The magazine of The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan

September 2018 · Volume 50 · No. 9

Editors’ memories
Key moments fromour past pages
What’s in a move?
The trek to our
new location
Charles Smith’smemoirs
The last of a series

Celebrating
our birthday

A half century of Number 1

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SEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 03

September 2018 · Volume 50 · No. 9

Publisher FCCJ
Editor Albert Siegel
Associate Editor Geoffrey Tudor
Art Director Kohji Shiiki
Editorial Assistant Naomichi Iwamura
Photo Coordinator Akiko Miyake
Publications Committee Members
Albert Siegel
Geoffrey Tudor
Martin Koelling
Ayako Mie
Emiko Jozuka
Johann Fleuri
Tomomi Yokomura

FCCJ BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President Peter Langan, Freelance
1st Vice President Abigail Leonard, Freelance
2nd Vice President Robert Whiting, Freelance
Secretary Daniel Hurst, Freelance
Treasurer, Willem Kortekaas, Associate Member
Directors-at-Large Khaldon Azhari, PanOrient News
Daniel Sloan, Nissan Motor/Freelance
Mary Corbett, Professional Associate Member
Milton Isa, Associate Member
Kanji Kazuo Abiko, Freelance
Associate Kanji Makoto Honjo, Associate Member

In This Issue
Front Page
• From the President by Peter Langan• “Freedom of the Press” News

04

From the Archives
Politician Extraordinaireby Charles Pomeroy05

Features
Workaholics Living in Rabbit Hutches: Mr. Smith Goes to Tokyo, Part 6
by Charles Smith06

Last Month in Photos

08

Celebrating 50! — A Special Feature

10

FCCJ COMMITTEE CHAIRSAssociate Members Liaison Keiko Packard,
Harumi Kumagai
Compliance Kunio Hamada, Yoshio Murakami
DeRoy Memorial Scholarship Abby Leonard,
David SatterwhiteEntertainment Sandra Mori
Exhibition Bruce Osborn
Film Karen Severns, Yukie Kito
Finance Willem Kortekaas
Food & Beverage Robert Kirschenbaum,
Mehdi Bassiri
Freedom of Press Abby 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 TBD
Professional Activities Tetsuo Jimbo, David McNeill
Public Relations Rosa Argyropoulos
Publications Gavin Blair, Geoffrey Tudor
Special Projects Haruko Watanabe
Foreign Press in Japan Robin Harding

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 · fccj.or.jp
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 theForeign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.
Please pitch and send articles and photographs,
or address comments to no.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp
Read the Number 1 Shimbun online:
fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun
Cover Photo Illustration: Kohji ShiikiClub News• Join the Film Committee• New Members• New in the Library• Richard Pyle Farewell at Arlington

17

By the Numbers: Preparing for the Move

19

PITCH US YOUR STORY
Please send your story ideas tono.1shimbun@fccj.or.jp,
and be sure to note whether you have (orhave access to) visuals. Our rates are ¥20 per
published word, ¥20,000 for a front cover photo.
Photo essays: ¥15,000 for full-page photos and¥5,000 for smaller shots.
All payments will be made in credit
to your member account.

04 | FCCJ | SEPTEMBER 2018

Front Page

From thePresident
Dear members,I

have less space this month, so forgive
the bullet-point approach.
First off, a big thanks goes to Albert
Siegel for his past year as editor of the Number
1 Shimbun. Albert will be taking on another roleto help build and expand the FCCJ’s presence
on social media. Greg Starr returns as editorof the Club magazine, to soon be joined byAndrew Pothecary as designer. Please join me
in congratulating these three gentlemen and
get in touch if you have any ideas for helping
them in their respective roles.
As I’ve mentioned previously, we haveadvertising space available in the magazine— now 50 years young! — so any members

wishing to take advantage or who know anyone who may be interested please contact theoffice. It’s a great way to support the Club.
Secondly, I’m trying to use this monthly
letter to explain what’s been happening at
Board meetings, hopefully to give you themembers a better idea of the challenges andopportunities facing the Club.
The most recent Board meeting (as of presstime) was on August 10, and while several
Board members were on holiday, we had aquorum to proceed. Perhaps unsurprisingly,
the meeting was mostly occupied again withhow to improve the overall financial positionof the FCCJ. Treasurer Willem Kortekaas had
prepared a report outlining details of a proposed campaign to seek donations from third
parties. This would include corporations, individuals, foundations and so on.
According to FCCJ rules, such a donations
campaign needs Board approval, which wasgiven after discussions and a vote. Former
general manager Seishi Yoda has been contracted by the Club to lead the drive to win
donations from third parties.
During the discussion, Board members
noted the importance of oversight of donations. It was pointed out that Club rules
allow the Treasurer to approve any donation

