with Russia and to access advanced
technology, such as the recently reported deal to purchase Sukhoi-35 fighters,
although a NIDS analyst suggested Moscow is actually becoming increasingly
wary about China and its ambitions, andthat there is a long way to go before Moscow agrees to the transaction taking place.
North Korea similarly took up a largepart of the annual study, with Hiroyasu
Akutsu, a North Korea analyst at the institute, expressing concern that while Beijing appears to be taking a “strict stance”
with Pyongyang over its recent missileand nuclear tests, there is no guaranteethat will last.
“China has acted strictly in the past,
such as in 2009 when North Korea carried out a missile launch and its second
nuclear test,” he pointed out. “China atthat time signed resolution 1874 in the
United Nations Security Council, but
five months later it was back supporting
North Korea again.
“For China, the top priority is thestability of the region and they do
not want to take any actions that willlead to the collapse of North Korea,
so they are being very careful,” hesuggested. ❶Eiichi Katahara at the Club

Julian Ryall is Japan correspondent for
The Daily Telegraph.

FCCJ

15

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

AS PAPERS SHRINK ELSEWHERE, TWO DECADES OF DOUBLE-DIGITGROWTH HAVE INDIA PRINTING 330 MILLION NEWSPAPERS A DAY

Boomtime for South Asian newspapers
by Monzurul Huq

I

t is a rare occasion these days for journalists in the mature economies tohear a newspaper boss boast of doubledigit growth in circulation and advertising revenue. So it was an attentive audience that greeted Siddarth Varadarajan,
editor of The Hindu, India’s number-two
English-language daily at a March 29
FCCJ lunch.
In Japan, daily newspaper circulation
has fallen by seven million over the pastdozen years to 47.7 million in 2012. But

decades. And that has boosted the fortunes of newspapers across the region.
A veteran of several Indian publications, including the Times of India, who was
appointed editor of The Hindu two years
ago, Varadarajan said although the region
still lags by many measures, growth hasbrought benefits that are helping overcome obstacles that kept the region static
for many years. Per capita income is on
the rise everywhere in the region, both inreal and nominal terms; more children are

WHEN SUBSCRIBERS FINISH WITH THE PAPER THEY CANNEARLY RECOVER THE FULL PRICE FROM A RECYCLER
decline at that pace seems modest compared with North America and Europe
where long-established titles have ceased
to publish or moved online. Overseas
news bureaus being the first in line forbudget cuts, FCCJ members have been
particularly hard-hit.
In South Asia there is an entirely different reality, as Varadarajan
explained. The world’s mostpopulous region with wellover 1.5 billion people
in six nations, most oftheSubcontinenthas
enjoyedrobust economic growth overthe past twogoing to school; and women are joining
the workforce, thus raising their staturein the family. He cited all these among thefactors helping papers in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and smaller regional nations
to significantly expand circulation.
After a decade and a half of spectacular growth, The Hindu, with circulation at
1.3 million, is now number twoamong India’s English dailies.
Fifteen years ago daily circulation was a mere 200,000
copies. First published in
1874, it is India’s oldest
surviving English daily,
and Varadarajan is probably justified in claiming it is the nation’s mostSiddarth Varadarajan at the Club

respected national newspaper. It contrast
to most national media, which are basedin Delhi or Mumbai, The Hindu is headquartered in Chennai, the southern city
formerly known as Madras.
Its archrival Times of India recently passed
2 million to become the world’s best-selling English-language newspaper, narrowly ahead of USA Today. Vernacular dailies are
faring even better, with the largest Hindi
paper moving almost 6 million copies. All
told, more than 330 million newspapers
circulate each day in India – more than in
any other country.
Varadarajan said ad revenue hassoared along with double-digit economic growth – a trend he does not see
as entirely healthy since newspapers are
increasingly vulnerable to pressure fromthe business community. Then again, subscription revenues cover only five percent
of production costs. Each copy of The
Hindu costs 25 rupees (about ¥45) to produce, but subscribers pay just 3.50.
Other South Asian nations are following the same trend with equal vigor. In
Bangladesh, Daily Prothom Alo (the paper I
represent in Japan) leads the pack in circulation with more than 600,000 copies daily. Given that the paper was only
launched in 1998, its growth curve has
been steep. In the early 1990s Bangladesh
had only a single daily with circulation
above 100,000. After two decades of phenomenal growth, six dailies now circulate
more than 100,000 copies.
South Asia’s circulation figures areeven more significant considering thata single newspaper is often read by up
to 100 people in tea shops that provide
patrons with all the dailies. Home-delivered copies are similarly passed among
many family members. And as Varadarajan pointed out, once subscribers are
finished with the paper they can recovernearly the full subscription price by selling it to a recycler.
Varadarajan believes low subscription
cost is one reason why the internet will
not dislodge newspapers from the leading position they now enjoy. But he said
the trend to watch is the gradual migration from simple mobile phones – which
are now almost ubiquitous – to smartphones that make reading the news easier. He expects this will create a new generation of readers who bypass newsprint
altogether, just as millions in India wentstraight to mobile phones without everowning a landline. ❶Monzurul Huq represents the largest-circulation
Bangladeshi national daily, Prothom Alo. He was
FCCJ president 2009-2010.

