Sakhalin Surprise - Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan
Sakhalin Surprise - Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan
Sakhalin Surprise - Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan
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T H E F O R E I G N C O R R E S P O N D E N T S ’<br />
N U M B E R Shimbun<br />
VOLUME 37 ISSUE 10 NOVEMBER 2005 ¥500<br />
C L U B O F J A P A N<br />
<strong>Sakhalin</strong> <strong>Surprise</strong><br />
The FCCJ visits the Northern Territories<br />
INSIDE: KOIZUMI DELIVERS...ALMOST PAC ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS TOKYO VOTES
<strong>Japan</strong> Communist Party candidate Ken Nonoyama greets evening commuters outside Oji Station<br />
COVER STORY<br />
<strong>Sakhalin</strong> surprise 8<br />
by Jim Brooke<br />
ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
Koizumi delivers...almost 12<br />
by Anthony Fensom<br />
Weeklies watch 16<br />
by Chie Matsumoto<br />
PHOTO ESSAY<br />
Tokyo votes 14<br />
by Tony McNicol<br />
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS<br />
Takafumi Horie 17<br />
The <strong>Foreign</strong> Correspondents’ <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong><br />
Yurakucho Denki North Building 20Fl, 1-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo<br />
106-0006. Tel:(03)3211-3161, Fax:(03)3211-3168. www.fccj.or.jp<br />
Opinions expressed by Number One Shimbun contributors are not necessarily<br />
those <strong>of</strong> the publisher. Please pitch and send articles, or address<br />
comments to shimbun@fccj.or.jp<br />
CONTENTS l VOLUME 37 ISSUE 10 NOVEMBER 2005<br />
GREETINGS FROM THE EDITOR 5<br />
CONTRIBUTORS 5<br />
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN 7<br />
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS 18<br />
RECENT EVENTS 20<br />
NEW BOOK LIST 21<br />
UPCOMING EVENTS 21<br />
COMMITTEE MEMBERS 22<br />
NEW MEMBERS 22<br />
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Please contact the publisher for advertising enquiries.<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l<br />
Tony McNicol
C O R R E S P O N D E N T S ’<br />
NUMBER Shimbun<br />
VOLUME 37 ISSUE 10 NOVEMBER 2005 ¥500<br />
Publications Committee<br />
Chair & Number One Shimbun Editor<br />
Justin McCurry<br />
Assistant Editor David McNeill<br />
Board Liaison Khaldon Azhari<br />
Photo Coordinator Akiko Miyake<br />
Editorial Assistant Naomichi Iwamura<br />
FCCJ Board <strong>of</strong> Directors<br />
President Daniel Sloan, Reuters<br />
1st Vice President Khaldon Azhari, PETRA/<br />
CNBC Arabia<br />
2nd Vice President Pio d’Emilia, Il Manifesto<br />
Secretary Dennis Normile, Science<br />
Treasurer Yoshiyuki Iinuma, the Oriental Econ-<br />
omist<br />
1st Director James Brooke, the New York Times<br />
2nd Director Nobuko Hara, Times Educational<br />
Supplement<br />
3rd Director Miki Tanikawa, freelance<br />
4th Director Steve Herman, Voice <strong>of</strong> America<br />
Ex-<strong>of</strong>ficio Anthony Rowley, Business Times<br />
FCCJ Committee Chairs 2005–6<br />
60th Anniversary Robert Neff, Ge<strong>of</strong>frey Tudor<br />
Entertainment Glenn Davis<br />
Exhibitions Per Bodner<br />
Music Kei’ichiro Tominaga<br />
Finance Yoshisuke Iinuma<br />
Food & Beverage Bob Kirschenbaum,<br />
Gabrielle Kennedy<br />
House & Property Khaldon Azhari<br />
Human Resources Pio d’Emilia<br />
ITPC Khaldon Azhari<br />
Library, Archives & Workroom Jack Russell,<br />
Julian Ryall<br />
Membership Robert Neff, James Treece<br />
Membership Marketing Advisory<br />
Monzurul Huq<br />
Movie Joy Waitkus<br />
PAC Martyn Williams, Jim Brooke<br />
Swadesh DeRoy Scholarship and Young Jour-<br />
nalist Yukari Itatani-Kane, Alan Brender<br />
Special Project Haruko Watanabe<br />
WAC Atsuko DeRoy, Sandra Mori<br />
<strong>Foreign</strong> Press in <strong>Japan</strong> Richard Lloyd Parry<br />
General Manager S. Yoda<br />
GREETINGS l FROM THE EDITOR<br />
As Dan Sloan writes elsewhere in this issue, the club is about<br />
to celebrate its 60th anniversary. While the Number One Shimbun<br />
has, over the past three months, concentrated on issues<br />
that affect us pr<strong>of</strong>essionally rather than pay too much attention<br />
to the minutiae <strong>of</strong> club politics, the magazine would be<br />
wrong to overlook this particular landmark in our organization’s<br />
history.<br />
With impeccable timing, the club has excelled itself over<br />
the past month. Our programme <strong>of</strong> elections speakers, which<br />
included all <strong>of</strong> the major figures bar Koizumi himself (he declined<br />
our invitation) fuelled extensive coverage in the domestic<br />
and international media.<br />
And in the week before the election, Jim Brooke, Charles Pertwee and Marco Kauffmann<br />
made the trip north to <strong>Sakhalin</strong> to see how the Russian-held island is making use<br />
<strong>of</strong> its natural resources and its natural beauty. Were it not for the elections many more<br />
would have made the trip; this is, after all, just the kind <strong>of</strong> ambitious assignment we<br />
should be organizing regularly.<br />
It has always been our aim to involve as many different writers and photographers as<br />
possible in the Number One Shimbun. If you have an idea you think will be <strong>of</strong> interest to<br />
fellow journalists, please feel free to email me at justin.mccurry@guardian.co.uk<br />
Justin McCurry<br />
CONTRIBUTORS l IN THIS ISSUE<br />
JAMES B. BROOKE has been the Northeast Asia correspondent for the New York<br />
Times, covering <strong>Japan</strong> and the Koreas — with forays into Mongolia, the Pacific Islands<br />
and the Russian Far East — since August 2001. Brooke has worked for the New York Times<br />
for 23 years. He was Canada bureau chief 1999–2001; Rocky Mountain bureau chief,<br />
based in Denver 1995–1999; Brazil bureau chief 1989–1995, based in Rio de Janeiro;<br />
West Africa bureau chief 1986–1989, based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Before that he<br />
was a Metro reporter, an assistant to Washington columnist James Reston and South<br />
American correspondent for the Miami Herald. Brooke graduated from Yale University in<br />
1977, with a degree in Latin American Studies. He is president <strong>of</strong> the Yale <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>.<br />
Brooke is married to Elizabeth Heilman Brooke, a freelance writer. They live in Tokyo<br />
with their three teenage sons, James, William and Alexander.<br />
CHARLES PERTWEE is a photographer based in Tokyo. His work has appeared<br />
in publications around the world, including the New York Times, the Boston Globe,<br />
the Times, Time, the International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg Markets, Marie Claire and<br />
Wired, among others. He is represented by Getty Images and his work can be viewed<br />
at www.pertwee.com<br />
ANTHONY FENSOM, born in Sydney, studied international business and finance<br />
and worked for the Australian Stock Exchange before arriving in <strong>Japan</strong> in 2000 to take<br />
up a job at the now-defunct Mainichi Daily News. He joined the Daily Yomiuri as a staff<br />
writer in January 2001.<br />
CHIE MATSUMOTO is a Tokyo-based journalist whose work has appeared in the<br />
International Herald Tribune, the Asahi Shimbun and other publications.<br />
TONY MCNICOL first came to <strong>Japan</strong> from England in 1998. Since then, he has<br />
spent time as an English teacher, a pro<strong>of</strong>reader in a tool company, a translator in the<br />
Diet, on the staff <strong>of</strong> a <strong>Japan</strong>ese newspaper in London, as a researcher at Tokyo University<br />
and, for the last two years, as a freelance writer and photographer. He writes on<br />
the <strong>Japan</strong>ese media and internet for www.japanmediareview.com, and contributes<br />
to publications including Wired, Discover, and the <strong>Japan</strong>ese edition <strong>of</strong> Newsweek. His<br />
work can be seen at www.tonymcnicol.com<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l
60 Years young<br />
Dan Sloan<br />
Happy 60th birthday to us! And while in a congratulatory<br />
mood, may I add salutations to the United Nations, postwar<br />
peace in <strong>Japan</strong> and Thomas the Tank Engine.<br />
The last tribute was for my son, while at the other end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
generational spectrum, my father, a card-carrying member <strong>of</strong> the<br />
American Association <strong>of</strong> Retired Persons, says US media are now<br />
calling 60 the new 40, with 50 becoming the new 30, and so on.<br />