up to ¥500,000. Amounts larger than that
require Board approval. The same rules
state the Club “may not accept unlawful
donations or those considered obstructive
to execution of Club business, inappropriate
under normal social conventions or, in particular, compromising to the integrity andindependence of the Club.” At the end of any
donation campaign, a report must be posted on the Club website disclosing the total
amount received, its planned use, and otherrelevant information.
Still on finances, General Manager Marcus
Fishenden provided an update on a numberof matters, including the number and valueof overdue and delinquent accounts. As of
the Board meeting date, the total amounts
added up to approximately ¥7 million. The
Board was informed that the Club’s bylaws
already allow for the suspension of certain
membership privileges for delinquentaccounts (three or more months overdue)
but this has not been stringently enforced.
In an effort to reduce the size of unpaid
accounts, a letter will be sent to all members to explain that the Club will commencestricter enforcement of the suspension ofprivileges when warranted. More detailed
information will be outlined in that letter. In“Freedom of the Press” News: a regional round-up
Hong Kong
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, its
Board of Directors and its Freedom of the Press
Committee are alarmed by reports of attempts
by current and former Hong Kong government
officials and by the Chinese government topressure the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club into limiting debate at FCC events.
Freedom of expression is guaranteed for
decades to come under the term of the handover.
We are especially concerned that, beyond
persuasion, the government is employing
economic pressure, threatening to cancel
the FCC’s market-rate lease on the building it
occupies. We call upon the governments andformer officials involved to cease and desist.
– from an FCCJ Freedom of the Press committee statement, Aug. 13, 2018

Myanmar
Jailed Reuters journalist Wa Lone wasn’t there
to see his wife, Panei Mon, give birth to theirfirst child, a daughter, Thet Htar Angel. Wa

Lone and other Reuters journalist, Kyaw Soe
Oo, have been detained for eight months on
baseless charges after reporting a massacre of
Rohingya Muslims by the Myanmar military. It
was a bittersweet day for Pan Eimon, who has
attended every court hearing possible. “I’vewished Wa Lone could be free since before I
knew I was pregnant, and now I want him tobe free even more. I want to welcome the baby
with him, I want him to see the baby,” she said.
– from wire service reports, Friday, August
11, 2018

Philippines
Attorney Jo Clemente, chair of the National
Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP)
and a journalist of 30 years, says that 11 media
practitioners have been killed since July
2016. While the Philippines has always been
dangerous for journalists – at least 34 died in
the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre – Clementesays the broader media environment is as
challenging today as it’s been since the mar-tial law period under the authoritarian rule of
Ferdinand Marcos. “The entire scenario, thehatred of journalists, the hatred of lawyers, thehatred of everybody that goes against Duterte
and whatever he wants to do, that jeopardizes
the democratic space we live in.”
– Time magazine, June 22, 2018

China
Professor Sun Wenguang, 84, was arrested
at his home in Jinan City, Shandong province,on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, in the middle of alive telephone interview with Voice of America(VOA) Mandarin. The news channel is popularwith the Chinese community abroad. Even
though it is censored in China, VOA’s YouTube
account has nearly 700,000 subscribers,
more than triple the subscribers of the English
channel.
Retired from Shandong University, where
he taught physics and economics until 1994,
Sun is known for his assertive public interventions against censorship and propaganda.

SEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 05

From the Archives
addition, the Board discussed a suggestion
to post the names of Club members who
are three months or more in arrears on a
notice board in the Club premises. A motion
was then proposed to authorize the FCCJ
office to post these names in a suitable location within the Club. However, this motion
failed as the Board members present were
evenly divided on whether this was the rightapproach at this time.
On other matters, Greg Starr has received
approval from the Nieman Lab in the U.S. to
republish some of their reports in the Number
1 Shimbun on developments in the journalism
industry. Expect to see those and more likethem in upcoming editions of the magazine.
Finally a reminder of some upcoming
dates related to the closing of the current
Club and the opening of the new facility:• October 16 — Take possession of new premises.
• October 21 — Shinto ceremony for opening of
new building (hosted by Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd.)• October 26 — Final Correspondents’ Lunch atcurrent Club and closing of the facility.
• October 29 — Soft opening for lunch at new Club.
• November 8 — First commercial event at new Club.
• November 22 — Gala Opening at new Club.
● Peter Langan

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is demanding his immediate release and stresses that
freedom of speech and freedom of the pressare explicitly written in the Constitution of thePeople’s Republic of China.
– from an RSF press release, Aug. 4, 2018

Vietnam
Tuoi Tre Online, a popular publication in Vietnam, was suspended by Hanoi on July 16 after
having published “untrue” and “nationally divisive” content. The newspaper, founded in 1975
by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union,
Tuoi Tre (“Youth”), is being reprimanded for aJune 19 article, “Vietnamese president agrees
on issuing demonstration law,” that quotes
President Tran Dai Quang as saying that heagreed that there is a need for a law regulating
public demonstrations.
Tuoi Tre Online has been ordered to correct
its content, issue a public apology, pay a fineof $9,800 and suspend publication for threemonths, according to Luu Dinh Phuc, director
general of the Press Authority under the Ministry of Information and Communication.
– Gary Sands, Asia Times, July 20

Politician Extraordinaire

Then Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka spoke at a professional luncheon at the FCCJ on October 22, 1974. Knownas the “Shadow Shogun” for his influence in money politics, Tanaka was introduced by 1st Vice-president Bela
Elias (Hungarian News Agency), with 2nd Vice-president Gebhard Hielscher (Suddeuttsche Zeitung) looking
on. Elias was filling in for FCCJ president Max Desfor (AP), who was out of the country.

by CHARLES POMEROY

K

akuei Tanaka, born on May 4, 1918
into a poor farming family in Niigata
prefecture, dropped out of schoolat age 15 to become a construction worker.
Though his climb in the construction business was briefly interrupted by a stint in thearmy, by 1942 he was heading a successful
engineering and construction company.
Tanaka was elected to the Diet in 1947.
He established good relationships withmajor politicians, leading to a post in 1948
as a Vice-minister of Justice, but an arrestand imprisonment on bribery charges soon
followed. Out on bail, he again won a Diet
seat in 1949. Although he was found guilty
in 1950, he appealed and continued pushing projects benefitting local communities,
with an emphasis on construction. Afterbecoming a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1955, his skill at political deal making helped him consolidate
his political power while serving as headof several key ministries, including Finance(MOF) and International Trade and Industry(MITI). He became Japan’s 40th prime minister on July 7, 1972.
Soon after assuming office, Tanaka succeeded in normalizing relations with thePeoples Republic of China, including the Chinese renunciation of war reparation claims.

