The magazine of The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan

September 2019 Vol. 51 No. 9 ¥400

Tools for journalists
to understand, andaccurately report on,
climate change

The
Whole Earth
CrisisThe Fall issue

In this issueVol. 51, Number 9

September 2019contact the editors

no.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp
Publisher FCCJTHE FRONT PAGE

From the President by Monzurul Huq (1st Vice President)
Freedom of the Press:
What press freedom looks like in Hong Kong
From the archives:
Journalist, author, editor, scholar
by Charles Pomeroy

4
4
5

FEATURESTINA XU

Page 6:
Attendees from theAmerican Asian
Journalists Association’s
Asia chapter’s N3Con
at the University ofHong Kong

A journalism group that feels like family
by Yuri Nagano

6

Putting on a showby Julian Ryall

10

Climate change: Investigating thestory of the century
by James Fahn

12

FCCJ

SEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ COMMITTEE CHAIRSAssociate Members Liaison Keiko Packard,
Harumi Kumagai
Compliance Kunio Hamada, Yoshio Murakami
DeRoy Memorial Scholarship Abigail Leonard,
David SatterwhiteEntertainment Sandra Mori
Exhibition Bruce Osborn
Film Karen Severns
Finance Willem Kortekaas
Food & Beverage Robert Kirschenbaum
Freedom of Press Abigail Leonard
House & Property Peter Langan,
David Satterwhite
Human Resources Willem Kortekaas
Information Technology Albert Siegel
Library, Archives & Workroom
Koichi Ishiyama, Suvendrini Kakuchi
Membership Andrew Horvat, Peter O’Connor
Membership Marketing Abigail Leonard,
Willem Kortekaas
Professional Activities Tetsuo Jimbo,
David McNeill
Public Relations Rosa Argyropoulos
Publications Gavin Blair, Geoff Tudor
Special Projects Haruko Watanabe

8
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan
Marunouchi Nijubashi Building 5F
Marunouchi 3-2-3 Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0005
Tel: (03) 3211-3161 Fax: (03) 3211-3168 fccj.or.jp

CLUB NEWSLens craftby photographer Members
Press conference voices, Join the Film Committee,
FCCJ Exhibition, New Members, New in the library

FCCJ BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Peter Langan, Freelance
1st Vice President Monzurul Huq, Daily
Prothom Alo
2nd Vice President Robert Whiting, Freelance
Treasurer Willem Kortekaas,
Associate Member
Secretary Takashi Kawachi, Freelance
Directors-at-Large Khaldon Azhari,
PanOrient News
Mehdi Bassiri, Associate Member
Warren Devalier, Associate Member
Abigail Leonard, Freelance
Kanji Kazuo Abiko, Freelance
Associate Kanji Makoto Honjo,
Associate Member

Foreign Press in Japan Robin Harding

PROFILE

Kathryn Wortley
Freelance
by Johann Fleuri

Editor Gregory Starr
Art Director Andrew Pothecarywww.itsumo-music.jp/design
Editorial Assistant Naomichi Iwamura
Photo Coordinator Akiko Miyake
Publications committee members
Gavin Blair, Freelance (co-chair)
Geoffrey Tudor, Orient Aviation (co-chair)
Daniel Hurst, Freelance
Sonja Blaschke, Freelance
Albert Siegel, Freelance

18
15-17

Published by the FCCJ All opinions contained within
Number 1 Shimbun are those of the authors. As such,these opinions do not constitute an official positionof Number 1 Shimbun, the editor or the Foreign
Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
Please pitch and send articles and photographs, oraddress comments to no.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp
Read the Number 1 Shimbun online:
fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun
Cover photo: NASA

3

The Front Page

FROM THE PRESIDENTFREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Dear Members,
I hope this note finds
everyone well andhopefully rested after the
Obon Holidays, despite
the heat.
In was in that same heat that some trial
events were held in August for next year’sTokyo Olympics, a reminder for athletes andorganizers alike that summer in Japan’s capitalcan be fairly brutal. Author Bob Whiting told
me the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were held in
October, with the organizers at the time saying
the month brought the ideal weather to hostthe event in Japan. Perhaps that is one lesson
not learned from history.
The Editor-in-Chief of the Olympic
Information Service, Lucia Montanarella,
dropped by the Club early in August. She said
she will be back and we offered her an FCCJ
guest membership. Gianni Merlo, the presidentof the International Association of Sports
Press, is also expected to visit the FCCJ in the
coming weeks.
As part of preparations for the Olympics
and the Rugby World Cup, the Club will offer
limited-time guest memberships to accredited
journalists for both events. We should havespecial pre-paid visitor cards ready by then(think Pasmo, but for use at the FCCJ only).
All of this, of course, is to promote the use of
the Club by journalists and to attract more
speakers from among athletes taking part in
the events.
The FCCJ Board met on Aug. 16, when the
General Manager reported that F&B visitor
numbers were up in July on year. The Pen &Quill also reopened and is proving popular for
private dining. However, total membershipnumbers remained largely flat as resigningmembers offset new members. The Board
has given itself the mandate to attract new
members to the Club and passed a motion tocredit a member’s account with ¥25,000 if
they introduce a new member.
The FCCJ’s social media accounts are
expanding. We had 6,199 Twitter followers as ofJuly 31, up more than 900 this year, but clearlymuch more needs to be done on this front.
On a final note, the Library Committee
noted that we have a number of lockers on thesixth floor still available. The board agreed tolower the charge, so ¥3,000 and change will
give you a locker rental for six-months. Just theplace to store your running gear before a jog
around the Palace—just watch out for the heat.
See you in the Club,		

FROM THE ARCHIVES

What press freedom looks like in Hong Kong

Life-member Frank Gibney
speaking at a Club event onJune 12, 1995, commemorating
coverage of WWII. Frankachieved renown in multiple
roles—as journalist, author
and editor. He also wrote theIntroduction for our history
book, Foreign Correspondents
in Japan, expanding on his
memories of the earliest daysof the Club when he was a U.S.
Navy Public Information Officer
prior to becoming a journalist. Seated next to Gibney, Bob Neff
(Business Week) gives his words full attention.