As someone who only recently started to identify himself<br />
as middle-aged, this flatters only too well, but recognizing<br />
there may be a wee bit <strong>of</strong> marketing involved, how about if we<br />
reverse the botox approach?<br />
In the case <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Foreign</strong> Correspondents’ <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>,<br />
let’s tout our six decades <strong>of</strong> service as having left a fair share<br />
<strong>of</strong> wrinkles but also as having produced invaluable experience<br />
and perspective that are the envy <strong>of</strong> other FCC or pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
organizations.<br />
Indeed, much <strong>of</strong> that history was captured about 10 years<br />
ago in <strong>Foreign</strong> Correspondents in <strong>Japan</strong>: Reporting a Half Century<br />
<strong>of</strong> Upheavals: From 1945 to the Present, edited by Charles Pomeroy<br />
and featuring contributions from many leading members <strong>of</strong><br />
the club from that period.<br />
A new chapter is needed, one not only looking at the historical,<br />
political and economic issues <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>’s “lost decade”<br />
as well as its current recovery, but also changes in the demographics<br />
<strong>of</strong> our club and its approach.<br />
During the recent general election, our distinguished list<br />
<strong>of</strong> speakers rivalled that <strong>of</strong> any domestic media platform (in<br />
fact it was better if you consider the Koike-Kobayashi debate<br />
and handshake, and Horie’s return from Hiroshima), while<br />
all event speeches and photographs were available free within<br />
hours on our homepage either directly or via our links to<br />
Videonews.<br />
Happy Hour at the FCCJ<br />
The <strong>Foreign</strong> Correspondents’ <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong> is looking to diversify<br />
its membership base. As a result, the Membership Marketing<br />
Committee cordially invites all regular and pr<strong>of</strong>essional journalist<br />
associate members to a Happy Hour in the main bar on the last<br />
Tuesday <strong>of</strong> the month. It’s a chance to unwind with friends and<br />
colleagues, and more importantly, to introduce prospective journalist<br />
members to the club. For every journalist guest you bring,<br />
who submits an application form, you will receive a free bottle <strong>of</strong><br />
wine. And keep in mind we’re not opposed to sending you home<br />
with half a case if six sign up at the event. So be generous with<br />
your friends and colleagues who would greatly benefit from club<br />
membership.<br />
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN l DAN SLOAN<br />
This is the kind <strong>of</strong><br />
technological leap is<br />
essential to promoting<br />
the club and the great<br />
work it performs, and<br />
sets the stage for an upgrade<br />
in our internet<br />
facade currently under<br />
consideration by<br />
our webmaster, David<br />
DuVerle and the ITPC<br />
group.<br />
Certainly, this is not<br />
the kind <strong>of</strong> tinkering one would expect from an organization<br />
in the throes <strong>of</strong> a midlife crisis. Rather, it shows that even<br />
as the oldest FCC in this region, and in much <strong>of</strong> the rest <strong>of</strong><br />
the world, we are extending pr<strong>of</strong>essional and social services to<br />
more than 2,000 members amid an ever-changing agenda.<br />
Another major issue is our facility itself and whether we<br />
want to remain in the Yurakucho Denki Building or need<br />
to explore other opportunities. A long-term renovation and<br />
housing committee has been launched under Director Miki<br />
Tanikawa and First Vice President Khaldon Azhari: they welcome<br />
your thoughts and energy.<br />
Moreover, we are a very young 60, revelling in our distinguished<br />
flecks <strong>of</strong> grey but knowing that a trip to the gym is in<br />
everyone’s interest.<br />
During the Diamond Anniversary celebrations over the<br />
next month, or at any time during this board’s tenure, please<br />
feel free to <strong>of</strong>fer suggestions on how we as an organization<br />
can stay in shape and devise a workout regimen that keeps<br />
you active.<br />
All drinks and snacks provided are free for one hour. Orders taken<br />
Miyake<br />
beyond the hour will be charged to members, and guests can buy<br />
Would you accept a drink from these men?<br />
chits at the reception desk. Akiko<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l
COVER STORY l SAKHALIN<br />
<strong>Sakhalin</strong> surprise<br />
Known best as a territorial hangover from World War II, the Russian-held island is also a rich source <strong>of</strong> energy<br />
and an increasingly popular tourist destination, as JIM BROOKE discovered on a recent trip<br />
Local children hang out and swim in the Sea <strong>of</strong> Okhotsk at the port town <strong>of</strong> Korsakov, Russia<br />
Yes, <strong>Japan</strong> has a northern neighbor.<br />
Last year, about 50 million <strong>Japan</strong>ese<br />
tourists visited Hokkaido. But only 5,000<br />
ventured one island north on the geological<br />
chain, to <strong>Sakhalin</strong>.<br />
“Younger people in <strong>Japan</strong> don’t know<br />
about <strong>Sakhalin</strong>,” Shigeo Natsui, <strong>Japan</strong>’s<br />
consul general on the island, told a visiting<br />
FCCJ group in September. “You say,<br />
‘<strong>Sakhalin</strong>,’ and they think you are talking<br />
about a safari in Africa.”<br />
But the pr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> this mysterious and<br />
seldom visited island should soon rise — for<br />
journalists, tourists and business leaders.<br />
After decades <strong>of</strong> geologists calling <strong>Sakhalin</strong><br />
an energy source comparable to<br />
Alaska’s North Slope and Britain’s North<br />
Sea, the oil and gas riches <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sakhalin</strong> are<br />
finally starting to come on stream, a wel-<br />
l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
come addition in the age <strong>of</strong> the US$70<br />
barrel <strong>of</strong> oil.<br />
In October, Exxon Mobil started to<br />
produce its first oil and gas from <strong>Sakhalin</strong>.<br />
Royal Dutch Shell is in the midst <strong>of</strong> a<br />
US$20 billion project to build Russia’s first<br />
liquefied natural gas plant, only 100 miles<br />
north <strong>of</strong> Hokkaido.<br />
With the billions in oil investment<br />
dollars, an estimated 5,400 foreign workers<br />
will come to <strong>Sakhalin</strong>, generating an<br />
unprecedented openness for an island that<br />
was, successively, a Czarist penal colony, a<br />
bloody battlefield between <strong>Japan</strong> and the<br />
Soviet Union, an eastern killing field and<br />
work camp <strong>of</strong> the Stalinist gulag, and, as<br />
exemplified by the 1983 shooting down <strong>of</strong><br />
KAL 007, a hair-trigger military outpost in<br />
the Cold War.<br />
Today, immigration <strong>of</strong>ficials on <strong>Sakhalin</strong><br />
stamp foreign passports as a matter <strong>of</strong><br />
routine. Over the next year, hotels on the<br />
island are to open like beer bottles. This<br />
overbuilding is to double the number <strong>of</strong><br />
hotel rooms and slash room rates. This autumn,<br />
new flights to <strong>Sakhalin</strong> started from<br />
Anchorage, Houston, Seoul and Tokyo. A<br />
new international air terminal features<br />
conveyor belt baggage retrieval and bilingual<br />
flat-screen flight monitors.<br />
So many foreigners now go to <strong>Sakhalin</strong><br />
that American Express has moved beyond<br />
Moscow and St. Petersburg to open<br />
its third Russian agency, in Yuzhno <strong>Sakhalin</strong>sk,<br />
the island’s capital with a population<br />
160,000.<br />
In early September, an FCCJ advance<br />
party disembarked in <strong>Sakhalin</strong>: Charles<br />
Charles Pertwee
Takako Takeuchi, a Tokyo artist, and her daughter, Yukiko, on board the ferry Eins Soya as it leaves Wakkanai for <strong>Sakhalin</strong><br />
Pertwee, a photographer; Marco Kauffmann<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Suddeutsche Zeitung; and<br />
me.<br />
We were to have been a bigger group,<br />
but midway into the visa application<br />
process, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi<br />
called an election. (For FCCJ members interested<br />
in traveling to <strong>Sakhalin</strong>, we will<br />