He traveled extensively over the following two
years, visiting a dozen countries around theworld, including the U.S. – where he met withthen president Nixon. Domestically, Tanaka
did not neglect the construction industry,launching major infrastructure projects such as
expressways and shinkansen lines.
His resignation was prompted by the media
furor after the FCCJ appearance, but his popularity with his district’s voters allowed him toretain his Diet seat. Even the bombshell Lockheed bribery case that later led to his arrest,
trial, and conviction in 1983 by a lower court
failed to dislodge him. A stroke and declining
health resulted in his resignation from the Diet
in 1989. Not one to give up, Tanaka’s appeal
to the Supreme Court of his Lockheed conviction was still proceeding when he passed
away in 1993.
Note: Eiichiro Tokumoto will speak at the Clubon his new Japanese-language book, Tanaka
Kakuei no Higeki: Beikoku-Gaiko-KimitsuBunsho ga Akasu Shikkyaku-no-Shinso(“The Tragedy of Kakuei Tanaka: The True
Story of a Prime Minister’s Downfall as
Revealed by Secret U.S. Documents”). The
Book Break, which will be in English, will beheld on September 19, 2018
● Charles Pomeroy is editor of Foreign
Correspondents in Japan, a history of the clubthat is available at the front desk.

06 | FCCJ | SEPTEMBER 2018

FeatureMr. Smith Goes to Tokyo, Part 6

Workaholics Livingin Rabbit Hutches

KOHJI SHIIKI

I
by CHARLES SMITH

The last in a series by thelate Financial Times bureau
chief, in which he recounts
how trade wars in the lateseventies were becoming(figuratively) bloody.

n the unstable days following the energy crisis caused by OAPEC’s oil embargo of the early seventies, one of themost critical issues between Japan andEurope was shipbuilding. The two sides met in
the mid-1970s for agonizing talks extending
over two years, this time at an almost continental level on the European side. Eventually, in
Paris in February 1977, Japanese shipbuilders
offered to cut back their share of a fast-shrinking world market from about 70 percent tosomewhere near 50 percent, and promised
to raise bid prices on international contracts
by five percent. They had been underbidding
European yards by 30 to 40 percent.
If there was generosity on Japan’s side
there was also self-righteousness. Around thetime the shipbuilding issue was nearing settlement, Hirosuke Dan, Japan’s vice minister offinance for international affairs, published anarticle in a Tokyo English-language newspaper suggesting that his country’s negotiatingtactics suffered from the “the Oriental virtueof modesty.” On the other hand, Europeans
and Americans, he said, “believe in taking
whatever advantage there is by complaining
where possible.” While Dan was praising Japanese modesty, European and U.S. critics ofTokyo often talked of Japanese “cunning andcraft.” Who was right?
If the West had a grievance, it shouldn’t
have been about Japan’s suspect magnanimity on the ships issue. The more serious problem was imbalances resulting from Tokyo’s
deeply ingrained reluctance to import manufactured goods. In the early years after theoil shock, Japan’s imports from Saudi Arabia– mostly oil, of course – were worth morethan twice as much as its purchases from allof Western Europe.

SEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 07

A companion statistic, presented with anaggressive flourish by British Trade Secretary
Edmund Dell in a speech at the FCCJ in 1977,
revealed that only 20 percent of Japan’s global
imports consisted of manufactured goods.
(The rest were food and raw materials.) This, wewere told, compared with a 50 percent manufactured goods import ratio for the countries ofWestern Europe.
Dell appeared to see the 20 percent figure
as something planned by Japanese officials
who regarded imports of manufactures as“unpatriotic.” He warned that the UK government would have difficulty “resisting pressure
for putting barriers up against Japanese
goods” if things didn’t improve. In the meantime, Britain would become a “calculating free
trader” so far as Japan was concerned.
A Ministry of International Trade andIndustry official put a different slant on the 20
percent figure. He said Japan’s manufactured
goods import ratio was low because it didn’t
belong to a “fraternity of affluent nations”
the way the UK and France did. A friend at
the Boston Consulting Group at the time told
me much the same thing. He said Japan was
in a weak position because it lacked a natural
trading region of high-income nations whereits products could be sold without provoking
protectionist reactions.

In the late 1970s, fists
were being throughout
in embassies and tradeministries in Tokyo evenas there were friendly
hand-grasps on factory
floors in Europe.