The Hong Kong Free Press is a non-profit English-language media
started in 2015, after concerns arose that freedom of the press in theformer British colony was under attack. These are images from the
HKFP’s twitter feed coverage of the Aug. 10-11 weekend of protests.

– Peter Langan
4

Journalist, author,
editor, scholar

SEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ

FCCJ

SEPTEMBER 2019

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 21, 1924, and raisedin New York City, Frank Bray Gibney attended Yale University
before serving in the U.S. Navy. There he was educated in theJapanese language as an intelligence officer during WWII. The
duty brought him into contact with Japanese POWS and provided
early insights on the Japanese people, which later led to his firstmajor book in 1953, the humanistic Five Gentlemen of Japan. It
was a book that had an early influence on me.
After further service as a public information officer for
the Navy during the Occupation, Gibney became a foreign
correspondent, and was posted to several countries prior to
returning to Japan to cover the Korean War. He went on to coverother countries of Asia and Europe for Time magazine. He also
became an editorial writer for Life magazine, and later was a
feature writer for Newsweek before moving on to several startup magazines in the early 1960s. In the late 1960s he worked forEncyclopedia Britannica, directing translations into Japanese,
Korean, and Chinese as well as serving as vice-chairman ofits Board of Editors and heading a joint venture with Tokyo
Broadcasting System.
His important book, Japan: The Fragile Superpower, waspublished in 1975, followed in 1982 by Miracle by Design,describing the Japanese work ethic. The Pacific Century was
published in 1992 and later made into a PBS series featuring theauthor, who also co-produced it.
In recognition of his cultural contributions, the Japanese
government in the late 1970s awarded him, first, the Order of the
Rising Sun (Third Class), followed a few years later by the Orderof the Sacred Treasure (Second Class).
In 1979, Gibney founded the Pacific Basin Institute inaffiliation with Pomona College in California, where he was aprofessor. He served as president until 1999.
Frank was married three times and sired seven children, ofwhom two became active in media, Alex in documentaries andJames in journalism. Frank died on April 9, 2006, at age 81 ofcongestive heart failure.

– Charles Pomeroy
editor of Foreign Correspondents in Japan,
a history of the Club that is available at the front desk5

A journalism groupthat feels like family

MIKE RAOMANACHAI

Feature: Asian American Journalists Association

More than two decades after its foundation,a US-based advocacy group’s Asia chapter isdeeply involved in building relations and developing
new generations of journalists and leaders.

