Can Buzzfeed Revolutionize Japan's News Diet?

The magazine of The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan

August 2016, Volume 48 No. 8, ¥400

Can Buzzfeed revolutionize Japan’s news diet?

Profile Military Justice The election Photographer A controversial Feeling a Martin Hladik killing & trial in 1957 little better? Vol. 48, Number 8 August 2016 contact the editors [email protected]

Publisher FCCJ

Editor Gregory Starr Art Director Andrew Pothecary www.forbiddencolour.com Editorial Assistants Naomichi Iwamura, Tyler Rothmar Photo Coordinator Akiko Miyake Publications committee members Gavin Blair, Freelance (Chair); Geoffrey Tudor, Orient Aviation; Monzurul Huq, Prothom Alo; Julian Ryall, Daily Telegraph; John R. Harris, Automobile Magazine

FCCJ BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Peter Langan, Freelance 1st Vice President Khaldon Azhari, PanOrient News 2nd Vice President Todd Crowell, Freelance Secretary David Satterwhite, Associate Member Treasurer Robert Whiting, Author, Freelance Directors-at-Large Milton Isa, Associate Member p12 Said Karlsson, TT News Agency Yuichi Otsuka, Associate Member Investigating Ex-officio Suvendrini Kakuchi, University World News a U.S. military Kanji William Sposato, Freelance killing in the ’50s Associate Kanji Makoto Honjo, Associate Member

FCCJ COMMITTEE CHAIRS In this issue Associate Members Liaison Milton Isa Compliance Kunio Hamada DeRoy Memorial Scholarship Masaaki Fukunaga The Front Page Entertainment Sandra Mori, Suvendrini Kakuchi From the President by Peter Langan 4 Exhibition Bruce Osborn Film Karen Severns Collections: 71 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki 4 Finance Robert Whiting Food & Beverage Robert Whiting Freedom of Press Pio d’Emilia, Khaldon Azhari What's the fuss!? 6 House & Property Peter Langan Human Resources Imad Ajami by Richard Smart Information Technology Roger Williams Library, Archives & Workroom Koichi Ishiyama, Suvendrini Kakuchi The “Feeling a little bit better” election 6 Membership Peter O’Connor, Monzurul Huq Membership Marketing Bill Shin, Rie Sakamoto by Michael Cucek Professional Activities Andrew Sharp, Tetsuo Jimbo Publications Gavin Blair Profile Special Projects Haruko Watanabe Martin Hladik 10 Web Committee Said Karlsson by Andrew Pothecary Foreign Press in Japan Justin McCurry

Death by firing range 12 by Mark Schreiber

Lessons of the Dhaka tragedy 14 The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan Yurakucho Denki Building, North Tower 20F, by Monzurul Huq 1-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006. Tel: (03) 3211-3161 Fax: (03) 3211-3168 fccj.or.jp

Seeking to create a “normal” nation 15 Published by the FCCJ All opinions contained within Number 1 Shimbun are those of the authors. As such, by Julian Ryall these opinions do not constitute an official position of Number 1 Shimbun, the editor or the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. Club News Please pitch story proposals or address comments to Exhibition: Kao 16 [email protected] by Shintaro Shiratori Read the Number 1 Shimbun online: fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun//

Join the Film Committee/Tax deduction benefit/ Cover illustration: Andrew Pothecary Heard at the Club/New Members/New in the Library

FCCJ AUG 2016 3 FRONT PAGE

BIT RUSHED WITH THE Kyodo News poll before the election, Tokyo residents have the column this month as I’m same priorities as Japan’s electorate have been urging on Prime writing right after a bus trip Minister Shinzo Abe: one of them being the need to fix child from Narita and landing back in care. If Mr. Abe really wants to slow the population decline and From the Japan from a trip to Australia. get more women back into the workforce, he needs to solve the President For those who have heard shortage of child-care facilities. the stories of warmer oceans Perhaps the government didn’t see this coming as they bleaching the Great Barrier Reef, I’m afraid that based on what expected grandad and grandmum to step in. Whatever the I saw during a few scuba dives the stories seem to have some cause of the oversight, urging Japanese couples to have more truth to them. I was an avid scuba diver about 25 years ago, but children while not providing adequate childcare options for never got to dive the Reef. A reminder that if you have items in working moms and dads is a serious disconnect. The Kyodo poll your life bucket list, don’t delay! also had “medical and nursing care” high on the list of priorities, The news cycle is forcing a quick decompression from holiday so it seems care facilities at both ends of the age spectrum mode, long road trips and days out on the ocean to issues related should be prominent on the to-do list of the new governor. And to Donald Trump, Pokemon GO, the attempted coup in Turkey then there is the preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics . . . and more. Our very own regular member Pio d’ Emilia has been Finally, this magazine was to have a major feature on the covering the events in Turkey, the latest in his distinguished October 2018 move of the FCCJ to a new location, with pictures coverage of the issues confronting Europe as more refugees flee and plans of the internal layout, including explanations of the to the continent to escape war in the Middle East. different functions and services at the new Club. Unfortunately, It seems I’ve walked right into a controversy over the election deadlines forced us to delay the feature, but the good news is that of the Tokyo governor and whether all the candidates had the it should be ready for the next issue. We are also planning another opportunity to air their views to the media. This touches the FCCJ in a series of Town Hall meetings to give all staff and members an directly as the Professional Activities Committee has to weigh update on the Club move and seek feedback. Members will be the same question – resulting in heated debate among journalist getting an email with the date and time of that event. Members around the question of the “news value” of the candidates. Like journalist arguments about daily news priorities, the For those unfamiliar with the inner workings of a newsroom, House & Property Committee doesn’t expect to satisfy all this question of news value agitates journalists every day, often demands for what the new Club should contain, but it’s trying. causing intense disagreement over what story gets prominence. As of writing, childcare facilities are not on the list. (Full What do residents of the world’s most populated disclosure, I’m the chair of the H&P committee.) metropolitan area want from their leader? Well, according to a Have a good August. – Peter Langan

COLLECTIONS 71 YEARS AFTER HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI ...... of nuclear weapons ...... possessed by the U.S...... and Russia ...... 93% ...... countries in the world who ...... possess nuclear weapons ...... (Ranked from most to least: Russia, U.S., France, ...... China, UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, North Korea) ...... 9 ...... 550 180 260 ...... Number of Russian U.S. tactical nuclear China’s total ...... strategic launchers bombs deployed at inventory of ...... deployed European bases nuclear weapons ...... Total number ...... of nuclear ...... weapons ...... 15,375 ......