B

ut if the argument was about geography why would Tokyo be exporting “surplus” French paintings backto France instead of using some ofits embarrassing supply of cash to buy more
European art works? And why did Japanese
shops impose epically memorable mark-ups

AP PHOTO

FeatureMembers of the United Autoworkers at a Ford Motor Co. stamping plant in the U.S. wielded sledgehammers andbars on a 1975 Toyota Corolla during a rally against buying foreign-made products. (AP Photo/Str)in pricing some imported consumer goods?
A well-known brand of Scotch whisky –Johnnie Walker’s prized Black Label – in thelate 1970s boasted a landed value in Tokyoof ¥677 (US$2.21 back then) per bottle before
import duty and a retail price of ¥14,380($47.14). A French brandy was worth ¥2,850($9.34) at dockside in Yokohama but fetcheda price of ¥25,000 ($81.96) in Mitsukoshi, an
upmarket department store.
Daylight robbery of consumers wasn’t thefault of Japan alone. There sometimes seemed
to be a conspiracy between Japanese distributors and foreign import agents who handled
the same products to grab profits by creatinga legend of rarity. Apologists said that such
fantasies were an innocent throwback to theaustere early post-war years, but European
trade officials preferred to see well organizedplots between competing Japanese manufacturers and their bureaucratic allies.
These were some of the ways in the late1970s in which fists were being shaken inembassies and trade ministries in Tokyo
even as there were friendly hand-grasps on
factory floors in Europe. Of course, it wasn’t
just hard-pressed officials who were runningout of patience. A well-known American thinktank suggested that Japan was aiming tobuild a global monopoly in four or five majorindustries – including steel, cars and consumer electronics – by subsidizing exports andblocking imports.
Meanwhile, there were people in London,
Paris and Brussels who claimed that theworkers whose employers were out to con-quer the world were suffering substandard
living conditions. A very senior luminary at theEuropean Commission who made a brief visit
to Tokyo called the Japanese people “workaholics living in rabbit hitches.” The quote was
highlighted in a document distributed by the
EEC’s Tokyo representative office, which also
went on to talk about “profound differences”
in the ways that Japan and Europe organized
their societies.
If the differences could not be reduced, theimpact on Japan-Europe relations might spreadbeyond disagreements about car exports,
said some officials. In 1978, Sir Roy Denman, arespected figure at the UK Board of Trade, said
that the state of economic relations reminded
him of Europe just before World War I.
Asahi Shimbun tried to raise a laugh on thetheme of Japanese social deprivation. The
newspaper pictured an apparently senior Eurocrat driving into Tokyo in a smart black car pasta crowd of poorly dressed and under-nourishedlocal residents. The official was impatiently dictating a memo to his secretary that read: “Notrabbit hutches! Bird cages!”● When Charles Smith arrived in Tokyo in 1973
as Financial Times bureau chief, he had no idea
he would end up spending most of the rest of
his life here. He was diagnosed with malignant
lymphoma at 80, and set about writing his
memoirs of a long and fascinating career. The
Number 1 Shimbun began running excerpts ina series starting in the April 2018 issue, with thisthe sixth – and last. Charles, an FCCJ member tothe end, died on May 18 at age 82.

SEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 09

Feature2

Last Monthin Photos
Club Members Share Their Best Shots
1. The child humanoid robot “ibuki”, developed by Osaka University
graduate school professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, is unveiled for the press at
the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan)in Tokyo, Tuesday, July 31, 2018. The 120cm-tall eccentric wheels drive
android has an expressive face and makes gestures with its hands.
Photo by Yoshikazu Tsuno.
2. People watch a film from inflatable pools on the rooftop of therevamped MAGNET by Shibuya109 building in Tokyo, Friday, August17, 2018. The concept of a rooftop film party to cool off from the heatoriginated in London, and this was Japan’s first such event in a year
when high temperatures have sent thousands of people to the hospitalfor heatstroke. Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin.

3

3. The 470-Class World Cup Series Final held in Marseille, France. The 470
class double-handed dinghy has been the most competitive Olympic
class for Japanese sailors. Recently at the Sailing World Championshipin Aahus, Denmark, Ai Yoshida/Miho Yoshioka (Benesse, to your rightin the photo) won the women’s gold medal and Tetsuya Isozaki / Akira
Takayanagi (SPN) won the men’s silver. Marseille will be the venue for2024 Paris Olympic sailing competition. Photo by Yoichi Yabe.

10 | FCCJ | SEPTEMBER 2018

Feature

CELEBRATING
This month marks a half-decade since the Number 1
Shimbun, the official “newspaper” of the Club, waslaunched in September, 1968. To mark this milestone,
we offer some reminiscences from those involved withthe magazine over the years.

Why the name No. 1 Shimbun?
In the days immediately after World War II,
most of Tokyo lay in ruins. Street addresses
were a problem. What was to be the addressof the newly established Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan? One of the many
geniuses in our membership back then hit
upon the happy solution: No. 1 Shimbun
Alley. Despite three moves, the post officecontinued to deliver mail and telegrams
promptly to that address.
Since shimbun, as anyone here for 15
minutes could tell you, means ‘newspaper,’what better name than No. 1 Shimbun.
From the launch issue, September, 1968

For a bunch of foreign
correspondents toundertake to publish amonthly newspaper is,
I believe, the height ofreckless courage.