6

SEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ

TINA XUIn the weeks running up
can Society of News EdiBy Yuri Nagano
to early June, I felt liketors survey: Minorities
I spent more time commade up only 22.6 percent
municating with my alternate “family,” a group of professionalof the newsroom workforce, well below the US census data
journalists, than with my actual one. That’s because I am one
indicating some 39 percent of its population to be minority.
of more than a dozen dedicated volunteers of the Asian AmeriEven here in Asia, filled with journalists of color, race has
can Journalists Association (AAJA)’s Asia chapter.
mattered. It turns out the top decision makers of Western
The 1,500-member-strong AAJA was founded in 1981 by amedia in New York are still predominantly white males andgroup of Los Angeles-based journalists to support those comwe are impacted by their decisions.
ing from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
“We formed AAJA to increase the number of Asian American“NEWSROOM DIVERSITY IN RACE, ethnicity, gender, sexual orijournalists, boost and improve coverage of Asian Americans
entation and every other way is so important if we in the news
and provide support and training for the networking andmedia are going to tell the story of our increasingly globalized
advancement of Asian American journalists,” says co-founderworld,” says former AAJA-Asia chapter president Ken MoritsuBill Sing, former editor and reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
gu, who is now Greater China news director for the AssociatedIt was during a time of recession when anti-Asian sentiPress. “I am constantly learning from my colleagues who arement raged in part due to strong Japanese auto imports.
not like me, and it makes me a better journalist.”
Shortly after AAJA’s inception, a Chinese American named
How AAJA came to Asia goes back to two AAJA leaders fromVincent Chin was brutally murdered in Detroit, when two
Portland, Oregon—Allen Cheng and Alan Ota—who moved
white autoworkers mistook him for Japanese, and assaulted
to Asia to become foreign correspondents during the 1990s.
him with a baseball bat. Chin died four days later. Both per“It was important to plant AAJA’s flag in Asia because Asian
petrators pled guilty but never served jail time. Chin’s death
Americans journalists back in the US would benefit from havremains to this day a symbol of chilling racism against theing a network in Asia. And it is, after all, where all of us origiAsian-American community.
nated from somewhere along our ancestral line,” says Cheng,
At the time, Asian Americans were badly underrepresentcurrently the founder and chief adviser of Beijing-based risk
ed in newsrooms and in management, says Sing. Coverage ofmanagement advisory Advise Insight Ltd. In 1996, the Asia
Asian Americans was often lacking or stereotypical, and few
chapter was formed.
Asian American youth considered journalism as a career.
Fast forward to 2010, AAJA-Asia existed but growth had
AAJA’s mission continues. The underrepresentation ofstagnated. That changed when then president Moritsugu
minorities in newsrooms persists, according to a 2018 Ameriproceeded to divide the chapter into subchapters with thelargest membership clusters in Hongalways so. (For several years, Cheng
Kong, Tokyo and Seoul. It’s a format
donated thousands of dollars of his
COVERAGE OF ASIAN
that still exists today, with the addipersonal money so N3Con could host,
AMERICANS WAS OFTEN
tion of a South East Asia/Singapore
for example, a welcome mixer to kick
LACKING OR STEREOTYPICAL, off the conference on a high note.)
subchapter that was added nearly
AND FEW ASIAN AMERICAN
five years ago. “By empowering rising leaders to develop subchapters
IN THE LAST FEW years, the chapter
YOUTH CONSIDERED
in their cities, we were able to tailor
has been expanding its role. “AAJAJOURNALISM AS A CAREER
programming to what people wanted
Asia strives to be a bridge between
locally and grow the organization
local and international media in the
exponentially,” says Moritsugu.
region, offering a diverse and incluWhat was around 40 AAJA-Asia members until then, balsive community to support professional journalists and thelooned quickly to around 200 chapter members. Asia is now
next generation of news leaders,” says Hong Kong-based K.
one of the largest and most active of the 20 some AAJA chapOanh Ha, current chapter president and senior writer for
ters, and part of that is thanks to the launch of its annual flagBloomberg News. The chapter supports programming forship event called New.Now.Next Media Conference (N3Con).
media professionals in public relations as well.
Since last year, the chapter has been hosting video conferN3CON STARTED IN 2011, with a vision to organize someence versions of N3Con dubbed “Digital N3.” Held at several
thing lacking at the time in Asia—a journalism conference
Bloomberg News bureaus in Asia and also U.S. cities includfor English-based media. Beijing-based CBS News Asia coring New York and Washington, D.C., these events explore such
respondent and former AAJA-Asia president Ramy Inocencio
topics as reporting on North Korea.
was one of the event’s key architects. The conference was
Weekday and weekend events for veterans and students arelaunched as a way “to build and connect together an inclubeing organized by regional chapter leaders. In Tokyo, for examsive network of peers who we could be friends with and learnple, informal gatherings featuring local journalists dedicated tofrom,” he says.
covering the Fukushima nuclear disaster have been held.
N3Con offers panels and workshops attracting 300 attendees
Subchapters hold mixers and regularly network with visitfrom across the region. We’ve featured high-profile journalists,
ing AAJA members to their regions, throughout the year. For
including Filipino investigative journalist and Rappler CEO
Tokyo, we’ve welcomed many U.S.-based members including
Maria Ressa, South China Morning
CNN columnist Jeff Yang. I’ve
Post CEO Gary Liu, CNN Interbeen able to network with memnational anchor Kristie Lu Stoutbers in New York or Washington,
and many top newsroom managD.C. and other cities myself,
ers including those from the New
whenever I’ve traveled.
York Times, Associated Press andStaying true to AAJA’s journalBloomberg News. We’ve offeredistic values, chapter leaders havehands-on training workshops
actively monitored the status ofon data journalism from Inveslocal press freedom. For examtigative Reporters and Editorsple, this year AAJA-Asia issued
and leadership skills workshops
statements on the proposedfrom top US coaches. We’ve also
extradition agreement in Hongoffered newsroom tours. All thisKong in June and on the public
and more have been offered attargeting of a member in Seoul
Building and connecting
a bargain programming rate offrom March.
Opposite, an Asia-chapter mixer inless than $100 for members.
Since 2018, AAJA-Asia and Google have
Atlanta (in August, 2019) with MariaOne year we invited former AP photogbeen teaming up to provide free trainRessa from Rappler at center, top.
rapher Jeff Widener, known for the “Tanking in digital tools for news gathering,
Above, the audience listening toMan” photo of a lone Chinese man standreporting and storytelling under a spea presentation by New York Times’
ing up against a column of Chinese tanks
cial initiative called the AAJA-Asia Trainbureau chief, Motoko Rich.
the morning after the Tiananmen Squareing Network. The initiative has served
protests of 1989. Another year we invited journalists from theover 300 journalists across the Asia region from Hong Kong
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists to speak
to Singapore to Manila.
on The Panama Papers. In the last couple of years, combating
I feel grateful to have been able to find a journalism com‘fake news’ has been a key subject.
munity in Asia I could belong to. I’ve found the mission toThis year, N3Con was held from May 30 to June 2 at the
support diversity, growing leaders of color and calling out
University of Hong Kong—the reason for the limited timestereotypes and connecting and helping each other meaningI spent with my real family in the period leading up to theful. It’s truly been a privilege to be able to be part of AAJA andevent. But it was worth it. Not only were we able to offer ahave a “family” I’m proud to call my own. ❶job fair, but we recognized up-and-coming young journalists
through a Digital Journalism Student Award supported by
Yuri Nagano is an American business/tech journalist who has reported
Google, and partnered with Columbia University to offer stufor news organizations including the Los Angeles Times and the New Yorkdent fellowships. N3Con is now a financially self-sustaining
Times. Since 2010, Nagano has served on the AAJA-Asia board in roles
operation due to generous corporate donations, but it wasn’t
including co-president.
FCCJ