give a brief orientation at 5:30 pm<br />
on November 10 in the Main Bar,<br />
just before the “Russia Night”).<br />
From <strong>Japan</strong>, the conventional<br />
way to visit <strong>Sakhalin</strong> is by air — SAT<br />
from Sapporo or Hakodate. Now,<br />
there is also a twice-weekly Vladivostok<br />
Air chartered flight from<br />
Narita. For my third visit in four<br />
years, I persuaded my colleagues to go by<br />
ferry from Wakkanai, the pre-war jumping<br />
<strong>of</strong>f point for <strong>Sakhalin</strong>, when the southern<br />
half was ruled by <strong>Japan</strong> and called Karafuto.<br />
After we were stamped out <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong> at a<br />
metal shed that served as passport control,<br />
we boarded a clean, well-run ferry for the<br />
five-hour trip across the Soya Strait to Korsakov<br />
(¥20,000; one-way; second class).<br />
Moving two days ahead <strong>of</strong> a typhoon, we<br />
had a smooth crossing, with time to watch<br />
dolphins and chat with other passengers.<br />
Most <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Japan</strong>ese passengers were on<br />
nostalgia tours. Many had lived on the island<br />
before the Soviet army crossed into<br />
the <strong>Japan</strong>ese zone on August 15, 1945.<br />
“I feel it is my destiny to come back,”<br />
Takako Takeuchi, a Tokyo artist, said as the<br />
ship crossed the international strait separating<br />
<strong>Japan</strong> and Russia. “It is the place<br />
where I was born. But it is also the place<br />
where my family lost its fortune.”<br />
Approaching Korsakov, we were greeted<br />
by six-story cranes, their large steel feet<br />
frozen by rust into tracks on the docks.<br />
“It looks like War <strong>of</strong> the Worlds,” said<br />
Marco, marveling at his first taste <strong>of</strong> what<br />
would be four days <strong>of</strong> assessing post-Soviet<br />
decay. From our perch on the top<br />
deck, we watched skinny white boys with<br />
The kanji inscription hails the 1905<br />
embarkation <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>ese troops<br />
at nearby Aniva Bay, part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Russo-<strong>Japan</strong>ese War settlement<br />
that allotted <strong>Sakhalin</strong>’s southern<br />
half to <strong>Japan</strong>.<br />
shaved heads diving from concrete blocks<br />
into the Sea <strong>of</strong> Okhotsk. We had arrived<br />
in Russia.<br />
It took us two hours to get from the<br />
deck through customs — slow, but routine.<br />
Our journalist visas did not cause any<br />
excitement. Even Dan Hilton and his wife<br />
Hiromi, a couple from Hokkaido we met<br />
on board, got their four-wheel drive Isuzu<br />
Trooper through customs with minimum<br />
hassle. Dan, a Canadian, was exploring<br />
<strong>Sakhalin</strong> to write a freelance article for an<br />
American four-wheel magazine.<br />
After a 45-minute drive up the hill to<br />
Yuzhno, we went immediately to a dinner<br />
briefing by <strong>Sakhalin</strong> Energy Investment<br />
Co. This consortium <strong>of</strong> Royal Dutch Shell,<br />
Mitsui and Mitsubishi are building the Liquified<br />
Natural Gas plant. Not only has the<br />
completion date slipped half a year to the<br />
summer <strong>of</strong> 2008, but the overall project<br />
cost has doubled, to US$20 billion. For<br />
that, the folks from <strong>Sakhalin</strong> Energy had a<br />
fair amount <strong>of</strong> explaining to do, and one <strong>of</strong><br />
their best excuses was the high price <strong>of</strong> oil.<br />
After dinner we checked into the<br />
Gagarin, one <strong>of</strong> several Soviet-era hotels<br />
that has been totally renovated to cater to<br />
the global energy crowd.<br />
At dawn the following day, I opened<br />
the curtains <strong>of</strong> my sixth-floor room to<br />
unexpectedly behold one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most beautiful room views in my<br />
four years in Asia. Rolling out like<br />
a green carpet, the landscape progressed<br />
from the city park to miles<br />
<strong>of</strong> thickly forested mountains. Rising<br />
on its east to west arc, the sun<br />
pierced a notch between the Chekhov<br />
and the Bolshevik Mountains,<br />
flooding my room with warm light.<br />
On other days, Charles came to photograph<br />
the sunrises and sunsets, but on<br />
day one there was no time for reveries. We<br />
were <strong>of</strong>f to tour the LNG site, at Prigorodnye,<br />
on a bay facing Hokkaido. In addition<br />
to the hard hats and hard boots,<br />
we got a safety lecture on how to behave<br />
around bears (don’t run).<br />
“Plant construction is in full swing,”<br />
said Hillary Mercer, the woman directing<br />
what will be the largest LNG plant in the<br />
world. <strong>Japan</strong>ese power companies have<br />
locked in much <strong>of</strong> the gas for 20-year contracts,<br />
so the worksite we saw will help<br />
keep Tokyo’s lights on and air conditioners<br />
running for much <strong>of</strong> the first half <strong>of</strong><br />
this century.<br />
On the way back, we stopped at the<br />
“<strong>Japan</strong>ese monument,” a hilltop obelisk<br />
toppled by Soviet sappers in 1945. The<br />
kanji inscription hails the 1905 embarkation<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>ese troops at nearby Aniva<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l<br />
Charles Pertwee
The Sakenergy liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and oil export terminal in <strong>Sakhalin</strong><br />
Bay, part <strong>of</strong> the Russo-<strong>Japan</strong>ese War settlement<br />
that allotted <strong>Sakhalin</strong>’s southern<br />
half to <strong>Japan</strong>.<br />
Oddly, some fresh gray gravel had been<br />
splashed around. We later learned from<br />
Consul Natsui and the <strong>Sakhalin</strong> cultural<br />
authorities that the regional government<br />
has decided to preserve <strong>Japan</strong>ese cultural<br />
monuments, largely in the hope <strong>of</strong> attracting<br />
more <strong>Japan</strong>ese tourists. Given the advanced<br />
age <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Japan</strong>ese tourists on the<br />
ferry, <strong>Sakhalin</strong> is going to have to launch<br />
a major tourism drive to avoid red ink<br />
spreading from the ferry to the hotels.<br />
The half-hearted cultural preservation<br />
effort speaks <strong>of</strong> <strong>Sakhalin</strong> islanders’<br />
new self confidence vis a vis <strong>Japan</strong>. Sixty<br />
years ago, after Stalin’s troops invaded in<br />
a two-week campaign, they embarked on<br />
a ruthless “Russificatsiya” <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Japan</strong>ese<br />
section, expelling the roughly 400,000 residents<br />
and demolishing almost everything<br />
<strong>Japan</strong>ese.<br />
On day two <strong>of</strong> our tour, when the typhoon<br />
hit, we took refuge in the regional<br />
museum, one <strong>of</strong> handful <strong>of</strong> surviving<br />
buildings with strong <strong>Japan</strong>ese characteristics.<br />
In the excellent history section,<br />
photos hint at the destruction wrought<br />
in fighting, which left thousands <strong>of</strong> Russians<br />
and <strong>Japan</strong>ese dead. One section, the<br />
“Liberation <strong>of</strong> the Kuriles,” refers to a sub-<br />
10 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
ject best broached diplomatically when in<br />
Yuzhno, a city with administrative control<br />
over four islands that <strong>Japan</strong> claimed as<br />
their Northern Territories.<br />
During our days in Yuzhno, we were<br />
briefed by Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum,<br />
Rosneft, the American Business Center,<br />
Galina Pavlova, <strong>Sakhalin</strong>’s top oil and gas<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficial, and Dmitry Lisitsyn, chairman <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Sakhalin</strong> Enviromental Watch. But we<br />
also had time to sample Yuzhno nightlife,<br />
to try out restaurants with cuisine ranging<br />
from Georgian to Indian to Russian, and<br />
to drive up to the ski area on Bolshevik<br />
Mountain to watch the sun set over the<br />
city.<br />
“I have never had such a productive reporting<br />
trip,” Marco said on Friday night,<br />
as he prepared for his Saturday morning<br />
ferry departure to return to Tokyo for the<br />
elections.<br />
Charles and I stayed through the<br />
weekend. With Zhenya Butenina, the valiant<br />
translator (emb@vimo.dvgu.ru), we<br />