President Henry Hartzenbusch,
in the launch issue

September1968 launchissue coverSEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 11

FeatureNewspapers must not be run
behind closed doors.
Mao Tse-tung“‘Newspapers must not be run behind closed doors. They must face themasses, and must have the general orientation and at the same time be
fresh and lively.’This quotation is neither from Lord Thomson of Fleet nor from thelate great Joseph Pulitzer, though it might have been. In fact, it comesfrom an acquaintance of my Yenan cave days, Mao Tse-tung.
The Chinese Communist chairman conceivably may be wrong onsome matters but what he said about newspapers is wonderfully relevant to No. 1 Shimbun, the first edition of which you hold in your hands.
The editors will strive to make it ‘fresh and lively’ each month, while
resolutely facing the proletarian masses. . . .
The Chairman, chock-a-block full of useful quotes, had another onnewspapers, to the effect that ‘we must rely on everybody, on themasses of the people . . . not merely on a few persons working behindclosed doors.’
And that’s where you, gentle reader, come in. Faithful servants of the
Chairman, and more important, lazy critters that we are, we will regularly
call on you to give us a hand. . . .
No. 1 Shimbun’s aim is to report on the comings and goings ofcorrespondents, their problems in covering major news stories, theprofessional activities they sponsor and how they feel on issues big
and small. . . .
More important, perhaps, will be the contributions by member correspondents of articles they have written on a variety of subjects. You will
read some of them today, ranging from a report from Mongolia to theforeignization of Japanese.
Our idea is to give other Club members a chance to read, appraise,enjoy the journalistic accomplishments of our brethren; for many of us
it will be a first glimpse.
It seems appropriate to close with a quotation from the other side,
President Liu Shao-chi. ‘Correspondents,’ he said, ‘should be given recognition and recompense, or else their initiative will be stifled.’
When’s the next train for Peking?”
John Roderick (editor, Sept. 1968 to Nov. 1970 – from thelaunch issue)“The readership of Number 1 is broader than people realize, which I
learned back in April 1977. We had been let down by a contributor andwere on deadline. I had been working on a spoof of Sherlock Holmes
for another purpose, and as it was available we filled up the space withthe piece. The piece revealed that the Great Detective had been activein Japan for the two years he went missing, according to Conan Doyle's
narrative, and John Herrick edited it with the headline, “The 86% Proof
Solution.” A few days after it came out, I was called by a reporter fromthe Yukan Fuji, who wanted to know how I knew that Holmes had been
in Japan. A reporter interviewed me at some length and a piece duly
appeared on page two of the Tokyo tabloid on May 5. For a couple ofdays I was famous.”
Geoff Tudor (from Genesis to the present)

April 1977

12 | FCCJ |SEPTEMBER 2018

Feature“The Number 1 Shimbun we wrangled 40 years ago was a far cry fromtoday’s artfully designed and expertly edited magazine. Back then, thepaper, typically eight or so folded pages, was produced in the absenceof anything approaching modern workflow management. Our salvation was Geoff Tudor, who supervised layout in those adventurous
pre-digital times and always managed to rally the troops when deadlines loomed.
We were young, mostly in our twenties, which may explain theinjection, among plenty of more standard offerings, of some typically
exuberant twenty-something snark. This included a sendup of embassy national day coverage, a staple of Tokyo’s English-language press at
the time, with a takeout heralding “Martian National Day.” If memory
serves, the spread included a photo of a Japan Airlines articulated luggage buggy zipping metal containers along the tarmac over a caption
announcing the arrival of the Martian delegation. Older, wiser clubmembers were mostly polite about our shenanigans.
Luckily, Number 1 Shimbun survived the seventies to live long andprosper. It’s an honor to be related, however remotely, to today’s
impressive publication.”
Tracy Dahlby (July 1977 to July 1978)

Cover fromMarch 15, 1981

“The highlight of my year as editor, assisted by Ken Merrigan and
Donald Kirk, was our spoof issue about a Rupert Murdoch takeover of
Number 1 Shimbun. Not everyone saw the joke. The Japan Post Officethreatened to withdraw our press postage discount because we'dchanged the masthead to a London "red top" style without its okay.
An East German lady correspondent thought our Page Three Girl wasgoing to be a regular sexist feature, and protested at the next general
meeting.”Hamish MacDonald (July 1980 to June 1981)

September 15, 1977
April 1, 2000 coverSEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 13