SEPTEMBER 20197

Series: Profile

Kathryn Wortley
Freelance
By Johann Fleuri

8

SEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ

TOMOHIRO OHSUMI

F

journalism, but I ended up remaining
or as long as she can remember,for five!”
Kathryn Wortley has wanted toFINALLY, SHE FOUND
Wortley talks about her past life in
be a journalist. At 16 years old,
A LIFE COMBINING HER
Kagoshima with a hint of nostalgia in
she was already writing stories for a
TWO PASSIONS:
her voice. “There was a great commulocal newspaper. “I don’t know where
JOURNALISM AND JAPANnity and it was easy to become part ofthe pull came from,” she says. “I have
that,” she says. “Each year, I helped toalways loved writing.”
plant and harvest rice with my neighWhen still in primary school, shebors, and I also took part in activities like the local festivals.”began creative writing in genres like fiction and poetry. “TheWhen she moved to Tokyo five years ago, and returned tofeeling that I should write, as a living, came very early forher first love of writing, she felt the cultural shock deeply. “Ime,” she says. “When I entered high-school, I did research
missed the local community feel but I soon grew to love Tokyo,
for projects and discovered that I loved fact-finding andtoo, for all it has to offer and the international life that it allows
analysis. Combining that with writing skills led me, natume to enjoy,” Wortley says.
rally, to journalism.”
Finally, she found a life combining her two passions:
Born in Northern Ireland, Wortley moved to Scotland atjournalism and Japan. After writing
18 in order to do a Bachelor of Arts incontents for a project at the British
Film and Media and Japanese Studies,
Embassy in Tokyo and working as thewhich included the country’s history
editor of the magazine of the British
and geopolitics as well as the language.
Chamber of Commerce in Japan forPart of her degree included a semestera couple of years, Wortley became aat Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka,
freelance writer. Today, she contribwhich turned out to be a life-changutes regularly to the Japan Times, Japaning experience. “I remember my firstToday, Savvy Tokyo, TTG Asia (an Asia
day in Japan very clearly,” she says.
Pacific travel trade publication) and“It was winter and I’d gone out for a
for International News Services (a UKwalk. Some local people gave me theseagency). Her main topics are travel
magical kairo [pocket warmers] and I
and tourism, culture, profiles, andfound a beautiful red torii, standing inbusiness pieces related to trade, techthe snow. It was so beautiful.”
nology, innovation and other issues.
Upon her departure following four
Wortley particularly enjoys reportmonths in Kansai living in the home ofing stories related to people and coma local family and a further two months
munities, such as regional tourism andof traveling around Japan, Wortleycultural initiatives as well as artisansknew that she wanted to return to theand their work. She remembers writarchipelago to work. While working
ing one story for the Japan Times on
toward her degree at the University
Yamagata yamabushi (ascetic mounof Stirling, she learned of the Japan
tain monks): “I spent four days with
Exchange and Teaching (JET) Prothem, and it was amazing to have agramme, which recruits graduates tobehind-the-scenes insight into their culture and being able
teach English and their culture in Japan. She decided against
to reflect that in the story.”
it at the time and, instead, accepted a job on a Scotland-wide
Over her eleven years spent in Japan, Wortley has traveled
outdoors magazine, for whom she would travel the country,
to almost every prefecture—and going on the road is somewriting about walking routes and doing profiles.
thing she intends to continue. “There are so many great stories in regional areas of people doing amazing things in tourBUT THE PULL TO Japan was great and Wortley eventuallyism, in community development, and in cultural avenues.
applied for the JET Programme. After being accepted, sheThose are the stories I want to tell.” But despite the pull of
was posted to eleven schools in Kagoshima prefecture in
the countryside, Wortley can’t see herself living anywhere but
southern Kyushu where she worked as an assistant language
Tokyo at the moment. “I love my life here,” she says. ❶teacher. “It was fulfilling to learn about Japan and share myculture with the kids. And I wanted to give something backafter my great cultural exchange at Kansai Gaidai,” she says.
Johann Fleuri is an independent journalist working for French media,“I was planning to live there one year before returning toincluding Ouest-France, Les Inrocks, Zoom Japan and other publications.

FCCJ

SEPTEMBER 20199

ANDREW POTHECARY

Feature: On the Walls

Pictures at an exhibition
The Committee at the Club (besidethe papercutting exhibition of
Katsuyuki Yagi in August): KatsuraEndo, Gavin Frew, Bruce Osborn,
Robert Kirschenbaum and Katsuyoshi
Ozaki, Absent on the day of theshoot were members Yoichi Yabe andEverett Kennedy Brown, above
uted an iconic shot of a father holding
his daughter, a severely disabled victim of Minamata Disease. Myanmarese photographer Zaw Min’s shot wasa simple image of a woman from the
Kayan people—famed for the coiled
necklaces that give them elongatednecks—as she breastfeeds her child.

RODRIGO REYES MARINIKUO NAKAMURA, A RENOWNED underwater photographer, took the theme in
an interesting direction by showing a
black-and-white image of a whale withher young calf. And Osborn’s contribution was another monochrome image,
depicting a young girl facing the camera and with her arms locked with herparents either side. She was wearing asimple dress but her parents, who arefacing away from the camera, were covered head to toe in intricately drawn
traditional Japanese tattoos.
“We had never attempted an event with this many photographers before so coordinating everything has been difficult
at times,” he said. The 120 people who attended the opening
night meant it was also the biggest reception the committee
had ever hosted at the Club.
Osborn, who is originally from Los Angeles and moved toJapan in 1980, first agreed to join the committee after previous chair Tony McNicol stood down. He says the FCCJ’s wallspace is much in demand. “There is no shortage of artists whowant to do shows here, which is great. But with only 12 exhibitions a year it means I have to tell a lot of people that we are
not able to schedule their show,” he said.
“With its selection of what to show, the committee wants togive priority to people who are working in the media—photographers, artists, designers—and offer a chance to share
their work. It’s important that it is seen by as many people aspossible. That is what we want our walls to be used for.