drove across the island, from the port <strong>of</strong><br />
Kholmsk on the Tatar Strait, on the western<br />
shore, to the salmon spawning rivers<br />
and beaches <strong>of</strong> the Sea <strong>of</strong> Okhotsk on the<br />
eastern shore. In the middle <strong>of</strong> our road<br />
trip, we stopped for lunch at Doctor Zhivago,<br />
a roadside wooden cottage where we<br />
fortified ourselves with bear stew.<br />
On Monday morning, we took <strong>of</strong>f on<br />
the SAT flight to Hakodate. As the rugged<br />
Russian plane climbed steeply and flew<br />
south, we could see the new double pipeline,<br />
coursing its way down the island to<br />
the LNG plant. Near the coast, the pipeline<br />
route passes a few miles southwest <strong>of</strong><br />
an abandoned airstrip. Built on a northsouth<br />
axis, the Cold War-era strip was designed<br />
to put Soviet fighters over Wakkanai<br />
in five minutes.<br />
The old strip and the new pipeline<br />
captured the dramatic change in northsouth<br />
relations between two historic rivals<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Pacific, Russia and <strong>Japan</strong>.<br />
FCCJ Russia Night<br />
At 6:30 on Thursday November 10,<br />
the FCCJ will present its first “Russia<br />
Night”, complete with Russian food,<br />
music and door prizes. Alexander<br />
Losyukov, Russia’s ambassador to <strong>Japan</strong>,<br />
will be among those attending. Immediately<br />
before the dinner, at 5:30 pm in<br />
the main bar, FCCJ Director Jim Brooke<br />
will give a quick briefing on <strong>Sakhalin</strong>,<br />
with contact numbers and e-mails for<br />
interested members. The Russia evening<br />
will help members gear up for Russian<br />
President Vladimir Putin’s planned visit<br />
to Tokyo on November 20.<br />
Charles Pertwee
Children play on a war memorial on the 123rd anniversary <strong>of</strong> Yuzhno <strong>Sakhalin</strong>sk<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l 11<br />
Charles Pertwee
ELECTION SPECIAL l KOIZUMI<br />
Koizumi delivers...almost<br />
The recent general election was a study in the supreme stage-management skills <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>’s prime minister.<br />
But media coverage <strong>of</strong> the campaign shortchanged the voters, writes ANTHONY FENSOM<br />
f I have to die for my stand, then I<br />
“Iwill.” It’s the kind <strong>of</strong> quote the media loves,<br />
especially when it comes from the nation’s<br />
political leader. And few are more mediasavvy<br />
than the current occupant <strong>of</strong> the<br />
prime minister’s <strong>of</strong>fice in Nagatacho, <strong>Japan</strong>’s<br />
political center.<br />
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s<br />
leaked statement in early August to his predecessor<br />
Yoshiro Mori on his determination to<br />
push through postal privatization was typical<br />
<strong>of</strong> his election campaign — colorful, theatrical<br />
and over the top. It was also carefully<br />
stage-managed, right down to the crumpled<br />
beer can a despondent Mori was seen carrying<br />
away after a meeting in which he was<br />
said to have failed to persuade his leader not<br />
to call an election on postal reform.<br />
In a campaign accurately described as<br />
“Koizumi theatre,” the master performer<br />
drew on his full repertoire <strong>of</strong> tricks to keep<br />
the media and public engrossed. The standing<br />
ovation he received at the end <strong>of</strong> the<br />
month-long political drama in the form <strong>of</strong><br />
12 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
a landslide victory was testimony to his successful<br />
tactics and the failure <strong>of</strong> those <strong>of</strong> his<br />
opponents. With postal privatization seemingly<br />
about as sexy an issue as accounting<br />
standards, this is a man who could sell snow<br />
to the Eskimos — by the truckload.<br />
Indeed, Koizumi’s right-hand man, Isao<br />
Iijima, was reportedly stunned when in<br />
June he learned <strong>of</strong> the prime minister’s plan<br />
to dissolve the house <strong>of</strong> representatives. It<br />
was a move that Sir Humphrey Appleby <strong>of</strong><br />
the BBC television comedy series Yes Minister<br />
would have described to his minister as<br />
extremely “courageous” — code for political<br />
suicide.<br />
Despite the best efforts <strong>of</strong> the mainstream<br />
media to get a policy debate going, the<br />
campaign for the September 11 election,<br />
which effectively started on August 8 with<br />
the lower house dissolution, was brilliantly<br />
orchestrated by the reformist Liberal Democratic<br />
Party president.<br />
Koizumi gave the public exactly what<br />
they wanted — and are accustomed to getting<br />
— from their political leaders: bread<br />
and circuses. If the bread was in his stated<br />
determination not to push for a tax hike,<br />
the circus was the “assassin” candidates<br />
drafted in by the LDP after Koizumi’s bold<br />
move to expel 37 dissenters against his<br />
postal privatization bills.<br />
Initially stunned by the fact that the<br />
prime minister had made good on his threat<br />
to dissolve the Diet, the celebrities whom<br />
the party picked to run against the postal<br />
rebels had everything the media could ask<br />
for. Top <strong>of</strong> the list was the internet billionaire<br />
Takafumi Horie, a one-time enemy <strong>of</strong><br />
the establishment for his audacious takeover<br />
bid <strong>of</strong> the Fujisankei media group but<br />
now Koizumi’s best friend, along with a<br />
host <strong>of</strong> glamorous female candidates. One<br />
was a popular former television presenter,<br />
another a former model and bureaucrat,<br />
and another a political science pr<strong>of</strong>essor.<br />
The weeklies couldn’t get enough <strong>of</strong><br />
them. They quickly zoomed in on the hairdo<br />
<strong>of</strong> Satsuki Katayama, a former finance<br />
ministry section chief, and her status as a<br />
former Miss Tokyo University, with Yukari
Sato’s alleged affairs involving numerous<br />
men providing further titillation.<br />
The wide shows — the sensationalist<br />
television news programmes providing a<br />
steady diet <strong>of</strong> sex, scandal and rumor —<br />
suddenly started discussing postal reform,<br />
and even the tabloid newspaper, the Tokyo<br />
Sports, started taking an interest.<br />
While Koizumi may have dumbed<br />
down the election, he certainly captured<br />
everyone’s interest, with a Yomiuri Shimbun<br />
poll finding the highest level <strong>of</strong> voter interest<br />
since the single-seat constituency system<br />
was introduced in 1996.<br />
The nation’s two biggest-selling dailies<br />
tried, and failed, to shift the public’s attention<br />
back to policy. The Asahi Shimbun<br />
pleaded to voters to “think seriously about<br />
our role in Iraq” while decrying the “sound<br />
bites” focus <strong>of</strong> the television campaign.<br />
Similarly, the Yomiuri Shimbun, in its August<br />
31 editorial, called on voters to “seriously<br />
scrutinize” the parties’ policies.<br />
Both papers urged debate on such issues<br />
as foreign policy and health, social security<br />
and taxation reform, but despite the increased<br />
depth <strong>of</strong> the parties’ manifestos, the<br />
focus remained on postal reform and the<br />
battle between Koizumi and the LDP rebels.<br />
Media analyst Wm. Penn, author <strong>of</strong> The<br />
Couch Potato’s Guide to <strong>Japan</strong> and columnist<br />
for the Daily Yomiuri, said the election<br />
“was called so abruptly that the manifestos<br />
didn’t get a look in — the main factor was<br />
the ‘assassin’ candidates.”<br />
Chuo University Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Takashi<br />
Inoguchi, whose wife Kuniko was elected<br />
for the first time after being picked as one <strong>of</strong><br />
Koizumi’s assassins, said: “The LDP basically<br />
expelled thirty-odd members <strong>of</strong> its own<br />
party. They found candidates by checking<br />
the frequency <strong>of</strong> their appearances on radio<br />
and television, a process they started even<br />
before the election.<br />
“Koizumi kept sending the same message<br />
— vigorously and ferociously — that<br />
postal privatization would benefit all kinds<br />
<strong>of</strong> things. He made it very simple. The Democratic<br />
Party <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong> leader Katsuya Okada<br />
came across as serious, but uninspiring.”<br />
While Inoguchi said highbrow debate<br />