FeatureMurray Sayle“Playgirl” spread,
April 15, 1983

“One of my fondest memories is an effort we made at reverse
sexism – hoping to give male journalists an idea how it feels.
Besides articles on boxer shorts and a Shinjuku host club(whose proprietor offered his services free of charge if wewanted to really do in-depth reporting), Ann Nakano and I persuaded journalist Murray Sayle to be our male nude centerfold.
Murray was a giant of a man (in more ways than one), andbehind locked doors on the 19th floor, with fellow Australian
Happy Mayger at the camera, and one or two inevitable props
in the interest of propriety, we completed what was a tense but
pretty hilarious shoot. Only to be stunned by a cry from Happy, who discovered he'd had no film in the camera: “Bloody
hell!” The second shoot was far less spontaneous than thefirst, but still the photos attest to Murray's irrepressible senseof humor, which pervaded everything he ever undertook.”
Roslyn Hayman (July 1982 to June 1983)“Roger Schreffler, then president, had to ask me three times to be editor. As a native Arabic speaker and non-native English speaker, I was
hesitant, but eventually accepted. It was still in the tabloid newspaper
format then, focusing on club news. I often traveled to Kawasaki (at myown expense) to do the final checks. I thought this was natural. Regular
writers included the late Ed Neilan, the late Roy Garner, Caroline Parsons and Pat Killen.
We produced an April Fool’s Day issue in 2000 and made sure it was“Congratulations to the Number 1 Shimbun for surviving 50
years of abuse and criticism. Anyone attending a general meeting can understand the problems of pleasing a gathering of
foreign correspondents. But we tried – I for eight years, alongwith co-editor Ed Neilan.
One of the strangest moments of my stint as editor was when
one writer submitted a piece of fiction about riding his sperm
through a lady's reproductive system. I chose to spike the story.
He complained to president Steve Herman, and to his credit,
Steve just said, "Pat's the editor.
The change of format from newspaper to magazine in 2004,
and the introduction of compensation for the writers, seems tohave helped encourage contributions and perhaps upgraded
content. One hopes there will be greater effort at providing
more club news for all members, regular and associate, in the
future. Good luck.”
Patrick Killen (August 1991 to June 1998)

distributed to members on April 1. I wrote the lead story about Japandiscovering oil deposits on Mount Fuji. An ambassador from one of theoil producing countries actually asked me for more information!
I once wrote an editorial about an encounter I had with former PM
Nakasone, during which he retracted a statement that the FCCJ wasa ‘dangerous place.’ Not true, he said, it was the FCCJ journalists who
were ‘dangerous.’”
Khaldon Azhari (June 1998 to June 2000)

14 | FCCJ |SEPTEMBER 2018

Feature“As chair of the publications committee, I took over a tired publication.
A labor of love by a revolving cast, Number 1 Shimbun was an eightpage newsprint tabloid that often carried terrific articles. But it lookedworse than my high school newspaper. Photos reproduced poorly. Typos
slipped in with depressing frequency. Deadlines were fungible. I took thecommittee’s proposal to a general membership meeting: hire an outsidecompany to sell the ads and design and produce it as a glossy magazine.
Make it a worthy showcase of our members’ journalistic work.
Of course, the membership was divided. What change at the FCCJ
has ever been approved by all? One member, looking at our mock-up,
whined, “If you’re going to have a better design, is this the best you cando?” That grated: I felt the new look was 100 percent better than the oldlook, and he was opposed because it wasn’t 200 percent better?
Others said skip the outside company; let’s sell our own ads. But the
FCCJ had been trying to do that in various ways for years, with no success. When we voted, the ayes had it. Number 1 Shimbun got a new lookand format.”Jim Treece (Nov. 1985 to July 1986, chair 2002)“When the Club president Myron Belkind called to offer me editorship of Number 1 Shimbun, I thought he was joking. Being based in
Osaka, I wondered how this was going to work. My editorial philosophy, though, was that FCCJ stood for Foreign Correspondents ofJapan – not just Tokyo. So, I commissioned, when I could, articles
about the Japan beyond the Old Edo drawbridge. It was hard work.
This was the pre-Skype era and effective communication with Tokyobased members and staff was difficult. But it was a great opportunity

April 2003 cover

to meet more members. As I'd edited a trade magazine in the early
1990s, it was also a return to magazine writing, my first love.
A couple years later, I had the honor of sharing editing duties withDavid McNeill and Steve McClure, superb editors both. That wasa much smoother ride, although I felt slightly (just slightly) guilty
because it was they, not I, who had to deal with complaints about themagazine in the Main Bar.”
Eric Johnston (Dec. 2003 to Nov. 2004)“Our most read (including online views) story was the report Carsten
Germis, of the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, did for
us about the political pressure his paper had received after he wrote
an article critical of Japan’s attempts at historical revision. In Number
1 Shimbun, Germis described how a Japanese diplomat actually visited
his editor in Germany to complain about their Tokyo correspondent.
A university professor translated the article into Japanese and it went
viral, with over 150,000 views each in Japanese and English.
Another piece that got attention was Mark Schreiber’s dismemberment of a popular myth that had been reported in papers and websites
all over the world. Supposedly, eyeball licking had become a “craze”
among Japanese schoolkids, and it was causing eye infections to
spread. Mark’s single-minded debunking of the practice in Number 1
Shimbun – tracking the story to its “source” – had Reader’s Editors on
papers like The Guardian writing apologies describing how they wereduped. Schreiber (and Number 1) are still noted on the respectedfact-checking site, Snopes.com, for exposing a silly Japan story that
editors wanted to believe but was totally false.”
Gregory Starr (Nov. 2012 to Aug. 2017)
August 2013 coverSEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 15