Putting on Ba show

By Julian Ryall

The Club’s Exhibition committee members are
responsible for making the hallways a location
for timely, eye-catching images that cover awide range of subjects
10ruce Osborn has overseen no fewer than 106 displaysof eye-catching photographs and images for the FCCJ’s
Exhibitions Committee—but the 107th showcase, hesays, was arguably the most difficult he has ever put together. “It is always a lot more than simply putting pictures on awall,” he said. “Some of our monthly exhibitions are easier toprepare and others are harder, but this one was a major job.
But it was also a labor of love.”
The exhibition, which opened on July 6 and was followed
two days later by the now traditional reception, was an extension of 68-year-old Osborn’s “Oyako” project, in which he hasfor many years been taking photographs of parents with theirchildren. The exhibition featured 25 images, ranging from theamusing to the poignant to the sad to the simply beautiful.
Photographer Natsuki Yasuda’s image was of a young woman who survived the March 2011 disaster that struck Japan’s
Tohoku region as a schoolgirl, but is now a mother and has big
dreams for her newborn daughter. Shisei Kuwabara contribSEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ

“I HAVE TO SAY that the Club’s new premises are a huge
improvement on the old building for displaying these imagFCCJSEPTEMBER 2019

es,” Osborn said. “Before, the exhibitions were held in the bar
area and it was difficult to see as customers were seated attables in front of where the works were hung. Now we havethe whole of that long hallway and a much-improved space toview the pictures.
“Every time I walk down that hall and I see people stopping
and looking at images, I say to myself ‘great’,” he added.
In addition to Osborn, the Exhibitions Committee has six
members—Katsura Endo serves as deputy chair and the restof the team is made up of Robert Kirschenbaum, Everett Kennedy Brown, Katsuyoshi Ozaki, Yoichi Yabe and Gavin Frew.
It tends to use the monthly receptions as an opportunity tointroduce artists and share new information. With all of thecommittee members busy working, much of their preparatory work is done over e-mail or the phone.
As well as giving creators a space in which to display theirwork, the committee tries to be timely and in-sync with thenews. In March 2011, Taishi Hirokawa had been preparing an
exhibition for the following month, but he was able to quickly
change direction and instead showed a series of images takena few years previously of all 52 nuclear power plants operating across Japan, including the now infamous Fukushima
Dai-ichi plant.
SINCE 2011, THE EXHIBITIONS held in the month of March havegenerally taken as their theme events related to the worst
natural disaster to strike Japan in living memory. Membersof the committee have traveled to Tohoku on a number ofoccasions in the intervening years to further document the
lives of people who survived the disaster. Osborn himself has
given workshops at local junior high and high schools.
The Club also stepped in when Korean photographer Ahn
Sehong was told by the Nikon Salon exhibition space in Shinjuku in 2012 that it was cancelling his show of images featuring “comfort women” from the years of Japan’s colonial
control of the Korean Peninsula.
“It was in the news a lot at the time and the right wing was
being very vocal against it,” Osborn said. “I was concerned
about not causing problems for the Club or the people working here—but we discussed it and agreed that this was exactly the sort of thing that we should be showing at the pressclub. We had to do it.”
Another memorable exhibition featured the photographsof Liu Xia, a painter, photographer and poet who was underhouse arrest in China. Her husband, Liu Xiaobo, the worldrenowned Chinese dissident and winner of the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2010, was imprisoned in a labor camp at the time.
The committee generally has exhibitions lined up two or
three months in advance. Osborn is very diplomatic about theone time when an event fell through less than a week before it
was scheduled to open, resulting in a stressful rearrangement
at the last minute. In order to avoid such crises, the committee generally has exhibitions lined up two or three months inadvance. But it is all worthwhile, according to Osborn.
“There are a couple of really good reasons to be on the committee,” he said. “I have great chances to meet a lot of reallyinteresting and talented people, and I like being able to makeconnections between Club Members and exhibitors. It’s also
fun to collaborate as a group and to see the overlap with othercommittees and people.” ❶Julian Ryall is Japan correspondent for the Daily Telegraph.
11

Climate crisis: Part 1 of a series

Climate Change

While it’s harder than ever to ignore the impact that climate change
is having on our lives, reporting on such a massive story is not easy.
Here are some ways to grab readers’ attention and improve understanding.