was all well and good for the elite, he added,<br />
“You have to make it shallow to appeal<br />
to the people — this is a mass democracy,<br />
and it’s TV-oriented.”<br />
The turnout at Koizumi’s street stumps<br />
was testimony to his appeal. While not the<br />
“Lion King” figurehead <strong>of</strong> the early days <strong>of</strong><br />
his premiership, in which his popularity was<br />
such that even phone straps carried his image,<br />
the “Cool Biz” prime minister, minus<br />
his necktie, regularly attracted crowds <strong>of</strong> a<br />
size that would please most rock bands.<br />
Desperately trying to steal some <strong>of</strong> his<br />
political boss’s limelight was Horie, who has<br />
never met a camera he didn’t like. Koizumi<br />
adroitly put the wealthy internet entrepreneur<br />
up against Shizuka Kamei, a bastion <strong>of</strong><br />
the old school, pork-barrel style politics.<br />
The contest was tailor-made for the media:<br />
Tokyo-drafted outsider against Hiroshima<br />
local; freshman versus political veteran;<br />
new economy versus old. Some <strong>of</strong> the highlights<br />
included Horie’s appearance at the<br />
FCCJ, where he called Kamei a virtual communist<br />
for his talk <strong>of</strong> defending the poor<br />
and the weak. Kamei, now a candidate for<br />
the People’s New Party, countered by blasting<br />
Koizumi’s “fascistic” tactics.<br />
At every appearance, crowds <strong>of</strong> Hiroshima<br />
residents flocked to get autographs from<br />
Horie, a man who has made not wearing a<br />
suit a political statement. Even when Kamei<br />
won — by only 26,000 votes — Horie got<br />
more television airtime than his opponent.<br />
The pain <strong>of</strong> his loss may also have been eased<br />
somewhat by the bounce in his company<br />
Livedoor’s share price, which hit a year-high<br />
in mid-August, undoubtedly helped by its<br />
president’s increased media exposure.<br />
While electoral laws prevented Horie<br />
from utilizing the power <strong>of</strong> his internet<br />
empire to garner votes, Nikkei journalist<br />
Yoichi Takita said the rules were likely to<br />
change “in the very near future” now that<br />
the brash 32-year-old has the ear <strong>of</strong> the<br />
prime minister.<br />
So did the media do its job? Amid the<br />
shouting matches on television involving<br />
such outspoken figures as Kamei and Tokyo’s<br />
governor, Shintaro Ishihara, Columbia University<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Gerald Curtis said Koizumi<br />
had sparked “a bigger boom than any before<br />
him.” It was a hard job just keeping up with<br />
the frenetic activity.<br />
Penn, however, dismissed assertions<br />
that the made-for-television campaign had<br />
been shallow.<br />
“Compared with the last two US presi-<br />
dential elections, in which only the two<br />
major parties were allowed television<br />
debate time, and in 2004, when the incumbent<br />
seemed to have a definite media<br />
advantage, the <strong>Japan</strong>ese media has been<br />
quite fair,” she said.<br />
“All seven parties were given a chance<br />
to participate in on-air discussions, and the<br />
wide shows actually turned over whole half<br />
hours for debate between candidates.<br />
“Some networks were better than others<br />
— TBS and TV Asahi usually try harder<br />
— but as none <strong>of</strong> the candidates were really<br />
explicit about their proposals, it was hard<br />
for the media to get a handle on things.”<br />
Former FCCJ President Sam Jameson<br />
said the coverage <strong>of</strong> the assassins “got<br />
the vote out.” Voter turnout <strong>of</strong> around<br />
67 percent was the highest since the 1990<br />
election’s 73 percent, something that<br />
magnified the LDP’s gains under the single-constituency<br />
system.<br />
Jameson, though, said the media had<br />
let themselves down by allowing Koizumi<br />
to avoid his weak area — relations with<br />
China and the Koreas — despite editorials<br />
calling for action. He also voiced surprise<br />
over the lack <strong>of</strong> coverage given to the success<br />
<strong>of</strong> women candidates, with a record<br />
43 elected to the lower house, the highest<br />
number since 1946.<br />
“There has been evidence over the years<br />
that voters want the LDP to stay in power,<br />
but they want reform,” Jameson said. “It<br />
wasn’t the privatization issue that appealed<br />
to voters, but the fact that Koizumi had denied<br />
endorsement to the rebels and was wiping<br />
out one <strong>of</strong> his party’s support bases.”<br />
In a race in which style was far more important<br />
than substance, it was Katsuya Okada,<br />
leader <strong>of</strong> the Democratic Party <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>,<br />
who died politically for his principles, and<br />
not the charmed gambler from Yokosuka. It<br />
is safe to say that the <strong>Japan</strong>ese media won’t<br />
be shedding too many tears.<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l 13
PHOTO ESSAY l ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
Tokyo votes<br />
TONY MCNICOL follows the campaign trail in Tokyo’s 12th district<br />
Tokyo’s 12th district is made up <strong>of</strong><br />
Kita ward and part <strong>of</strong> Adachi ward<br />
in the north <strong>of</strong> the city. It was the only<br />
constituency in Tokyo where the Liberal<br />
Democratic Party did not field a candidate.<br />
The New Komeito candidate, Akihiro<br />
Ota, was voted in with 109,636 votes.<br />
The Democratic Party <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>’s Yukihisa<br />
Fujita was elected under the proportional<br />
14 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
representation system. Postal-reform rebel<br />
and former Posts Minister Eita Yashiro<br />
gained 44,279 votes but lost his seat. Ken<br />
Nonoyama <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Japan</strong>ese Communist<br />
Party came fourth with 26,068 votes.<br />
The photographs featured here were<br />
taken outside local railway stations in<br />
the constituency during the final three<br />
days <strong>of</strong> the campaign.<br />
(This page top) New Komeito supporters listen to their<br />
candidate, Akihiro Ota, speak outside Itabashi Station.<br />
(This page bottom left) <strong>Japan</strong>ese Communist Party leader<br />
Kazuo Shii addresses a crowd outside Akabane Station.<br />
(This page bottom right) The heat gets to one voter during<br />
a campaign speech the day before the polls opened.<br />
(Page 1 ) A child catches forty winks during a New<br />
Komeito hustings outside Itabashi station on a hot and<br />
sticky afternoon.
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l 15
ELECTION SPECIAL l WEEKLIES WATCH<br />
Weeklies watch<br />
While the foreign press praised Koizumi as a daring reformer following his September 11 election victory, several<br />
<strong>Japan</strong>ese weeklies used other monikers: the “Dictator” and “Little Hitler” among them, writes CHIE MATSUMOTO<br />
How did Junichiro Koizumi win the<br />
September general election? There<br />
are as many answers to that question as<br />
there are pundits analyzing the poll, but<br />
Yoichiro Komori gives one <strong>of</strong> the more<br />
critical replies. In an election postmortem<br />
in Shukan Kinyobi, he accuses Koizumi <strong>of</strong><br />
practicing a “spiral <strong>of</strong> silence.”<br />
First, Koizumi raised post<strong>of</strong>fice privatization.<br />
Because, initially, few could care<br />
less, the opposition was silent. Later, when<br />
opposing voices finally came, Koizumi silenced<br />
them by accusing them <strong>of</strong> working<br />
against the national interest. Others then<br />
stayed quiet for fear they would suffer the<br />
same fate.<br />
Hey presto: election victory, says Komori,<br />
who teaches at Tokyo University.<br />
In the end, frustration with the way<br />
Koizumi fought the election led some politicians<br />
to lash out, including LDP rebels<br />
expelled from the party who dubbed him<br />
“Little Hitler” and the “Dictator.”<br />
“Koizumi won because he focused<br />
exclusively on one policy,” writes Jiro<br />
Yamaguchi in the same issue. The<br />
Hokkaido University academic suspects<br />
that many ordinary citizens were ignorant<br />
<strong>of</strong> the issues, because they were seeking a<br />
decisive leader rather than trying to learn<br />
the details <strong>of</strong> the policies being promoted.<br />
Yamaguchi writes that the Democratic<br />
Party <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong> embraced the popular<br />