16

FCCJ

CLUB NEWS

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

THE ENTIRE CLUB WILL SURELY MISS THE EFFERVESCENCE AND
DETERMINATION OF OUR LONG-TERM LIBRARIAN AND FRIEND

ALBERT SIEGEL

MEDIAGoodbye Nakayama-san!
by Haruko WatanabeSwimming a kilometer in her local
sports club each day has been just oneof the ways Kanako Nakayama has kept
herself fit for the demanding job of FCCJ
librarian for some 41 years. Nakayamasan, whom both journalists and associate
members love and respect, will happily
retire on May 31, at the age of 65.
Nakayama graduated from Hirosaki
University’s Faculty of Humanities in
1970, and was hired by Hitachi. But two
years later, she found an ad in the Asahi
Shimbun for the position of FCCJ librarian,and immediately applied for the position.
“I love reading books, and communicating in English,” she explained. She was
hired by the Club in 1972, and she has
worked in the library ever since.
The boundaries of her job stretch
beyond the ordinary duties of a librarian.
The Club librarian must be able to respondto inquiries, explain the use of databases
and wire services. She also helps members
get appointments with potential interview
subjects, and provides the logistics for ourBook Breaks and movie presentations.
One of her talents came in extremely
handy for many journalists in the wake of
the March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami
and nuclear disaster – her professionallyshrewd use of her Tohoku dialect in negotiating with local Fukushima officials.
“When I first made a call to the PTA
president of the Okawa Elementary School
to try to obtain the contacts of some ofthe victims, he just barked at me, “We’re

FCCJ

too busy! Don’t bother us anymore!”
Nakayama said. “But after I spoke to him
sympathetically, using my mild Aomori
accent, he began to soften his attitude. He
finally decided to release the names andaddresses for the Club’s journalists.
“For almost a year, my time was completely occupied assisting journalists with
their Tohoku coverage. I made all kinds ofphone calls, including to Onagawa officials, automotive parts manufacturers andnuclear power plant officials,” she went on.
She admits, however, feeling somewhat
guilty of taking advantage of her “mothertongue,” since she left Aomori decadesago, and has made her living in Tokyo
using standard Japanese hyojungo.
Helping supervise and support the
Library and Movie Committees found her
with the added responsibilities of arranging the Book Breaks and, until recently,
the movie sneak previews and screeningsof old, socially important films.
She cites the successful presentation of
the controversial film, The Cove, as an example of the FCCJ’s raison d’être: The FCCJ,
where News is Made. The documentary of
the killing of dolphins in the quiet cove ofTaichi, Wakayama Prefecture, was presented at the Club in 2009, attracting a capacity audience of 230. Both foreign and Japanese media widely covered the killing of
the dolphins and the controversial editingof the film. Nakayama stayed neutral andindependent in her role as a library professional, despite being repeatedly requested