Amount that global arsenals have Sources: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Federation of American Scientists, 2/3rds shrunk since mid-1980s peak World Nuclear Weapon Stockpile Report, Arms Control Association

4 AUG 2016 FCCJ FEATURE MEDIA

uzzFeed is one of those things, like ers, pesky journalists and the sort of office ments. “Gunosy targets people in cover,” he added. “After articles Snapchat, that older people just politics that will be familiar to anybody their late teens and early 20s,” he have gone out we check data on Bdon’t seem to get. Ask anyone who has ever worked in Japan. At the said, while “SmartNews targets reader numbers and share vol- over the age of 35 what the site is time, Masuzoe was working as a those in their early 20s to early ume, and we look at the com- about and they are likely to men- writer and consultant, as well as 30s. HuffPost’s selling point is ments. We use this data to learn tion cats, lists, viral videos and making a name for himself as international news, so we get about our audience and use it to not a lot else. But the young a talking head on the prime- people in their 30s and 40s, com- decide on our next stories. It’s a have gone to it in droves for time current affairs shows pany workers.” constant learning process. This news and entertainment. of the day. He appears as an Where does BuzzFeed Japan fit is probably the biggest differ- The site has made a name advisor to the player’s char- in? “The people we want to reach ence to how things are done at for itself in the U.S. with cov- acter during the game. are the millennials, aged 18 to newspapers.” erage of issues such as the BuzzFeed had a field day. 34,” Buzzfeed’s Ueno said. Addi- Jonah Perretti, BuzzFeed’s Black Lives Matter protest “We tried to use that soft- tionally, he claims, BuzzFeed founder, explained in an inter- movement, its staunch sup- ware to show what kind of has a completely different way view for the online magazine port for the rights of people person Masuzoe is in a way of thinking in terms of edito- Matter in 2014 that BuzzFeed in the LGBT community and that is interesting to our audi- rial, distribution and marketing. does not favor the use of metrics opposition to the Republican ence,” Furuta said. “Our inten- “On the business side, younger as a measure of popularity. “As candidate Donald Trump, with tion was not to tease Masuzoe, generations are spending more soon as you try to actually opti- whom the company terminated but we wanted to convey that time on smartphones,” Ueno mize,” he said, “particularly for an ad deal in July. there was such a game and that said. “But despite that, there are a single metric, you end up find- In January this year, BuzzFeed the content showed the very ste- still not sufficient media to sat- ing that the best way to optimize arrived in Japan after an agree- reotypical business practices in isfy that demand. There is also for that metric ends up pervert- ment was signed between the Japan. We objectively covered a lot of possible improvement ing the metric and making the company and Yahoo Japan. “Over- that in our article and left it up with content quality. By satisfy- metric mean the opposite of seas – particularly in the U.S. – What’s to readers to interpret what the ing those needs, we can attract what it used to mean.” In other BuzzFeed’s brand is very strong game meant.” advertisers, who are aware there words, a focus on click rates, for and well known,” says CEO Max Those business practices – sex- are audiences they cannot reach example, will lead to staff find- Ueno, clad in a red sports jersey the fuss!? ism, after work drinks with cli- through traditional media.” The ing ways to cheat the system. featuring the company’s “trend- ents, dealing with harassment company will launch its adver- “Our idea is to deliver content ing” icon. “It also has impressive Japanese media may be about to through bland iterations, forcing tising section later this year, to our audiences, rather than technology. Their editorial expe- receive a wake-up call from BuzzFeed’s people into jobs they would not with a sales team of slightly less bringing people to our sites,” rience means the company has want to do and the like – leave than 20. Ueno said. the knowledge of how to release new Japan operation. little to the imagination about Though contracts have yet to Issues that the company has articles in ways that increases the sort of person, at least at one be signed, Ueno sees compa- found get traction include LGBT readership. [And] Yahoo Japan, by RICHARD SMART time, Masuzoe was. nies such as Canon, Procter and rights – they were clear from the which is a very strong media It would be unimaginable to Gamble, Toyota and Nestle, all Making a buzz start that the recent massacre company, has a platform that see the Yomiuri Shimbun devot- of which have previously adver- BuzzFeed Japan’s CEO Max Ueno, top, in Florida was primarily homo- can bring traffic and influence to ing column inches to such cov- tised with the main site in the and its editor Daisuke Furuta phobic – and unreported issues BuzzFeed here.” erage of a game. But Furuta says U.S., as potential advertisers. surrounding the Kumamoto Seven months into the company’s Japan venture, the signs BuzzFeed sees traditional media as a source of inspiration “Thanks to BuzzFeed’s success in the U.S. and Europe we have earthquake. BuzzFeed was the first to report on the extensive are promising. Politicians have been trolled in creative ways, for stories that can entertain and inform. “I come from a received inquiries from companies with international brands damage in neighboring Oita Prefecture after the earthquakes. issues that were unreported by other media in disasters have newspaper background,” he said, “and certain stories are who have run adverts on BuzzFeed,” he said. “Our coverage of the Oita onsen town of Yufuin got huge gone viral and identity politics has a new platform. not run for various reasons, such as space restrictions. But There are, of course, reasons to be skeptical about the com- shares and was read by a lot of people,” Furuta said. “At the our media can post those sorts of stories. That we can pro- pany’s expectations. BuzzFeed in the U.S. halved its revenue time, the media was only looking at Kumamoto, but part of Oita Ignored but not silenced vide such different kinds of content means that there is target to $250 million earlier this year as traffic to its site fell was also badly hit.” The story ran with the sort of tagline that Buzzfeed has proven it means to shake things up. When Tokyo room for BuzzFeed in Japan, and the audience has taken to by 14 percent, leading some to suggest its peak is over. Ueno, makes waves across social media: “Don’t forget about Oita.” Governor Yoichi Masuzoe came under fire for his spending it very well.” however, is unfazed. “We are a private company, so we are not Buzzfeed also got a scoop on how food rations in Kyushu were habits, BuzzFeed Japan was shut out of his news conferences. disclosing specific number for sales targets, for example, or withheld in order to ensure all evacuees were treated equally. The company was effectively told that it was not considered Digital news rivals how much we are trying to make,” he said. “But Japan is one of One rule, Furuta says, governs all stories: Do not sling mud. a media organization by the city administration. “It was very Furuta’s optimism may be justified, but his company does the important strategic markets [for BuzzFeed], and that will “There’s a message on Perretti’s public blog where he makes confusing,” Ueno said. face competition. Other companies, such as the Huffington not change.” The company also has the benefit of the backing it very clear that the purpose of BuzzFeed is to create a posi- So BuzzFeed published an article describing how it was Post have also moved into the Japanese market. And home- of Yahoo Japan, which is 35.5 percent owned by its U.S. name- tive impact. For instance, when we look at LGBT issues in shut out. It also used the occasion to report on Masuzoe and grown companies such as SmartNews and Gunosy also pro- sake and has seen continual growth in recent years in sectors our global editions, or the rights of women, we will release a his shenanigans in ways unimaginable in more traditional vide content that is primarily aimed at smartphone con- such as e-commerce, online advertising and listings. variety of content [that is supportive of these communities]. media outlets. “Many people wanted to know how Masuzoe sumption. SmartNews, a news aggregation app, has raised In our editorial guidelines, we clearly state that our political was involved in the scandal, and the facts, so we did write $90 million in investment since its founding, including $38 Homeless in cyberspace stance is neutral. But where human rights or discrimination quite a lot,” said Daisuke Furuta, BuzzFeed Japan’s editor. million in a series-D round of funding announced in early Part of the appeal of BuzzFeed is its lack of a real home. are concerned we do not write from both perspectives.” “We also posted a quiz about how lawyers determined what July, led by the Development Bank of Japan. The Huffington There is, of course, a website. And then there is also a Twit- And that brings us back to those cat photos that BuzzFeed spending was improper and proper using political funds. For Post, meanwhile, is a collaboration between the Asahi Shim- ter stream, a Facebook page, an Instagram feed, a Snapchat is often linked with. “Having a positive impact brings about example, he bought an oven to bake pizza, which was regard- bun and the U.S. site; last year, it surpassed 15 million unique section, Line notification and probably more. “We are trying so many possibilities,” Furuta said. “Articles do not need to ed as proper by the lawyers.” users per month. Gunosy, which also aggregates news, went to create content that makes a buzz on social media,” Furuta be serious. An image of a kitten, which people will consider Journalists at BuzzFeed also found a 1992 Nintendo role- public in April and has a market capitalization of around said, “so we have to understand what the audience wants. cute, has a positive impact, as do funny videos. We are always playing game that the former governor had helped to pro- $37 million. More specifically, we want to know what the audience wants thinking about what we can do to make a positive impact.” ❶ duce, titled “Yoichi Masuzoe: Until the Morning,” in which Kosuke Takahashi, the former editor of the Huffington Post to know at this precise second; what will be useful to them; players act as company employees and have to work their way Japan, noted last year that as the digital news market was what will surprise and move them. Richard Smart covers Japanese business, science and the economy for up the corporate ladder while dealing with slippery co-work- growing, it was beginning to split into separate market seg- “We keep these factors in mind when looking for subjects to publications around the world.