Investigating the story of the century

of the state-owned petroleum companies like Saudi Aramco,
Sinopec, China National Petroleum and Kuwait Petroleum,or other mammoth firms like Lukoil, Total and Eni that may
t first glance, climate change may not seem the mostbe privately owned or publicly listed but still often serve as
obvious subject for investigative journalists to tacknational champions.
le. The science that underlies our understanding of
It would be useful to know if these companies, or evenglobal warming is complex, and so we often rely on technimore likely the trade associations they belong to, are lobbycal experts to tell us, for instance, to what extent it exacering for favorable laws, subsidies and regulations; financing
bates floods, droughts, hurricanes, heat waves, epidemics
politicians who support their industry; spreading disinforand health issues, coastal erosion, the decline of species andmation; fighting legislation that addresses climate change;other phenomena.
backing climate denier groups; and ignoring the findings ofBut this is what’s shaping up to be the biggest story of thetheir own scientists.
twenty-first century we’re talking about. As with most enviThese companies can also be investigated to see if they’reronmental issues, some people—usually poor and marginalinflating the hypothesized “carbon bubble,” a potential overized groups like women, youth and indigenous people—tendvaluation of their net worth, which could burst and possibly
to suffer more than others from climate change, and are lessspark a new financial crisis. These companies are often largely
able to adapt to it. And although we all, to a certain extent,
valued based on their stated fossil fuel reserves, but scientists
are responsible for releasing the greenhouse gases that cause
tell us that much of these reserves will have to remain in the
climate change, clearly there are some—wealthy consumers,
ground if we’re to avoid catastrophic climate change, potenfossil fuel companies, heavy manufacturing and transport
tially turning some of the reserves into “stranded assets.”
industries, logging firms—that emit much greater quantities
There is also a risk some of these firms could ultimately bethan others, and benefit more from the activities that cause
held liable for the global warming their products are causing,
this pollution.
much as the Master Settlement agreement with the major US
That means climate change is not just an environmental
tobacco firms required them to pay massive penalties.
issue, but also an economic and social-justice one, making it
In general, coal companies have garnered the most attenfertile ground in which investigative journalism can flourish.
tion from the media—understandably, since coal is conWhen it comes to environmental topics, we don’t just follow
sidered the most polluting of fossil fuels. Oil pipelines andthe money, we also follow the pollution: where it comes from,fracking operations have also been subject to much scrutiny,
who benefits and who suffers from it.
due to environmental risks like explosions, leaks and conWhat’s more, as climate change has gone from a vague envitaminated water supplies.
ronmental concern several decades ago to a confirmed global
Natural gas companies, on the other hand, generally get
phenomenon that is today affecting virtually every aspect ofless attention, partly because burnour society—our economy, security,
ing gas is considered to be a lesshealth, livelihoods, food supply and,
CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT JUST greenhouse gas-intensive fuel. This
yes, our politics—it has become
has lead the industry to argue itever more ripe for investigation.
AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE,
should be used as a “bridge fuel” as
So here are 10 promising investiBUT ALSO AN ECONOMIC
we move towards renewable energy
gative paths (some of which admitAND SOCIAL JUSTICE ONE . . .
sources. But there is much yet to
tedly overlap with each other, or
FERTILE GROUND IN WHICH
be investigated in the natural gas
expand into many sub-topics) thatindustry: While methane, the mainjournalists can explore to dig up the
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
greenhouse gas waste product ofstories behind what the editor of
CAN FLOURISH
natural gas, does not persist in thethe New York Times suggests will be
atmosphere as long as carbon dioxthe “story of our time.” Even if someide, it is four times as powerful a warming agent. And evenof these issues have been covered in some places, there arethough natural gas companies have recently been found to
many countries or regions around the world where such covbe leaking far more methane into the atmosphere than preerage has been lacking.
viously thought, many of them have been fighting regulations aimed at preventing such leakage—a factor that may
THE FOSSIL FUELS INDUSTRY
be relevant in any country from which you are reporting.
As the main driver of greenhouse gas emissions, the coal, oiland gas industries are the most obvious target for investigative reports. There have been some good investigations
OTHER POLLUTING INDUSTRIESof the highest-profile corporations, such as the extensive
Although the burning of fossil fuels deserves the brunt ofprobe of Exxon, for which InsideClimate News was named athe blame for climate change, there are many other indusPulitzer Prize finalist. But there are many other companies,
tries that are ripe for more in-depth reporting. Enterprising
including some of the world’s largest, which have not beenreporters can come up with good stories by investigating theso thoroughly investigated. In particular, those include some
supply chains of just about any industry to uncover which

By James Fahn

A

ANDREW POTHECARY (Data from European Commission, Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research. 2017)

This circle shows theatmosphere of our planet
roughly to scale

We now release
the equivalent of more than
37,000,000,000 metric tons of
CO2 into this thin line—
every year

12

SEPTEMBER 2019

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SEPTEMBER 201913

Club news

processes involve the greatest release of greenhouse gases,
but here are a few industries that are particularly relevant:

AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK AND LOGGING

Agriculture, forestry, and land-use change are responsible forsomewhere between a quarter and a fifth of all the global emissions that cause climate change, and yet it receives considerably less attention. Industrial agriculture is heavily reliant on
the fossil fuel industry. The production of synthetic fertilizer,
for instance, has been shown to be a significant producer ofgreenhouse gases by burning astounding amounts of natural
gas and then releasing more heat-trapping gasses from soil
bacteria. There are climate-friendly agricultural techniques
available, and journalists should look into why they aren’t
more widespread, especially since farming and food security
are likely to be heavily impacted by global warming.
The impact of livestock husbandry on the global climate
has often drawn snickers, mainly because it is funny to thinkthat cow farts could be contributing to a global crisis. But thedairy and beef industry is responsible for around 8.5 percent
of human-caused emissions (and in fact, cow belches are abigger problem than farts, according to NASA). What’s more,
a lot of tropical forest that could be used as vital “carbon
sinks”—places that keep carbon stored rather than being
released into the atmosphere—and as critical habitat forbiodiversity, is being cleared to make way for cattle ranchingand soybean farms (particularly in the Amazon) and palm oil
plantations (especially in Southeast Asia).
One of the questions journalists are most commonly asked
about climate change is, what can individuals do to help
address it? Reporters can respond by investigating where ourfood comes from, how it is produced and shipped, and howthat is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

TRANSPORTATION

Another cause of climate change where individual consumers can make a difference is in deciding what transportation to use. It is generally well-reported that air travel andthe use of individual cars is a major contributor to climatechange. But there are aspects of the transportation challenge that have received far less attention: the overall
impacts of aviation and shipping on climate change and theefforts to regulate these industries, for instance, or the factthat housing policy is a part of climate policy because of theway it affects transportation.
14