to divulge her personal thoughts.
She has two favorite Book Breaks. One
was about The Thames and I, written by
Prince Hironomiya, and translated andpresented by Sir High Cortazzi in 2006.
The audience numbered 140, including
a number of British and Japanese diplomats. The other was by Donald Keeneon his book in 2011, Chronicles of My Life,
which was attended by 210.
Among the unforgettable subjects ofsearches that Nakayama remembers was
the search for WWII veterans. “Most of
the old soldiers were over ninety, so it wasa race against time.”
Another was the search for small autoparts manufacturers in the Toyota recallcase. “The manufacturers insisted that
if the interviews went wrong, that theywould effectively be hanging themselves,” she said. “But I never give up. I
was determined to help the journalists
and was finally able to persuade them toaccept the interviews.”
Nakayama believes there’s plenty ofwork remaining in the FCCJ library. “Wehave very rare clippings, books and photos
that have been inherited from our members,” she said. “Some of our reference
books on international relations between
Asia and Japan date back over 100 years.
These must be saved and digitalized for theuse of present and future members.”
She pointed out how the historianManabu Yokohama dug out a document
showing Gen. Douglas MacArthur, theSupreme Commander of the Allied Forcesof occupied Japan, paying a visit to the
Shinto shrine, Kamakura Hachimangu in
Sept. 1945 a month after he landed at the
Atsugi Airfield as the conqueror of Japan.
Some things have changed, however.
“Since member now do a lot of their own
researching by internet, the librarians
don’t get as many inquiries as in the past,”
Nakayama said. “We should arrange to letmembers use our computers and otherfacilities. I’d like to even propose expanding the work spaces in the workroom andthe library itself, by scrapping unused oldbooks and bookshelves.”
Asking her to stop thinking about theClub library may be difficult. So how will
she replace what has been on her agenda
for 40 years?
“I would like to spend more time with
my 92-year-old mother in Aomori,” shesaid, smiling. “And I will concentrate on myleadership of the exercise walking group in
Koto-ku, where I make my home.” ❶Haruko Watanabe is former Tokyo Bureau Chief of thePress Foundation of Asia and producer of the “Women
Pioneers” video series

17

BACK PAGE

Number 1 Shimbun | May 2013

NEW MEMBERS
Born in Tokyo in 1941, SATORU MISHIMA joined Nikkei Inc. in1964 as a news photographer. There he covered a variety of news
moments, domestic and international, including the Asama-Sanso
incident and the JAL crash on Mt. Osutaka. In 1994 he transferredto Nikkei BP. While taking architectural and aerial photos for Nikkei
Architecture, he broke new ground by daring to shoot people in his
architectural shots, a style that is now widely accepted. For several
years, he shot the cover photos of the Nikkei Business magazine, one of Japan’s mostinfluential and prestigious business magazines. Since 1989, he has photographed thePanasonic Corporation calendars, “Cities Bathed in Floodlight.” His works were thesubject of two exhibitions at the FCCJ, in Jan. 2004 and July 2011.
REGULAR MEMBERASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Satoru Mishima, Satoru Mishima Photo Create Yoshiaki Miyajima, Tokyu Hotels Co., Ltd.
Satoru Madono, Reitaku University
PROFESSIONAL/
Yoshihiro Nishimura, Ayato Inc.
JOURNALIST ASSOCIATE MEMBER
Masayuki Takaya, Misumi Group Inc.
Peter O’Connor, Musashino University
Kiyotaka Emori, Emori & Co., Ltd.

NEW IN THE LIBRARY
America Alone

Steyn, Mark
Regnery Publishing, Inc.
Gift from Mark Steyn

Bones of Contention

Ambros, Barbara R.
University of Hawaii Press

Radiation: What it is,
What You Need to Know

Gale, Robert Peter
From the Ruins of Empire Alfred A. Knopf
Gift from ShakaiHoken Shinryo
The Future: Six Drivers of Mishra, Pankaj
Hoshu Shiharai Kikin
Allen Lane/Penguin Books
Global Change
Gore, Al
Curie Fujin no
Watergate
Random House
Tamatebako
Mallon,Thomas
Kissho, Mizue
Pantheon Books
Asia for the Asians
Tokyoshoseki
Gift from Todd Crowell
Harrel, Paula S.,
Gift from Kyosuke Mori
Merwin Asia

Attacks on the Press

The Committee to Protect
Journalists
Gift from the Publisher

Tate no Ronri

Yoshikawa, Keiichi
Tendensha
Gift from the author

The Transactions of the
Asiatic Society of Japan

The Asia Society of Japan
Gift from the Publisher

FCCJ Sayonara Party for Nakamura-san and Nakayama-sanMore than 100 members joined
the farewell party on April 26
for two of our longstanding
staff members, Akira Nakamura(left)and Kanako Nakayama,both with some 40 years ofservice to the Club.

ALBERT SIEGEL

General Manager Akira
Nakamura, started working in
the Club in 1972 and served ina variety of positions during
his time. He was promoted
to the position of General
Manager in 2011. He will act asa consultant in future.

18

Library Manager, Kanako
Nakayama, is leaving the
FCCJ at the end of May afteralmost 41 years. She joined
the club as a librarian, and waspromoted to Library Manager
in December 2001.

FCCJ

一九九三年十月十五日 第三種郵便物認可 毎 月 一 日 発 行

第五号
Vol. 45

二〇一三五月一日発行
No. 1 Shimbun

定価四〇〇円 税(込)