6 AUG 2016 FCCJ FCCJ AUG 2016 7 FEATURE POLITICS

Paired with the more than two-thirds majority the ruling ANOTHER SURPRISE WAS THE performance of the Democratic all in the polls. Indeed, the former actress, singer and race- coalition parties hold in the House of Representatives, the Party and the candidates it supported. The DP rolled into the car driver finished first by a huge margin in her Kanagawa The government of Shinzo Abe retains the ability to pass any leg- election with largely the same low level of public support as it constituency, with over a million votes. On election night, islation it desires. had in 2013 – about 9 percent of voters as measured by tele- famed news commentator Akira Ikegami baited her, asking To be sure, the Democratic Party lost. It shed 11 seats from phone opinion polls. But the outcome was significantly dif- her if she believed that the mythical (at least according to “Feeling a little what was an already significantly depleted total. With the DP ferent. While the predecessor party, the DPJ, had suffered a historians and textbooks approved by the Ministry of Educa- clinging to only 32 seats while the LDP snatched up 55, Japan crushing defeat in the 2013 House of Councillors contest, los- tion) Emperor Jimmu was an actual historical person. Mihara lost the last political arena wherein a competitive two-party ing 27 seats while keeping only 17, the DP this time lost only answered that for her he was. bit better” system still existed on the national stage. 11 seats, retaining 32. Interesting in terms of potential policy stances was the The unique four-party alliance of the DP, the Communists, Part of the reason for the DP’s resurgence was the higher outcome of the so-called “organized vote” of the two main the Socialists and Livelihood failed to achieve its existential turnout. Exit polls in the last few elections have shown a con- parties. The DP has the image of being the party of the inter- election goal: preventing the government of Shinzo Abe from gain- sistent pattern: increases in turnout favor opposition candi- nationalized, primarily white-collar, urban and suburban voting any pathway to a two-thirds majority. dates by a two-to-one margin. Put into unit terms, for every ers, but in fact, the DP’s backbone is in the labor unions. The The pathway opened up by the 2016 elec- three additional voters that show up at the polls, the opposi- DP’s proportional list results reflect this dependency. The DP tion is a convoluted one, no doubt. Start- tion gets two votes while the ruling coalition gets one. That won 11 proportional seats in 2016, 7 of which will be filled ing with the ruling coalition’s 145 seats advantage snowballs, quickly transforming toss-up districts by union executives. Indeed, the DP’s top three proportional and the one independent elected with into opposition wins. vote winners were of leaders of Rengo, the autoworkers asso- LDP/Komeito approval, Mr. Abe and his In addition, while the four opposition party electoral alli- ciation and Panasonic’s company union. allies need to add the seats of the Initia- ance failed in its stated goal, it seems to have improved the tives from Osaka (Osaka Ishin no Kai), the chances of opposition candidates in the single-member dis- BY CONTRAST, THE LDP saw saw a reduced role for the orga- seats of the tiny militant nationalist Par- tricts (SMDs). Having the Communists give up their policy of nized vote in its proportional seat totals. While Zentoku, the ty of Japan Kokoro (Nihon no kokoro o tai- running a candidate in every district seems private postmasters principal association, setsu ni suru to) and seats of independent to have produced the result political observ- did manage to win the top spot on the LDP’s fellow travelers to reach the 162 seats ers had always assumed true but never had It was all good proportional list with an astonishing 520,000 necessary to propose an amendment to had a chance to test. An alliance candidate votes for its candidate (so much for former the Constitution. won in 11 of the 32 SMD contests – a com- news for the PM Koizumi’s 2005 Post Office reform elec- plete changeover from 2013, when the DPJ ruling coalition. tion designed to destroy the power of the MEANWHILE, THE LESSER MEMBERS of prevailed in only two of the SMDs. Sweetest postmasters), the next organized vote group, the anti-revisionist alliance went into for the opposition were the knockouts of two What about the dreaded Nokyo agricultural association, eclipse. The Socialists and Livelihood sitting Cabinet ministers: Aiko Shimojiri in everyone else? slipped in at only eighth on the list (236,000 each lost one seat. The Socialists, in fact, Okinawa and Mitsuhide Iwaki in Fukushima. votes). Overall, the LDP’s jigsaw puzzle of lost the seat of its party leader, putting In fact, it was the Happiness Realization primary interest groups – the industry lob- Winning smile the party below the five-seat limit for Party – the fringe, hard-line nationalist party backed by the bies, the professional associations, former SDF officers and PM Shinzo Abe, center, public funding (it will continue to receive Happy Science cult – that replaced the Communists in their representatives of the War Bereaved Association (the Izokai) on election night funds thanks to an alternate standard of traditional role as electoral spoiler. In the aforementioned claimed fewer than half of the LDP’s proportional seats. And