FeatureApril 2011 Cover and back cover

John Harris took on the role of editor following the tragic events ofMarch 11, 2011. The next month he oversaw a 24-page special edition
full of personal, wide-ranging coverage of Japan’s worst disaster sinceWorld War II. From the halls of the FCCJ to the ravaged coastline, journalist members wrote about the experiences of those affected by theearthquake and tsunami – and the following nuclear meltdown – andtheir own experiences covering such stories.
It was an epic issue befitting the unique status of the Club as a news
center, and highlighting the importance of the Club. Kudos to Harris andto a high-powered line-up of contributors: Julian Ryall, Chang-Ran Kim,
Charles Pomeroy, David McNeill, Gavin Blair, Geoff Tudor, Eric Johnston,
Martyn Williams, Justin McCurry, Kenneth Neil Cukier, Bill Emmott, Henry Tricks and photographers Rob Gilhooly and Damir Sagoji.
“The aftermath of March 11 earthquake saw so much change. Club
members went from reporting the everyday to reporting death anddisaster every day. Our special issue of Number 1 Shimbun had toreflect that. We went through the images that included dead bodies– and had to decide whether we should print one. While other media
rarely, if ever, printed such photos, it was nevertheless what our journalists saw and was part of their story. We went with an image where it
was impossible to identify the person or location. With around 20,000
dead it seemed important.
But what most stands out is it being pretty much the only time I've
selected a quote and placed it on the page with tears in my eyes: ‘They

watched the fireman on top of the firehouse ring the bell until he and thebuilding were swept away.’ And reading Julian Ryall's piece with accompanying photo of a teenager lost to the immediate trauma, again withtear-filled eyes. Our stress in Tokyo was of a lesser order, but it was there,
and making a magazine so intimately tied up with the story, the writers
and what the country was experiencing was interesting to say the least.
And we later tried to relocate that teenager for an anniversary piecebut couldn't track him down. Even now, my heart goes out to him.”
Andrew Pothecary (art director, Feb. 2007 to Aug. 2017)16 | FCCJ | SEPTEMBER 2018

FeatureAs the world faced the reality of a Trump presidency in January 2017, the Number 1 ran myfavorite of the many superb covers by Andrew Pothecary: “Welcome to the Year of the Cock.”
Inevitably, not everybody approved. There were a few offended by the lack of respect for theoffice of president and somebody asked me what “had happened to objectivity?” It's a reasonable question as regards the media and got me thinking. I think true objectivity is a fantasy. We
see everything through the prism of our experiences and beliefs. So, should we feign impartiality and normalize the presidency of a white supremacist, advocate of sexual assault, enabler ofenvironmental destruction and liar on a level rarely seen even among politicians? The framing of
the question is a strong hint as to my opinion. But for a cover to provoke both smiles and thought
was an achievement in itself.
Gavin Blair (chairman of Publications Committee, July 2014 to Aug. 2017)

January 2017 cover“The Number 1 Shimbun needs toexist to represent the Club and thevalues it stands for. To show Japanand the outside world that we value
freedom of the press and how press
freedom is the bellwether of a democracy. Journalists are quick to express
their opinions sitting around a table
at the FCCJ. It’s also important for ourmembers to express themselves in the
Number 1 Shimbun, to stir debate, torecognize injustice and to encourage
freedom. And that freedom should
include diverse, even obnoxious
opinions. When I did a seven-page,
comfort women special, I was keen
to include the views of right-wingers
who deny the horrors of Japan’s past.
Let’s debate those who oppose ourvalues and let’s expose those whose
values damage democracy and press
freedom. In short, let’s publish and bedamned. Not publishing is definitely
not the way.
Long live the Number 1 Shimbun!”Fred Varcoe (June 2006 to June
2007, June 2009 to Sept. 2010)“I never expected to become editor of the
Number 1 Shimbun, but I was asked by thepresident at the time to help keep the publication running during a time of change at
the Club.
The credit for saving the magazine goesto Geoffrey Tudor, who helped us through arough start to get things back on track. We
had some design issues at first, but those weresolved when we brought in award-winning
designer Kohji Shiiki.
The most memorable part was working on
the six-part series of Charles Smith’s memoirs.
I felt a nostalgic connection through his writings. He reminded me of family. It was withincredible sadness that I learned of his passingin the middle of publishing his series. Charles
and I may not have been close, but I felt as if
dedicating an issue to him and finishing theseries let me say farewell to a friend.
As for my favorite cover… that would be
January 2018. I went with a photo of my dog
holding a No.1 Shimbun newspaper to markthe year of the dog. Sadly he's no longer withus, but the cover was my way to give him agrand goodbye.
I had the pleasure of working with somefantastic writers and perhaps the greatest
editor I know, Bradley Martin. It's with a bittersweet feeling that my time with the magazine
is over. It was not an easy decision to make,January 2018 cover

but when asked by the president to move intosocial media and help with that, how could I
refuse? I'm happy to have been able to see
through the 50th anniversary issue, and wantto thank everyone for their support of thisClub treasure.”
Albert Siegel (Sept. 2017 to Sept. 2018)

Thanks to those we have found (and those we haven’t) who have given their time and efforts to editing, producing and making sure the Number 1 Shimbun is full of content andreaches the hands of Club members. Thanks also to the many, many writers – both paid and uh, volunteer – who are too numerous to name here, but have filled our pages with
their wisdom and foolishness.
Editors of the Number 1 Shimbun: John Roderick, Frederick Marks, Irvine Chapman, Bruce Dunning, Marianna Ohe, John Herrick, Tracy Dahlby, Andrew Horvat, Andy
Adams, Hamish McDonald, Richard Bill, Roslyn Hayman, Martin Roth, Lee Smith, Jim Treece, Larry Armstrong, Terrill Jones, Shelley Smith, Kevin Sullivan, Peter McGill,
Norma Chaty, Janice Fuhrman, Lori Valigra, Pat Killen, Ed Nielen, Khaldon Azhari, John Bosnitsch, Richard Smith, Bill Brocato, Eric Johnston, Nobuko Hara, Justin McCurry,
Fred Varcoe, Steve McClure, David McNeill, Julian Ryall, Bob Neff, John Harris, Geoff Tudor, Douglas Jackson, Andy Sharp, Gregory Starr and Albert Siegel

SEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 17

Club News

This Great Stage of Fools: an
Anthology of Uncollected Writings
Alan Booth; edited by Timothy
Harris; with an afterword by Karelvan Wolferen
Gift from Timothy Harris & Bright
Wave Media2.