agenda <strong>of</strong> smaller government, but failed<br />
to impress the voters because it simply<br />
promoted LDP-sounding slogans<br />
such as cutting public workers<br />
and government spending.<br />
Still he says, <strong>Japan</strong> was lucky<br />
to avoid the worst-case scenario:<br />
no opposition at all. The Social<br />
Democrats and the Communists<br />
survived, despite fears that they<br />
would lose every single seat.<br />
And the DPJ? “It is simply mimicking<br />
LDP policies — no way to go for an opposition<br />
party,” he claims; the DPJ has abandoned<br />
its role <strong>of</strong> protesting and blocking the<br />
debatable policies <strong>of</strong> the ruling coalition.<br />
Yamaguchi analyses Koizumi’s popularity<br />
thus: “With neo-liberal policies<br />
comes the notion that winners keep on<br />
winning and the rest only have themselves<br />
to blame; the public then tends<br />
to seek a leader who appears to speak to<br />
their personal needs.”<br />
Takeharu Watai, a video journalist<br />
with Asia Press, agrees, comparing Koizu-<br />
16 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
The <strong>Japan</strong>ese press announces Koizumi’s stunning victory<br />
mi with Bae Yong Joon, the South Korean<br />
star who has mesmerized thousands <strong>of</strong><br />
middle-aged <strong>Japan</strong>ese women. For swing<br />
voters, Koizumi had the movie-star charm<br />
and charisma to make them believe that<br />
Komori points out that Koizumi<br />
came very close to violating the<br />
constitution, which does not allow<br />
a prime minister to dissolve parliament<br />
after his bills have been voted<br />
down in the upper house.<br />
he spoke to them personally, he says.<br />
Komori points out that Koizumi came<br />
very close to violating the constitution,<br />
which does not allow a prime minister<br />
to dissolve parliament after his bills have<br />
been voted down in the upper house.<br />
As for Koizumi’s reforms, Yamaguchi<br />
likens them to a haunted house: “You can<br />
see the entrance to postal privatization but<br />
can’t tell what is inside or what waits at<br />
the exit.” He believes the ghosts inside include<br />
a large tax hike and the breakdown<br />
<strong>of</strong> the pension system.<br />
Koizumi portrayed himself as a prime<br />
minister who listens and follows through<br />
on his promises, but will he be able to<br />
deliver by the time be resigns in September<br />
2006? Some believe he may end up<br />
dumping everything onto the next prime<br />
minister.<br />
Yamaguchi questions whether<br />
a leader can bring citizens on board<br />
merely by shrinking government<br />
and attacking bureaucracy. He<br />
thinks the election will be followed<br />
by revision <strong>of</strong> Article 9 and a further<br />
shift to the right, as Koizumi<br />
continues to push the public’s nationalist<br />
buttons.<br />
Yamaguchi wants <strong>Japan</strong> to urgently establish<br />
a system <strong>of</strong> two-party government<br />
like the United States, boasting both neoliberalism<br />
and social democracy. To that<br />
end, he believes the DPJ must establish a<br />
clear ideology and strategy, once it licks its<br />
election wounds.<br />
“Koizumi’s reforms will cause many<br />
people to suffer, ”he suggests. Without<br />
a social democratic party to represent<br />
the needs <strong>of</strong> these people, options will<br />
be limited. “And without options,” says<br />
Yamaguchi, “there is fascism.”<br />
Akiko Miyake
Takafumi Horie<br />
In the battle between the old guard and<br />
the “assassins” in the September 11<br />
election, nowhere was the contest starker<br />
— or more bitter — than in the Hiroshima<br />
No. 6 constituency.<br />
The internet entrepreneur, Takafumi<br />
Horie, knew he was up against a formidable<br />
foe in Shizuka Kamei, who was unceremoniously<br />
ousted from the Liberal<br />
Democratic Party for failing to support<br />
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s postal<br />
privatisation bills.<br />
But after a private meeting with the<br />
premier, Horie, 32, agreed to run as an independent<br />
backed by the LDP in a constituency<br />
that Kamei had held since 1979.<br />
Six days after his opponent had appeared<br />
at the club, and six months after<br />
his previous visit — during which he<br />
stated that he had absolutely no political<br />
ambitions — Horie returned to explain<br />
his dramatic about-face.<br />
“Until now I have been involved in<br />
many business ventures and I have felt<br />
the pace <strong>of</strong> change in <strong>Japan</strong>ese politics<br />
is very slow, so I was not interested,” he<br />
said. “But as I go on with my businesses,<br />
I’m becoming frustrated at the slow pace<br />
<strong>of</strong> change.<br />
“I knew I could vote, but I could not<br />
come up with the name <strong>of</strong> a politician<br />
who could solve the problems I was having<br />
in business.<br />
“Up to now, <strong>Japan</strong>ese politics has been<br />
just a case <strong>of</strong> a politician bringing government<br />
money — subsidies and tax grants<br />
— to a region. Politicians don’t have a<br />
dream for <strong>Japan</strong> that they guide the people<br />
towards. Maybe they think about it,<br />
but I have never seen any <strong>of</strong> that kind <strong>of</strong><br />
action.”<br />
Horie’s comments were a thinly veiled<br />
attack on his opponent, who, critics say,<br />
takes care <strong>of</strong> his constituents with government<br />
financial assistance and public<br />
works projects.<br />
“Why are young, capable <strong>Japan</strong>ese<br />
not entering politics?” Horie asked. “It’s<br />
because they consider it to be dirty and<br />
corrupt. I want to change that and make<br />
young people see politicians as cool<br />
and brilliant. If we can bring about that<br />
change, we can have a new generation <strong>of</strong><br />
politicians.”<br />
Unfortunately for Horie, the people<br />
<strong>of</strong> Hiroshima opted to elect a man who<br />
has been their benefactor for more than a<br />
quarter <strong>of</strong> a century.<br />
Five days before<br />
the vote, however,<br />
the president<br />
<strong>of</strong> Livedoor was<br />
laying out plans<br />
for some radical<br />
changes in <strong>Japan</strong>’s<br />
society and its<br />
politics.<br />
“The authority<br />
<strong>of</strong> the prime<br />
minister is limited<br />
in comparison to<br />
the presidential<br />
system used in the<br />
United States, and<br />
it could even be<br />
argued that Koizumi<br />
was not chosen<br />
by the people<br />
but by the party,”<br />
he said.<br />
“The presidential<br />
system is very<br />
simple to understand<br />
and is better<br />
for the modern<br />
age. Everything<br />
happens much<br />
faster today and we<br />
need a leadership that is able to react<br />
quickly and nimbly to events.”<br />
In other comments that may well<br />
have lost him votes in the conservative<br />
heartland <strong>of</strong> Hiroshima, he broached the<br />
controversial subject <strong>of</strong> the role <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Emperor.<br />
“Although he is just a symbol and<br />
most people are not bothered about the<br />
Emperor, I feel uncomfortable that the<br />
constitution begins with the phrase, ‘The<br />
Emperor shall be symbol <strong>of</strong> the state,’” he<br />
said. “The reason that past prime ministers<br />
and cabinets have not tried to change<br />
this is because they are scared <strong>of</strong> rightwingers.”<br />
As well as voicing support for Koizumi’s<br />
postal reform plans, Horie said that,<br />
if elected, he would champion an increase<br />
in immigration to fill the looming gap in<br />
the domestic labour market, as well as<br />
election campaigning via the internet and<br />
increased spending on rocket technology<br />
to compete with China in the Far East<br />
space race.<br />
“<strong>Japan</strong> is confused and has no sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> direction,” he said. “It is important for<br />
governments as well as companies to be<br />
Horie speaks at the FCCJ as polling days nears<br />
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS l ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
able to make a choice. <strong>Japan</strong> cannot aspire<br />
to be the same as the US or China<br />
purely because <strong>of</strong> their size and population,<br />
so we have to identify our strengths<br />
and focus our efforts on areas where we<br />
can be number one in the world.”<br />
Suggesting that Kamei had “changed”<br />