having won more than 2 percent of the AP PHOTO Fukushima, Aomori, Niigata, Mie and Oita prefectures, the almost all of those were in the bottom half of the proportional proportional vote). The Communists vote totals for the Happiness candidate was greater than the list. If votes and seats equal influence over policy, the LDP is An in-depth look at how things played out added three seats but visibly lost momentum, since their seat victory margin of the opposition candidate over his or her quietly slipping the grip of its anti-reform support groups. in the recent race for the upper house. gains in the 2013 and 2014 elections were so much greater. LDP rival. Finally, the election provided a bittersweet result for the Despite all the pre-election attention, participation of 18- The appeal of Japanese victimhood and anti-foreign atti- author. I had bet what little professional reputation I have on and 19-year-olds for the first time in a national election was tudes decreased among the electorate. The Party of Japa- the election’s not hinging upon the LDP and its allies gain- by MICHAEL CUCEK largely a damp squib. Slightly more than 45 percent of these nese Kokoro, vehicle of notorious historical revisionists and ing the 162 seats necessary for a two-thirds majority. Instead, newly enfranchised teenagers cast ballots, a turnout rate DPRK-abductees-issue opportunists Kyoko Nakayama and I wagered the more significant number was 57 – the number nearly 10 points below the national average. Put another way, her husband Nariaki, failed to win a single seat. Anti-Korean/ of seats the LDP would need to win to form a tandoku seiken, having teenagers vote reduced overall voting rates. anti-Chinese hatemonger Nobuyuki Suzuki saw his share of a government of the LDP only, without any coalition part- ost elections are characterized as having smiling When these youngest voters did vote, their choices were the vote in the Tokyo district election fall to half of what it ners. I went as far as to guarantee the LDP would achieve this winners and crying losers. Though descriptions like conservative. Exit polling found that persons in the 18- to was three years ago, even as the vote for the loopy Happiness result, with an immediate, obvious destabilizing effect on the M“landslide” and “massive victory” have been bandied 29-years-of-age cohort voted for the ruling LDP-Komeito coali- candidate stayed the same. party’s current coalition with the Komeito. about following the 2016 House of Councillors election, the tion at a rate higher than any other age bracket. Deference, not In the end, the LDP failed to win 57 seats, coming tantaliz- results gave everyone reasons to smile and reasons to wince. defiance, seems to have been the guide. Under the influence SOME VERY PROMINENT REVISIONISTS did win on July 10. ingly close with 55 outright victories and one win by the virtual The predictions had been depressing. The opposition Dem- of Dad, Mom and high school, 18-year-olds showed up to the Comfort-women denier Hiroshi Yamada, removed from the LDP candidate in Kanagawa. Abashed and ashamed was I. ocratic Party was going to be annihilated in the districts. The polls more than half the time (51.17 percent turnout). Under Diet by the 2014 electoral reversals of the Japan Innovation However, two days after election my prediction came true, ruling coalition would romp to victory, seizing a two-thirds less direct pressure to perform civic duties, fewer than four Party, won a seat as a candidate on the LDP’s proportional in a fashion. The LDP received a membership application from majority, and delaying indefinitely structural reforms in favor out of ten 19-year-olds cast a ballot (39.66 percent turnout). list. Now a freshman LDP legislator with a crowd of competi- Tatsuo Hirano, a member of the House of Councillors not up of a corrosive fight to revise the Constitution. More than half So it was all good news for the ruling coalition. What about tors, he will probably not be given the opportunities to loft for election. Hirano’s political party, the New Renaissance the electorate, demoralized, would fail to cast a ballot. everyone else? provocative, war responsibility-denying, global headline- Party, had been one casualty of the election. After losing two However, on the way to the bottom, the unexpected hap- The surprise of the election was turnout. Opinion surveys generating questions at Prime Minister Abe as he did so often seats, including the seat of its leader, the party immediately pened: the Democrats did not disintegrate and the two-thirds conducted prior to election day found record low levels of in between 2012 and 2014. disbanded, casting Hirano adrift. Hirano, an opportunist of majority, though achieved, is unreliable. Most importantly, interest, indicating turnout would be below 50 percent. How- Also returning to the Diet for another six-year term is the first rank, immediately applied to join the LDP, a party he people showed up to vote. Not in droves, maybe, but in suf- ever, when the polls closed, 54.7 percent of the electorate had Junko Mihara, whose devotion to the myths of the Meiji state ran against only three years ago. ficient numbers to generate some surprises and reinvigorate shown up, a two-point gain in turnout from 2013 and above is disturbing. In 2015 she stunned Finance Minister Taro Aso I felt a little bit better – but only a little bit. At this writing, the political process. the turnout even of the 2014 edition of the normally higher and the House of Councillors budget committee by using a one week after the election, the LDP still has not decided on To be clear, the LDP won. Its share of seats in the House of House of Representatives elections. For the first time since previously unspeakable pre-1945 slogan as a justification for whether or not to accept Hirano’s application. ❶ Councillors rose from 115 to 120. Its coalition ally, the Komei- Shinzo Abe had returned to the presidency of the Liberal a change in tax law. Mihara’s blithe toss out of hakko ichi’u to, also added five seats, returning the ruling coalition an Democratic Party in 2012, more persons voted in national (“all the world under one roof”), one of only two phrases Michael Cucek is a Tokyo-based consultant to the financial and diplomatic unshakable majority of 145 of the 242 seats in the chamber. election than in the preceding contest. banned by Allied Occupation authorities, did not hurt her at communities and author of the Shisaku blog on Japanese politics and society.