A Walk ☆ in Singapore
Shiori Ito
ParadeGift from Shiori Ito

Join the Film Committee …
… on Thurs., Sept. 20 at 7:00 pm for theaward-winning
Japan-Myanmar
coproduction Passage of Life, the story of a
Myanmarese refugee family in crisis. Told
with unusual poignancy and empathy, andfeaturing extraordinary performances by acast of unknowns, this docu-fiction paints inbroad strokes the final weeks before a loving
family is separated, perhaps permanently, by
the Japanese government. Khin and Issace
arrive in Japan after their two sons are born,
finding illegal work and creating a happy life
with their boys, whom they raise as Japanese.
After several years of residency, Issace files
an application for political refugee status,
but the request is denied, as happens all too
frequently here. When Immigration shows up
at the door and warns Issace to stop working,the writing is on the wall. While her husband
stays on to file another request, Khin takes
the boys to Myanmar, and the family grapples with its uncertain future. Director Akio
Fujimoto, producer Kazutaka Watanabe andstar Khin Myat Thu will be on hand for the
Q&A session. (Japan/Myanmar, 2017; 98 minutes; in Japanese, Burmese with English andJapanese subtitles).
● Karen Severns©E.X.N K.K.

New in the
Library1.

New Members
Japan. She has worked for nearly 20 years as a researcher
and reporter based in Tokyo, London, Istanbul and New
York. Ilgin holds a degree in International Relations fromInternational University of Japan in Niigata. She is a 2017
East West Center Media Fellow and a 2016 White House
Correspondents Association Scholar. Ilgin has written on
foreign policy and culture, with a focus on sub-cultures,
religion and ethnic minorities. As a foreign correspondent, she has reported fromTurkey, India, Nepal, Philippines, China, Japan and the U.S. for The Huffington Post,
VICE, The Guardian UK, PassBlue, Vogue, Conde Nast Traveler UK, and most recently BBC Turkish. She is the author of three books focused on small businesses in
Istanbul – spin-offs of her critically-acclaimed online publication Pukka Living. Outside reporting, Ilgin is interesting in Eastern cultures, Sufism and meditative arts.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS• Neeraj Sharma, Hi-No-De Foundation• Laurent Trempe, Quebec Government Office in Tokyo• Toshinori Hayashi, Hayashi & Co., Ltd.
• Hirohiko Imura, Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd.
• Kyoko Kanehira, Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau• Takahiro Nishio, Done Science Co., Ltd.
• Toru Suzuki, Terilogy Co., Ltd.
• Atsuo Yoshida, Deetex Shokai K.K.
REINSTATEMENT (Associate)• Judith A. Brady-Deffebach

AP PHOTOREGULAR MEMBER | ILGIN YORULMAZ is a freelancer on her second tour of duty in

Richard Pyle Farewell at Arlington
Friends and colleagues of distinguished AP journalist Richard
Pyle gathered on Aug. 20 at the Arlington National Cemetery tobid farewell. Richard, a U.S. Army veteran, began his AP careerin Detroit and later reported from Saigon, where he was bureau
chief, Tokyo, the Middle East, Washington D.C. and New York.
He died last September at the age of 83. A military honor guard
presented his widow, Brenda, with a folded American flag
before she placed her husband’s ashes in a memorial wall. Pyle
was a life member of the FCCJ. (AP)18 | FCCJ | SEPTEMBER 2018Club News

By the Numbers:
Preparing for the MoveM

oving a Club the size of the FCCJ is no60

Meters of pictures
rails for hanging
picturessmall matter, even if the new location is715

just down the street. To give an idea ofthe massive effort the job entails, not to mention
the need for attention to the most seemingly
insignificant details, here are some numbers thatare part of the Club’s preparations. (See “From the1

Meters oflibrary
shelving

Reception
Desk

President” on page 4 for the move schedule.)

1¥10 million

Dance
floor

Moving budget

500+
Meters, door to door (including
the elevator, lobby space andparking garage distances),
between old and new locations

24

Bar stools for
the Main Bar

65

Chairs for
the MainBar

2

Toilets

4,500
Meters of
telephoneline

SEPTEMBER 2018 | FCCJ | 19

Club News

From a long, long list of cutlery and dining items, here arejust a few that must be carefully packed, transported andunpacked in time for the Club’s reopening.

100
10
286
19
320
13
20
30
195
120
3

Water glasses

Sake cups

156

Banquet tables ofvarious sizes andshapes

0

Mail
boxes

Curry sauce pots

20

Work stations forthe workroom

150

Wine coolers

Beer mugs

71

PA speakers

Meters of
LAN cable

Fine bone china coffee cup saucers

Bread baskets

Conference
chairs6,000

Monogrammed dessert plates(used to be 74, but
speakers notallowed in newwashrooms)

Consommé saucers

hors d’oevres forks

Escargot plates