since his days as a top police <strong>of</strong>ficial and<br />
powerful politician, the author <strong>of</strong> Earning<br />
Money is Everything: From Zero to ¥10 Billion,<br />
My Way, said his aim in the election<br />
was to <strong>of</strong>fer hope to the people <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>.<br />
“Mr. Kamei is the symbol <strong>of</strong> old-style<br />
politics and if he can be defeated it will<br />
give hope to the people <strong>of</strong> this country,”<br />
Horie said. “It won’t be easy, but if I can<br />
clear the highest hurdle first then everything<br />
else will come easier.”<br />
Before midnight on September 11, it<br />
had become clear that he would not overcome<br />
the hurdle <strong>of</strong> being elected, but few<br />
would bet against him carrying through<br />
with his political ambitions at a later date.<br />
Even though he was running for elected<br />
<strong>of</strong>fice for the first time, Horie hinted<br />
heavily that he himself would like to be<br />
the first president <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>.<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l 1<br />
Akiko Miyake
SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS l ELECTION SPECIAL<br />
Election special<br />
As the photographs on these pages<br />
prove, the FCCJ was host to a who’s<br />
who <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong>ese politics in the run-up to<br />
the general election on September 11.<br />
All <strong>of</strong> the events were highly topical,<br />
attracted healthy attendances and provided<br />
FCCJ members with an opportunity to<br />
put tricky questions to people in the news<br />
— achieving everything we strive for as an<br />
organization.<br />
Much <strong>of</strong> the success <strong>of</strong> the programme<br />
should be credited to Wayne Hunter and<br />
Chung Hyon Suk, whose tireless work and<br />
late nights were behind the realization <strong>of</strong><br />
1. Sadao Hirano, former member <strong>of</strong> the House <strong>of</strong><br />
Representatives and author <strong>of</strong> The Truth about the<br />
New Komeito and Soka Gakkai: August 1<br />
2. Yoshinobu Shimamura, member <strong>of</strong> the House<br />
<strong>of</strong> Representatives and former minister <strong>of</strong> Agricul-<br />
ture, Forestry and Fisheries: August 1<br />
3. Katsuya Okada, Democratic Party <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong> President:<br />
August 25<br />
4. Takenori Kanzaki, New Komeito Chief Repre-<br />
3<br />
1 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
these key events.<br />
A big thank you must also go to the<br />
members <strong>of</strong> the PAC forum e-mail group,<br />
who were quick <strong>of</strong>f the mark with speaker<br />
suggestions.<br />
Many regular members have complimented<br />
me on the PAC programme, and it<br />
is good to know that the speakers were so<br />
useful to journalists covering the election.<br />
Equally satisfying was the fact that several<br />
<strong>Japan</strong>ese media also picked up on our<br />
election programme and asked how we<br />
managed to secure such a stellar line-up.<br />
Looking ahead, the PAC hopes to bring<br />
sentative: August 26<br />
5. Shoichi Nakagawa, Minister <strong>of</strong> Economy, Trade<br />
and Industry: August 26<br />
6. Shinzo Abe, Acting Secretary General, Liberal<br />
Democratic Party: August 2<br />
. Shizuka Kamei, Kokumin Shinto (People’s New<br />
Party): August 31<br />
. Koki Kobayashi, Shinto Nippon and Yuriko<br />
Koike, Liberal Democratic Party: September 2<br />
1 2 4<br />
in just as many newsmakers in the future,<br />
including those who will feature in a special<br />
60th anniversary programme at the club<br />
and a series <strong>of</strong> celebratory events outside.<br />
But the success <strong>of</strong> PAC events depends<br />
on support from the FCCJ membership. If<br />
you plan to attend an event, please register!<br />
If you have a suggestion for a speaker<br />
or event theme, please inform a PAC chair<br />
or use the online submission form.<br />
After all, without your help and support,<br />
none <strong>of</strong> this would have been possible.<br />
Martyn Williams — Co-chair, Pr<strong>of</strong>essional<br />
Activities Committee<br />
. Kazuo Shii, <strong>Japan</strong>ese Communist Party Executive<br />
Committee Chair: September 5<br />
10. Takafumi Horie, President and CEO, Livedoor<br />
Co., Ltd: September 6<br />
11. Sawako Takeuchi, Candidate for the Position<br />
<strong>of</strong> OECD Secretary-General: September 6<br />
12. Yasuo Tanaka, Captain <strong>of</strong> New Party Nippon<br />
and Governor <strong>of</strong> Nagano Prefecture: September<br />
Akiko Miyake photos
5 6<br />
7 8<br />
9 10 11<br />
12<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l 1<br />
Akiko Miyake photos
RECENT EVENTS l SAMBA NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE<br />
Samba Night — August 23<br />
FCCJ members let their hair down for a night <strong>of</strong> entertainment, Brazilian style. Churrasco, fish and prawn stew, and feijoada were the<br />
culinary highlights. However, it was the Asakusa Samba Group that really upped the tempo<br />
Saturday Night Live — September 3 & 10<br />
Slowing down a touch, members were treated to a little sangria and some classical Spanish guitar by well-known duo Sangre Hispana. Then<br />
Luis Sartor impressed members with his playing <strong>of</strong> the charango, a small ten-string lute traditionally fashioned from an armadillo shell<br />
Saturday Night Live — September 17<br />
In keeping with the theme <strong>Japan</strong>’s own La Tuna group serenaded FCCJ members with Spanish ballads and a whole lot <strong>of</strong> merrymaking<br />
20 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
Akiko Miyake photos<br />
Kuryu Masao photos<br />
Kuryu Masao photos
Upcoming Events<br />
Visit the <strong>Foreign</strong> Correspondents’ <strong>Club</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Japan</strong> web site for further updates on events at www.fccj.or.jp<br />
Upcoming PAC Events<br />
Oct. 25, Tuesday, 15:00-16:00<br />
James Morris<br />
Executive director, World Food Programme<br />
Nov. 25, Friday, 12:00-13:30, Lunch<br />
Carlos Ghosn<br />
President and co-chairman, Nissan Motor Co.<br />
The FCCJ Library stocks a wide variety <strong>of</strong> resources<br />
on <strong>Japan</strong> and Asia including videos,<br />
books, newspapers, periodicals and reference<br />
materials in English and <strong>Japan</strong>ese. Wire<br />
services from Reuters, Bridge News, Nikkei<br />
and online databases are also avilable.<br />
Along with the Narian workroom, available<br />
24 hours a day to regular members and<br />
guests, the library is well stocked with tools<br />
to help you make the news.<br />
The library is open Monday to Friday,<br />
10:30–19:00 and on Saturdays 13:00–17:00.<br />
It is closed on Sundays and <strong>Japan</strong>ese national<br />
holidays.<br />
War Reporting for<br />
Cowards<br />
Ayers, Chris<br />
Atlantic Monthly Press<br />
Gift from Steven L. Herman<br />
Spitfires in <strong>Japan</strong><br />
Bouchier, Cecil (‘Boy’)<br />
Global Oriental<br />
Gift from UPS<br />
Subway Guide to Tokyo<br />
De Mente, Boye Lafayette<br />
Tuttle Publishing<br />
Gift from Tuttle Publishing<br />
The Devil’s Teeth<br />
Casey, Susan<br />
Henry Holt and Company<br />
Exhibitions<br />
November<br />
Main bar and sushi bar:<br />
Prints by Yoshiko Shimada on the theme<br />
<strong>of</strong> women in World War II.<br />
The Smoking Diaries<br />
Gray, Simon<br />
Granta Books<br />
Gift from George Deutsch<br />
A Time Remembered<br />
Gruhzit- Hoyt, Olga<br />
Presidio<br />
Daisy Miller and Other Stories<br />
James, Henry<br />
Oxford University Press<br />
Gift from Michael Berger<br />
The Historian<br />
Kostova, Elizabeth<br />
Brown & Company<br />
A Changing Korea in<br />
Regional and Global<br />
Contexts<br />
Lee-Jay Cho<br />
East-West Center & Seoul<br />
National University Press<br />
Gift from Bradley K. Martin<br />
The Art and Politics <strong>of</strong> Arthur Szyk<br />
Luckert, Steven<br />
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum<br />
Gift from Rinjiro Sodei<br />
<strong>Japan</strong>ese Law in Context<br />
Milhaupt, Curtis J. ed.<br />
Harvard University Asia Center<br />
Gift from The New York Times<br />
The Great Wall and the Empty Fortress<br />
Nathan, Andrew J.<br />
W. W. Norton<br />
Gift from Emiko Doi<br />
UPCOMING EVENTS l BOOKS & LIBRARY<br />
December<br />
Main bar and sushi bar:<br />
Photographs by Kyoichi Tsuzuki from his<br />