8 AUG 2016 FCCJ FCCJ AUG 2016 9 SERIES PROFILE Martin Hladik

by ANDREW POTHECARY

artin Hladik was born in The “undergound” shoot people in happier situations. Czechoslovakia in 1968, only In 2000, he followed his Czech girl- Ma few months before the tattoo scene was friend to Japan after she got a schol- “Prague Spring” reformist movement arship for a PhD at Tokyo University, was crushed under the tread of Sovi- similar to the where she still works in water-related et tanks. So when he grew up, it was “underground,” away engineering. They have since married under the restrictions of movement and have three children, aged 9, 6 and 4. and thought of Soviet rule. from prying state Hladik had visited Japan in 1995 as His father was a mechanical engineer powers, that he’d a kayaker, but had never thought of and his mother produced exhibitions – returning. To make a career here, he middle class work that brought enough known in his youth would have to build up contacts and money only for everyday life. Even get- introductions from scratch. It’s been a ting permission for travel was difficult. long road. “I’m not there yet,” he says. The family once managed a trip to Yugoslavia, but only had “It’s still difficult. The best time was until the financial crisis enough money for gas and camp. Hladik’s mother prepared all in 2008 – and it has never recovered. I had a full-time assis- food for the month’s trip in advance for the family of four. tant then, but I cannot afford that now.” He studied Mechanical Engineering at the Czech Technical He offers still photography, video and production services University in Prague – “a way to avoid army service” – and for overseas photographers. “Recently,” he says, “I bought spent a further two years taking selected classes in photogra- a drone for footage from the air.” But he prefers to get to phy at the Academy of Performing Arts. know his subjects more closely – an approach used for his Like other Soviet-bloc nations, the state gave support to two books on Japanese tattoos. Back in the Czech Republic, sport, and throughout his youth, weekend trips to the moun- tattoos were associated with crime or gypsies – “who did it tains for winter skiing and summer kayaking had led to Hla- with a fork” – so when he saw the full-body tattoos of Japan dik joining sports clubs. After university, he turned to his he was hooked. At the Sanja Matsuri he met the son of tattoo sport full time – and in 1995 joined the national whitewater artist Asakusa Horikazu and later became close to the master. slalom team following the end of communist rule. Although tattoos are associated with criminal elements in His love for photography, however – which had dated from Japan, too, things are changing. Hladik says: “It was never my his childhood – eventually led him to put his kayak aside for interest to investigate who was a yakuza or not. I was under a camera. He knew the work of the exiled Joseph Koudelka, the wing of the master. I photographed for him and for my since prints of his photographs of the 1968 Soviet invasion own interest.” In fact, in some ways he found the “under- had been illicitly available. He also had seen the work of Cart- gound” tattoo scene similar to the “underground,” away ier-Bresson, Robert Capa and Douglas Duncan – the latter from prying state powers, that he’d known in his youth – and two known for their war photography. always very friendly. Hladik was approaching 30 when Hladik spent two month-long stints he set off for New York to find work in Tohoku after the 3/11 disaster. as a photographer. He had no accom- The photos of two girls whose single modation, little English and barely mother had died in the tsunami, were enough money to buy food. He was among the powerful shots later exhib- arrested for sleeping in the park. A ited at the FCCJ. He also used the exhi- wedding photographer hired him, but bition to raise a collection for the girls. fired him the same day after Hladik, Now, after 16 years here, a return to in his hunger, couldn’t stop himself the Czech Republic is “on the horizon.” from eating the wedding food. But This is partly to bring his children up he got to assist the renowned Czech- at least somewhat Czech, but he also born American photographer Antonin has concerns about the life of teen- Kratochvil with his portraiture. agers in Japan – sexualized girls and After returning home, he began his game-immersed boys – and hopes to career as a photographer in earnest. escape that in Europe. With his girlfriend and brother he made But until then he is looking for a a six-month bike trip around the east- project to spend time and depth on – ern Mediterranean for a Czech motor- perhaps based around the changes in bike firm’s PR and found work on movie Tokyo as the city gears up for its sec- productions. When the Catholic charity ond Olympics. Offering various servic- Caritas asked him to work with them in es, however, can sometimes leave him war-torn Kosovo in 1999, the reality on torn. “It’s trying to find a balance,” he the ground changed his perspective of says. “If I did more production work war photography, and brought him to Andrew Pothecary is the art director of the you might have more money, but then Number 1 Shimbun. ANDREW POTHECARY the realization that he was looking to my photography suffers!” ❶