CLUB DINING

Climate stripes
Annual average temperature acrossthe globe, 1850-2018. This chart
is made by Ed Hawkins at the
National Centre for Atmospheric
Science (University of Reading). In
making his charts free for publicuse, he deliberately avoids using
figures, to illustrate the changes
as visually and simply as possible.
The 1971-2000 average is taken
as a the boundary between
colder (increasingly dark blue)and hotter (increasingly darkred) using statistical standard
deviations between colour shades.
showyourstripes.info

CEMENT AND HEAVY INDUSTRY

Journalists could investigate many industries to uncover
their sometimes-surprising impact on climate change. Few
may know, for instance, that the cement industry generates
around 8 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. If
it were a country, it would be the third largest emitter in theworld. And what about other industries, like steel, chemicals,
air conditioning or refrigerants? All these are good investigative subjects.

REAL ESTATE AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS

The real estate industry deserves special mention here, notjust because it uses a lot of concrete, or because housing policies have such a big impact on transportation options (andthus on emissions), but also because real estate and otherinfrastructure developers have such tremendous clout overclimate-related policies, and even the way government communicates the challenge of climate change.
The role of real estate interests in ignoring climate change
has received less attention than that of the fossil fuel industry, but there is little doubt that in places it has supported
destructive policies, including purposely ignoring scientificmodels of climate change when determining coastal policies.
Journalists need to be particularly vigilant in coastal andflood-prone areas where developers—not just of real estate,
but also of roads, bridges, seawalls, etc.—may be tempted
to build and sell infrastructure they know will eventually beinundated. Just as a bubble could be forming in the overvaluation of fossil fuel companies, the value of coastal realestate could end up dropping precipitously if homeowners
come to realize they can’t adequately protect or insure theirhomes. Digging deeper, enterprising reporters need to talk toregional planners who face an agonizing quandary: How dothey decide what amount of sea-level rise or weather-related
risk to factor into their zoning rules? ❶Next month: Part II of “Investigating the Story of the Century”:
The environmental impact of government rules, foreign aid, andcarbon credits.
James Fahn is Executive Director of the Earth Journalism Network at
Internews. He is also a lecturer at the Graduate School of Journalism at
the University of California at Berkeley, where he teaches international
environmental reporting. First published on the Global Investigative
Journalism Network website. Reprinted with permission.
SEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ

The
Pen &
Quill
DiningRoom

Now available from the Front Desk
The Club’s
Pen & Quill
Dining Room is
now accepting
reservations

JOIN THE FILM COMMITTEE. . .
. . . on Monday, Sept. 9 at
6:30 pm for the feature
directing debut of actor Joe
Odagiri, They Say Nothing
Stays the Same. Gathering
together collaborators whoare equally famous (including
cinematographer Christopher
Doyle, Academy Award-winning
costume designer Emi Wada
and Armenian jazz musician
Tigran Hamasyan, Odagiri
portrays a Japan that is at once
achingly beautiful, steeped in
the past but rushing headlong
toward modernization. The film
tells the deceptively simple
story of a lonely old boatman,
Toichi (Akira Emoto,in his first leadingrole in over a
decade), who rescues a half-dead young girl from the waterand gives her a place to stay. Fu (Ririka Kawashima) is as
reticent as her host, but despite the mystery of her past, afriendship begins to grow. Set in early Meiji Japan (perhaps)
but timeless in its concerns—the sacrifices made in the nameof progress, the loss of cherished traditions and the naturalenvironment, the human costs of capitalism—Odagiri’s film
is astonishing in its storytelling mastery and its visual artistry.
The writer-director will be on hand for the Q&A session.
(Japan, 2019; 137 minutes; in Japanese with English subtitles)— Karen Severns
FCCJ

SEPTEMBER 2019

CLUB EVENT

Nakanaori(Friends Again)Contest at FCCJ

Teaching your children theskill of keeping friends
Give your child the skills to make andkeep friends by joining the Nakanaori(Friends Again) contest wherepreschoolers submit drawings andelementary students submit essays about“seeing others’ side” and learning toapologize. It is of life-long value, but it
has to be learned early.
Application deadline: September 23.
Contest award party at FCCJ October 20.
See details at https://kizuna-ehon.com/en/
Sponsored by Asahi Gakusei Shimbun
Sha, publisher of Nakanaori (“Friends
Again”) picture book. Don’t miss the
chance to prepare your child to learn thisvital skill.

15

Club news

FCCJ EXHIBITIONNEW IN THE LIBRARY

NEW MEMBERS

CLUB GOODS

Tenugui

REGULAR MEMBERS

Tanja Houwerzijl, Freelance

Now available from the Front Desk

Hirofumi Nakano, Office Liberte, works forJapanese media, both print and broadcast, in Tokyo
and Osaka. In 2000, he enrolled in Emerson College’s
school of journalism as a graduate student. Nakano
then joined Nippon Television Network’s Washington
Bureau as an associate producer, covering a variety
of topics in Washington’s politics, diplomacy andincluding anti-Bush movements across the nation. A
highlight of his time there was an exclusive interview
with the family of the defector Charles Jenkins. He thenbecame a Washington-based freelance journalist until returning to Japanin October 2007. Besides journalism, Nakano’s passions are sports, hip-hop
music and reading history books.
Randy Schmidt, CBS News. He graduated from