Roadside <strong>Japan</strong> and other projects.<br />
Love Letters at Sixty<br />
NHK Publishing Co., Ltd.<br />
NHK Shuppan Co., Ltd.<br />
Gift from Richard R. F. Ginies<br />
Baketsu Hitotsu de Asia Tabi<br />
Oshiro, Kazumi<br />
Jyoho Senter Shuppankyoku<br />
Fire Sale<br />
Paretsky, Sara<br />
G. P. Putnam’s Son<br />
Tokyo Nights<br />
Richie, Donald<br />
Printed Matter Press<br />
Gift from Donald Richie<br />
Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince<br />
Rowling, J. K.<br />
Livine Books<br />
Gift from John W. Brady<br />
The Emigrants<br />
Sebald, W. G.<br />
Vintage<br />
Gift from George Deutsch<br />
Tha Chan’s Great Continent<br />
Spence, Jonathan D.<br />
W. W. Norton<br />
Gift from Emiko Doi<br />
Spy on the Ro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> the World<br />
Wignall, Sydney<br />
Lyons & Burford, Publishers<br />
Gift from Emiko Doi<br />
FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN l NOVEMBER 2005 l 21
NEW MEMBERS l COMMITTEE MEMBERS<br />
Birga Boecker first came to<br />
<strong>Japan</strong> several years ago on<br />
a school exchange, spending<br />
a fascinating year living<br />
with home-stay families.<br />
After returning to Germany<br />
she attended journalism school and started<br />
studying economics at the University <strong>of</strong><br />
Cologne, before coming to <strong>Japan</strong> for anther<br />
year, this time as an exchange student<br />
at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. After<br />
graduation she got a job with the German<br />
financial newspaper Boersen-Zeitung and<br />
finally made her way back here again this<br />
March as a foreign correspondent. Birga is<br />
looking forward to exchanging views about<br />
<strong>Japan</strong>, its economy, politics and people<br />
with fellow members <strong>of</strong> the FCCJ.<br />
60th Anniversary<br />
*Robert Neff<br />
*Ge<strong>of</strong>frey Tudor<br />
*Richard Hanson<br />
Associate Liaison<br />
*Jack Spillum<br />
*Michiko Mitarai<br />
*Dan Sloan<br />
Tadahisa Matsuda<br />
Shijuro Ogata<br />
Gyoun Hayashi<br />
Yoshimi Honma<br />
Isao Yamagata<br />
Kikuko Hanami<br />
Isao Saito<br />
Thomas Brown<br />
Grady E. Loy<br />
Mehdi Bassiri<br />
Mark Halpern<br />
Don Hauk<br />
V. C. Lingam<br />
Yasuo Kojima<br />
Ernie Salomon<br />
Blue Ribbon Panel<br />
*Anthony Rowley<br />
22 l FCCJ NUMBER 1 SHIMBUN<br />
Hiroaki Uemura has been<br />
president <strong>of</strong> the Nikkei Osaka<br />
Seisaku Center since<br />
March this year. Before<br />
that he was general manager<br />
<strong>of</strong> the production bureau<br />
at the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in Osaka,<br />
a post he had held since March 2001. He<br />
was the editor <strong>of</strong> the news editing department<br />
in Tokyo March 1993–March 2001,<br />
and deputy editor <strong>of</strong> the capital market<br />
news department October 1990–March<br />
1993. He was deputy editor <strong>of</strong> the London<br />
bureau March 1988–1990 and a staff<br />
correspondent in the New York bureau<br />
March 1985–March 1988. Uemura graduated<br />
with a BA from Waseda University<br />
in 1970.<br />
The Number One Shimbun needs you!<br />
If you would like to contribute words or pictures to your magazine, please feel free to contact the editor at<br />
Kazuo Abiko<br />
Richard Hanson<br />
Steven Herman<br />
Gebhard Hielscher<br />
Roger Schreffler<br />
James Treece<br />
Jack Russell<br />
Entertainment<br />
*Glenn Davis<br />
**Nobuko Hara<br />
Music<br />
*Kei’ichiro Tominaga<br />
**Nobuko Hara<br />
Exhibitions<br />
*Per Bodner<br />
Andrea Waldbrunner<br />
Gabrielle Kennedy<br />
Androniki<br />
Christodoulou<br />
Finance<br />
*Yoshisuke Iinuma<br />
**Miki Tanikawa<br />
Roderick Lucas<br />
Justin.McCurry@guardian.co.uk<br />
Edwin Merner<br />
Stephen Church<br />
Catherine Makino<br />
Richard Hanson<br />
Paul H<strong>of</strong>f<br />
Food & Beverage<br />
*Bob Kirschenbaum<br />
Gabrielle Kennedy<br />
**Pio d’Emilia<br />
Freedoom <strong>of</strong> Press<br />
*Benjamin Fulford<br />
House &<br />
Property<br />
*Khaldon Azhari<br />
Human<br />
Resources<br />
*Pio d’Emilia<br />
**Miki Tanikawa<br />
Anthony Rowley<br />
V. C. Lingam<br />
Naruhiko Kurimura<br />
Roger Schreffler<br />
Paul H<strong>of</strong>f<br />
November 2005 list <strong>of</strong> committee members<br />
Cathe Johnson<br />
Ernest Kepper<br />
Martin Koelling<br />
ITPC<br />
*Khaldon Azhari<br />
*Martyn Williams<br />
Dan Sloan<br />
Dennis Normile<br />
Steven Herman<br />
Miki Tanikawa<br />
Jason Testar<br />
Roger Williams<br />
David du Verle<br />
Jean-Guy Rioux<br />
Library, Archives<br />
& Workroom<br />
(Nakayama)<br />
*Jack Russell<br />
*Julian Ryall<br />
**Dennis Normile<br />
Suvendrini Kakuchi<br />
Hiroyasu Tomaru<br />
Koichi Ishiyama<br />
Khaldon Azhari<br />
Regis Arnaud<br />
Catherine Makino<br />
Joachim Bergstrom<br />
Roger Schreffler<br />
Haruko Watanabe<br />
Nobuko Hara<br />
Membership<br />
*Robert Neff<br />
*James Treece<br />
**Steven Herman<br />
Kazuo Abiko<br />
Raffaera Scaglietta<br />
Membership<br />
Marketing Advisory<br />
*Monzurul Huq<br />
**Yoshisuke Iinuma<br />
Anthony Rowley<br />
Jack Spillum<br />
Michiko Mitarai<br />
T.W. Kang<br />
John Harris<br />
Cindy Mullins<br />
Movie<br />
*Joy Waitkus<br />
Darryl Gibson<br />
Roy Garner<br />
Edwin Karmiol<br />
Mitsuru Sakuraba<br />
Per Bodner<br />
Joachim Bergstrom<br />
Iain Mitchell<br />
PAC<br />
*Martyn Williams<br />
*Jim Brooke<br />
**Jim Brooke<br />
Anthony Rowley<br />
Alan Brender<br />
Andrew Horvat<br />
Benjamin Fulford<br />
Dan Sloan<br />
Dennis Normile<br />
Eiichiro Tokumoto<br />
Eric Johnston<br />
Fred Varcoe<br />
Fuyuko Nishisato<br />
Gabrielle Kennedy<br />
Gebhard Hielscher<br />
Glenn Davis<br />
Go Kawasaki<br />
Gregory Clark<br />
Hans van der Lugt<br />
Haruko Watanabe<br />
Henry Scott-Stokes<br />
Iain Mitchell<br />
James Simms<br />
James Treece<br />
Jason Testar<br />
Julian Ryall<br />
Justin McCurry<br />
Kazue Suzuki<br />
Keiji Matsushima<br />
Khaldon Azhari<br />
Ko Shioya<br />
Martin Fackler<br />
Martin Koelling<br />
Martyn Williams<br />
Masaaki Fukunaga<br />
Mary Corbett<br />
Miki Tanikawa<br />
Monzurul Huq<br />
Murray Sayle<br />
Nami Tsuiki<br />
Naoaki Usui<br />
Nicole Bastian<br />
Nobuko Hara<br />
Pio d'Emilia<br />
Regis Arnaud<br />
Richard Smith<br />
NOVEMBER REGULAR MEMBERS<br />
Jonathan Head, BBC<br />
Saki Ouchi, Yomiuri Shimbun<br />
Jagjeet Dhaliwall, Bloomberg News<br />
Wayne S. Graczyk, Baseball America<br />
PROFESSIONAL/JOURNALIST<br />
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS<br />
Caroline Pover, Caroline Pover, Inc.<br />
Setsuro Tamai, IDG <strong>Japan</strong>, Inc.<br />
Tomoko Oka, World Fashion Dynamics<br />
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS<br />
Sanjeev Sinha, UBS Investment Bank<br />
Eiji Tsuchiya, Amway <strong>Japan</strong> Ltd.<br />
Tomoki Komine<br />
Commonwealth Engineers Co., Ltd.<br />
Shigeru Itoh, Waseda University<br />
Saburo Kano<br />
Dentsu Young & Rubicam Inc.<br />
Masashi Suda<br />
NYK Global Bulk Corporation<br />
Haruo Yamamoto<br />
Mitsui Bussan Solvent & Coating Co., Ltd.<br />
Chieko Hashimoto, Hiromori Inc.<br />
Takeshi Matsunaga<br />
NYK Global Bulk Corporation<br />
Yukiyoshi Watanabe, Isfnet, Inc.<br />
Hirotada Seyama, Tokan Corporation<br />
Atsushi Yoshimoto<br />
ITID Consulting, Ltd.<br />
Yukihiro Miyazaki<br />
Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company<br />
REINSTATED ASSOCIATE MEMBER<br />
Graham John Roger Pike<br />
Forefront Technologies K. K.<br />
Robert Kirschenbaum<br />
Roger Schreffler<br />
Shiro Yoneyama<br />
Steve McClure<br />
T.W. Kang<br />
Tony McNicol<br />
Yoshisuke Iinuma<br />
(Wayne Hunter)<br />
(Chung Hyon Suk)<br />
Publications<br />
*Justin McCurry<br />
**Khaldon Azhari<br />
David McNeill<br />
Tony McNicol<br />
Gabrielle Kennedy<br />
Androniki Christodoulou<br />
Eric Prideaux<br />
Leo Lewis<br />
Swadesh DeRoy<br />
Scholarship and<br />
Young Journalist<br />
* Yukari Iwatani-Kane<br />
*Alan Brender<br />
**Dan Sloan<br />
Special Project<br />
*Haruko Watanabe<br />
**Dan Sloan<br />
Naotake Nobuhara<br />
Steve McClure<br />
Jack Russell<br />
Yoshisuke Iinuma<br />
Julian Ryall<br />
Michiyo Nakamoto<br />
Sports<br />
*Fred Varcoe<br />
WAC<br />
*Atsuko DeRoy<br />
*Sandra Mori<br />
FPIJ<br />
*Richard Lloyd Parry<br />
(The Times)<br />
Key<br />
*Chair<br />
**Board Liaison<br />
***Chair and Board<br />
Liaison<br />
Note:<br />
The names <strong>of</strong><br />
committee chairs<br />
and liaison members<br />
were accurate as the<br />
Number One Shimbun<br />
went to press.