10 AUG 2016 FCCJ FCCJ AUG 2016 11 FEATURE CRIME

On May 18, the Maebashi district prosecutor indicted Girard, Associated Press. “Before the killing,” Hersey wrote, “Girard which meant that if the waiver stood, he would be tried in the was a kind of bumpkin clown. He drank quite a bit and ran up Death by firing range Maebashi District Court. petty debts in the Japanese shops near his camp. He is taci- turn to the point of woodenness; he failed for three days to Some 60 years ago, the killing GIRARD’S FAMILY IN THE U.S. went to court in an attempt to tell his Japanese sweetheart that he had killed a woman, and of a Japanese wife and mother reverse the U.S. government’s decision to waive jurisdiction. she learned of the incident over the radio.” threatened the U.S.-Japan They were supported by veterans, politicians and others who recalled Japan’s treatment of some Allied POWs, or other- THE BOBBED HAIR AND round face of Girard’s girlfriend, Haru agreement on the treatment of wise harbored negative images of Japan, arguing that Girard “Candy” Sueyama, who he married on July 2, soon became a crimes by U.S. forces . would not receive a fair trial in Japan. familiar figure in the media. She was six years older than the For the rest of May and June, a veritable who’s who of soldier, and the two had been living together from the previ- by MARK SCHREIBER American and Japanese leadership – from President Dwight ous November. Eisenhower, Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson, Secre- Some reports mentioned that Sueyama had been born in Tai- tary of State John Foster Dulles, and Supreme Court Chief wan and not set foot in Japan proper until age 16. Some English Justice Earl Warren, to Prime Ministers Tanzan Ishibashi reports described her as a “camp follower,” and she received and Nobusuke Kishi, LDP deputy Yasuhiro Nakasone, and several threats – but she eventually earned the media’s sympa- House of Councilors member Jiichiro Matsumoto – became thy as a woman who stood by her man and made serious efforts involved. Emperor Hirohito, drawn into the controversy by a at social observances and religious practices. n June 30 this year, Kenneth letter from the mayor of Girard’s hometown, replied through The weekly Asahi Gurafu pictured her kneeling in tears before Franklin Shinzato, a 32-year-old an aide that he “could not possibly intervene in the matter Naka Sakai’s grave in a Shinto-style family cemetery, Naka’s Ocivilian working at Kadena Air because of the Japanese Constitution.” husband and youngest daughter standing beside her. “Who’s Base in Okinawa, was officially charged The family’s case made its way through the courts until, on the big sister, and why is she crying?” the 4-year-old girl asked with the rape and murder of Rina Shima- July 11, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Girard’s constitu- her father. The caption related he was lost for words. bukuro, age 20. It was the latest in a string tional rights would not be denied by a trial in a Japanese court The U.S. government paid Naka Sakai’s husband and their of crimes committed by U.S. forces person- and that the jurisdictional agreement between Japan and the six children a condolence gift of $1,748.32 (¥629,394) – an nel in Japan that continues to cause some U.S. was proper. The court also noted that Japan, as a sover- amount described as “a fortune” for someone in Somagahara. people to question the U.S.-Japan military eign state, had the right to try people who violated its laws. Upon accepting the money, he remarked, “I do not thank you alliance, which has permitted American The trial convened on Aug. 26. Girard was defended by for it.” bases to remain after the end of the Allied Tokyo attorney Itsuro Hayashi, and legally advised by U.S. Girard had tired of the attention. “Now that it’s over, me Occupation in 1952. And while it has led to Army attorney Major Stanley Levin. The prosecutor demand- and Candy would both like some quiet,” he told a U.P. inter- mass protests and even a mention at the ed a five-year sentence for shogai chishi (bodily injury result- viewer shortly before he was to leave Japan. “I’ll be glad when recent Abe-Obama summit meeting, it was another killing six Shot of the shot ing in death), which is tantamount to manslaughter. On Nov. the flashbulbs stop popping and we can live like other people. decades ago that – in terms of the sheer attention it received A Japanese magazine of the time shows William Gerard 19, the Maebashi District Court’s three-judge bench found I don’t think that I need any more publicity just now.” in the press, governments and courts of both countries – at the firing range during the investigation. Girard guilty and sentenced him to three years imprison- On Dec. 6, Girard and Haru boarded a military transport strained the bilateral relationship like no other. ment, suspended for four years. The judgment, Hayashi later ship for San Francisco. Prior to their departure, he was The “Girard Incident” took place on Jan. 30, 1957, when He inserted an empty rifle cartridge into the launcher, a wrote in the monthly Bungei Shunju, fit the statistical “aver- demoted to private, and after reporting for duty at an army a unit of the 8th Calvary Regiment was training at a firing violation of rules, and without aiming, fired over the head age” for manslaughter cases in Japan, and was probably less base near his Illinois hometown, he was dishonorably dis- range at Camp Weir in Somagahara, a mountainous area in of a Japanese man. When the scavengers began running, severe than a court martial sentence. charged, dashing any hopes of remaining in the military. Gunma Prefecture. During a break around midday, Specialist he launched another cartridge, which struck Naka Sakai, a American defense attorney Melvin M. Belli – who in 1963 had In October the following year, weekly magazine Shukan 3rd Class William S. Girard, age 21, and another soldier were 46-year-old mother of six, in the back. The cartridge pene- defended Jack Ruby against charges of murdering Lee Harvey Josei ran a story about the couple, who had settled in Girard’s ordered to guard a machine gun and some field jackets near trated several centimeters into her back and tore her aorta, hometown of Ottawa, Illinois. In August, “Candy” had given one of the hills of the maneuvering grounds. causing nearly instant death. birth to a girl. “Bill,” meanwhile, had bounced between jobs. Local people, mostly poor farmers displaced by the The shooting was not immediately reported by military or The U.S. government paid The article hinted that Haru, as a foreign bride who spoke lit- expansion of the camp, were allowed to enter the area when local authorities. It only became public after members of the tle English, led a lonely existence. But another women’s mag- it was not being used for training, to tend to their fields, Socialist party broke the story to Japan’s national newspa- Sakai’s husband a condolence gift azine, the monthly Fujin Asahi, reported that she was happy. and collect brass shell casings and lead and other metals pers, which published their first reports of the incident on of $1,748.32. Upon accepting the The couple had another daughter and moved to southern from bullets, mortars, grenades and other ordnance. They the back pages of their Feb. 3 editions. California. Girard died in 1999 at age 64. Haru lived until supplemented their incomes by selling the scrap to local So SP3 Girard was headed for court. The only question was money, he remarked, “I do not 2013, passing away around age 85. brokers, who in turn sold it to recyclers in Maebashi, the which one. In 1953, Japan and the United States had signed thank you for it.” Since the end of the Occupation in 1952, sporadic crimes by prefectural capital. a so-called Administrative Agreement that established crite- American servicemen and their dependents have rekindled the “Before [the Girard Incident], many of us would creep into ria for determining whether Japanese or U.S. military courts long-smoldering and emotional debate over the rationale for the impact area, dig holes in which to hide, and wait for the had jurisdiction over personnel involved in civil and criminal Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy – U.S. military bases in Japan. Okinawa, with by far the largest U.S. shells to drop. We would note the spots and rush out to pick matters on and off U.S. bases in Japan. Known today as the attended at least one court session. Belli, though disappointed presence, appears to be the only prefecture that posts annual them up during a lull in the firing, then dash for cover again Status of Forces of Agreement (SOFA), it gives both parties that Hayashi had dismissed his advice to showcase Girard’s crime statistics by members of the U.S. military on its web site. before the next barrage began,” a local farmer and shell scav- the right to waive their jurisdiction in any incident in which wife in the courtroom, praised how the judge prevented spec- The LDP and other parties that favor keeping the U.S. bas- enger told future FCCJ president Ken Ishii, who was reporting they feel they have a right to try the accused. tators and the media from turning his courtroom into a circus es maintain that the security, economic and other benefits for International News Service. Both parties claimed jurisdiction over the case. The U.S. in his 1960 book, Belli Looks at Life and Law in Japan. afforded by their presence outweigh negative effects like Army insisted Girard had been on duty and hence should be In his book, Belli also described the scene at the predeces- the crimes, even felonies, committed by military personnel. THAT MORNING, SEVERAL DOZEN shell-pickers had swarmed tried in a U.S. military court. The Japanese side claimed that sor of the FCCJ. “Hundreds of foreign correspondents sat, Statistics show that crimes by members of U.S. armed forces the hills. So the commanding officer ordered that only blank shooting Sakai did not constitute “performance of official oiled up their typewriters, checked train schedules and, at have declined significantly over the years, and are currently rounds be used for the afternoon exercises. During the break, duty” as stated in the agreement. the last minute, called for the impossible – hotel reservations below the local crime rates for Japanese civilians. according to some witnesses, Girard flung some expended On May 16, the U.S. Army, after deliberations with Japanese at the picturesque little village 80 hot miles north of Tokyo.” The families of Naka Sakai, Rina Shimabukuro and other vic- cartridges into the bushes – “like feeding chickens” – to authorities, and probably in consideration of Japanese pub- Among them was Pulitzer tims, are unlikely to be impressed watch the scavengers scramble to collect them, then fired in lic opinion as well as the legal particulars, waived its claim. Prize-winner John Hersey, famed Mark Schreiber currently writes the “Big in Japan” and by such arguments. But their sen- their direction to scare them off. The next day, however, the U.S. Secretary of Defense ordered American author of Hiroshima, “Bilingual” columns for the Japan Times. He would like to timents have not led to significant Girard’s M1 rifle had been fitted with a grenade launcher. the Army not to release Girard pending further investigation. who covered the case for the thank William Wetherall for his contributions to this article. changes in the status quo. ❶