¥1,200Aesthetic of Bushido

British Dandyism and Aesthetic of Samurai
by Atsuki Settangeli

In Japan, we have a saying: “A Samurai, even when he has noteaten, uses a toothpick like a lord.” Samurai were the militaryclass—higher in rank than farmers and common people,
but with decreasing power over time. They created anddeveloped their own sense of aesthetics and values, such as
those expressed in bushido—the “Way of the Samurai.”
A similar phenomenon occurred in the United Kingdom,
where there was a class of nobles and a class of “gentry,”
many of whom would never become nobles. The word
“gentlemanly” that is used today has its roots in theaesthetics and value system that the gentry developed over
the years. And by devoting themselves to this way of life, theyfurther developed a “noble aesthetic sense.”
The dedication to beauty, values and bushido is the reason
why I painted the series “Samurai Spirit.” It refers to a wayof living that discovers life in a sense of aesthetics. I, as amodern expressionist, would like to live up to this approach.

The Club’s new tenugui are lightweight,
hand-printed cotton handtowels-cumaccessories, which make a perfectsouvenir from the FCCJ (and Japan),for use in the lingering hot weather
or at the onsen, or just to display athome. We have two specially produced
designs with gradient backgrounds(we didn’t make it easy for the hardworking screen printers!) and featuring
the Club logo.

UCLA Film School in 1984 and worked at 20th Century
Fox motion picture studio before moving to Tokyo in
1996. After working for the CNN Tokyo Bureau as acameraman-editor, Schmidt began freelancing as acameraman for all the major foreign TV news bureausin Tokyo. He also held a contract staff job at Reuters
Japan from 1999-2002. He was hired by CBS News in2006 as cameraman-editor, based in Tokyo, covering
Asia. He has covered assignments such as the 3/11
disaster, North Korea, and the recent protests in Hong Kong. On the lighterside, Schmidt has shot and edited stories on such subjects as snow monkeys,
soba noodles, bonsai and robots.

Hiroshi Ninomiya, Medical Corp Kenikai
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Jun Sakakibara, Chitose Tourist
Hiroaki Fujii, OMY Area Management
Association
Association
Takayuki, Kishii, OMY Area Management Koki Seki, Choyu Equity Management Co.,
Ltd.
Association
Masahiko Shinshita, Mitsubishi Kakoki
Norihiko Hirose, Arrow Shipping Japan
Kaisha, Ltd.
Co., Ltd.
Shunsuke Tanahashi, Partners Group
Kazumitsu Irie, Irie Corporation
Japan KK
Toyoaki Ishikawa, Deloitte Tohmatsu
Yoshiaki Watanabe, Central Japan
Consulting LLC
International Airport Co., Ltd.
Junichi Ito, Geneq Corporation
Naoyuki Miyayama, Club Concierge Corp.
Yoichiro Nakagawa, Nakagawa Special
Steel Inc.

Shusho Kantei no mae de: Tellthe Prime Minister

首相官邸の前でEiji Oguma
Shueisha International
Gift from Eiji Oguma
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Storyof the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster
Adam Higginbotham
Simon & Schuster
Gift from Todd Crowell
The Greatest Successor: The Secret Rise
and Rule of Kim Jong Un
Anna Fifield
John Murray
The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict,and Culture in the 21st Century
Parag Khanna
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
Zainichi Literature: Japanese Writings by
Ethnic Koreans
Edited by John Lie
Institute of East Asian Studies, University ofCalifornia
African Samurai:
The True Storyof Yasuke, aLegendary Black
Warrior in Feudal
Japan
Thomas Lockely ;Geoffrey Girard
Hanover Square
Press

At
the
Club

“MY APPRENTICESHIP WAS THREE YEARS OF GOING TO
THE MASTER’S HOUSE EVERY DAY, NO DAYS OFF, DOING
THE CLEANING, THE LAUNDRY, FOLDING KIMONO, AND
BEING A STAGEHAND AT HIS SHOWS.
IT WAS VERY STRICT. BUT THE BEAUTY OF IT WAS THATBY BEING WITH THE MASTER FROM MORNING TO NIGHTI LEARNED AN UNFATHOMABLE AMOUNT.”

Atsuki Settangeli was born in 1968, begain painting in 1995 and has

made Samurai his theme since 2010. These works have been exhibitedin New York and Japan. His work has been published, won awards and isin permanent collections.

16

My Struggle against Leprosy
Yohei Sasakawa
The Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa
Health Foundation
Gift from Yasuo SajiSEPTEMBER 2019

FCCJ

FCCJ

SEPTEMBER 2019

Katsura Sunshine,rakugo comic storyteller, Aug. 21
17

Photographer members

You say tomato, I say foodrelated consumable product
Humanoid robots, called
Foodly, pack lunch boxes
alongside human workers
for a demonstration ofcollaborative work at
the FOOMA exhibition(a showcase of foodrelated equipment andtechnology) in Tokyo on
July 11.
by Yoshikazu Tsuno

Fuji and fire
A Japan Ground SelfDefense Force Type 16
mobile combat vehicle
fires ammunition during
a live-fire exercise at thefoot of Mt. Fuji, Aug. 22
by Tomohiro Ohsumi

The old bamboo
Aug 7: People at the annual
and ancient Suhoutei
Festival at Iminomiya
Shrine in Shimonoseki,
Yamaguchi, gather at theshrine and walk around a
giant stone with very tallbamboo attached to theirbody while playing gongs
and taiko drums.
by Richard Atrero deGuzman/ NUR Photo)

Lens
craft
Dance night
Bon odori at Zozoji
temple, Tokyo.
by Stirling Elmendorf
18

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SEPTEMBER 201919