12 AUG 2016 FCCJ FCCJ AUG 2016 13 TERRORISM GROUP ACTION

The brutal terrorist killings of the Japanese victims were conducted by These were all unfortunate happenings The head of a controversial political action group explains their agenda for the future. spoiled youths whose larger goals remain unclear. as they were simply caught in random shootings. However, the dimensions of the Dhaka tragedy have a different Seeking to create a “normal” nation Lessons of the Dhaka tragedy perspective in that the Japanese were brutally murdered in a most cold- by JULIAN RYALL by MONZURUL HUQ blooded manner, along with the Italians. With little knowledge of the tensions in the region, many in Japan are finding it THE VICTORY OF SHINZO Abe’s Liberal the military during Not being able hard to understand why their citizens Democratic Party in the July 10 election the war, while Japan to make its own have been victimized so savagely. for the Upper House of the Diet will serve was a victim of the decisions on The point is that the perpetrators as the springboard for revisions to the conflict due to the diplomatic or likely wanted to practice their savagery Constitution within the next 10 years, atomic bomb attacks defense issues for on any available foreign national. They believes Tadae Takubo, chairman of on Hiroshima and more than 70 years probably thought would make a huge Nippon Kaigi, or the Japan Conference. Nagasaki. means that Japan has publicity splash and spread panic And that, he told a well-attended press Tamosu Sagano, been on the extreme among foreign nationals in Bangladesh conference at the FCCJ on July 13, will who wrote a best- left of the political to the extent that many would decide turn Japan into “a normal nation.” selling book about spectrum, Takubo to leave the country. The attack came “The fact that those who are in the group’s activities, claimed. “Abe is not at a time when the relatively better favor of constitutional amendments described Nippon someone who has economic performance of the country have two-thirds majorities in both Kaigi as reactionaries started in the center, has been attracting more foreign houses means this is the best chance determined to turn where a normal investment and business visitors. to go ahead with revisions to the back sexual equality Tadae Takubo country is, and The Islamic fanatics’ goal seems Constitution,” he said. “And if I were in and to restore speaking at shifted towards the to have been to hit the economy with Prime Minister Abe’s position, I would patriarchal values. the Club right,” he said. “He

the larger aim of destabilizing the AP PHOTO be making every effort during my term Their vision is of “a is the only politician moderately secular government – to achieve that.” Japan where women, who has made efforts FEW COULD HAVE IMAGINED that a The bodies of the Japanese victims are and the unaware foreign nationals Takubo, a former head of the foreign children and foreigners have no basic to bring Japan from the extreme left to terrorist attack could happen in a met at Haneda Airport by Japanese provided a soft target. But was that news department of Jiji Press and a human rights,” he wrote. the center, as a normal country.” country with such close bonds to Japan, officials on July 5. their ultimate goal? Or was it to declare member of the FCCJ since 1975, has Takubo believes changes are on the one that has not been susceptible to any their solidarity with the mad mullahs committed Nippon Kaigi to helping the QUESTIONED ABOUT NIPPON KAIGI’S way. “In regard to the 10-year vision, I form of extreme fundamentalism. So do decide to forsake the cool hotel of the Islamic State? Or was it to prime minister to do precisely that. “We position on the war, Takubo replied, believe the Constitution will be revised what occurred on that fateful evening interior for a meal, they’ll go to these demand that Bangladesh should be have many voices within our conference “For all countries that have gone to in this time and we will progress on the first day of July in the capital of places that are recommended for them declared an Islamic country with the which have very much welcomed this war, each one will have a different towards being a normal country Bangladesh shocked the Japanese and to visit. full implementation of Sharia law? result and we have released a statement view of history. If you want to call that located in northeast Asia,” he said. the global community. The group of foreigners enjoying But what is clear now is that to that effect,” he said. “So Nippon Kaigi revisionism, then I’m alright with that.” “Of course, we have to avoid causing Dhaka, with a population of almost their weekend gathering on July 1 had they have failed miserably to reach will from now on be considering various And was Japan a sense of threat 12 million, is a divided city in the sense no hint of their fate. But the jolly good anywhere near any of those targets. The different actions that we can take to wrong to wage war in with neighboring that it is, in reality, a combination of atmosphere at the lakeside restaurant attack also exposed the shaky ground move forward.” the early decades of “Abe has made countries and we localities formed by the strict sense was shattered by gunmen fanatics; on which they stood. Holding guns and Set up in May 1997 as a merger of the last century? efforts to bring need to co-exist of social divisions in accordance with the end result was twenty casualties, explosives does not guarantee winning two similarly minded organizations, “I believe that some within this region,” the status and material well being of including seven Japanese and nine over the hearts of the people if the Nippon Kaigi has around 38,000 parts were wrong and Japan from the he added. “If we its citizens. Those at the upper end Italians. Many of them were brutally cause is vague and unclear. members, including an estimated 39 some were correct,” extreme left to look at these next 10 have their heavenly enclaves, guarded killed in a savage manner that has The dead bodies of the perpetrators percent of politicians in the Diet. Abe he said. “I do not years, I believe that heavily after a fatal attack on an Italian become a sign of Islamic State fanatics of the Dhaka terror attack have been is listed as a special advisor to the believe we can say the center” Japan will create a two years ago. The area is also known in the Middle East. rotting in the cold morgue since group’s parliamentary league. that one party was military, but that it as the diplomatic enclave of the city, The nationalities of the majority they were gunned down in the early In its mission statement, Nippon completely right and one that was will remain under civilian control. This as it hosts all the foreign embassies of the foreign victims raised the morning of July 2. That they are still Kaigi says it intends to “change the completely wrong.” will be one way to prevent neighboring and diplomatic residences. Among question of whether the two nations there illustrates a truth in a much postwar national consciousness based Revising a Constitution that many countries having concerns.” the homes of the wealthy locals and were specifically targeted for the more convincing way than the terrorist on the Tokyo Tribunal’s view of history conservatives believe was imposed Takubo also took issue with the foreign nationals, including those killing. In fact, in two separate earlier actions of those spoiled youths. No one as a fundamental problem,” as well as on a defeated Japan by the Allies characterization of Abe as a nationalist with diplomatic immunity, are posh incidents, the foreign nationals who has come forward to claim their bodies promoting “patriotic” education and after the end of the war still remains in foreign media reports. “I believe restaurants and dining places that are were gunned downed also happened to for formal burial, not even their parents, support for the prime minister paying Nippon Kaigi’s priority. “I believe that the kind of reporting that is made virtually out of bounds for most locals be from Japan and Italy. However, the who have said they could not forgive the official visits to Yasukuni Shrine. the position that Japan is in now from Japan to the outside world is very from the other end of the great divide. circumstantial evidence of the mass crime their sons had committed. A report compiled by the US was very accurately put forward much dependent on what perspective A meal or snack might cost them their killing in Dhaka suggests otherwise. So the bodies continue rotting, Congressional Research Service in 20-something years ago by Professor or what standpoint the reporters are entire monthly earnings. It was not that Japanese and Italians perhaps offering the greatest lesson 2014 stated that the organization [Zbigniew] Brzezinski. He put forward starting from,” he said. So, it is mostly expatriates along were specifically targeted – they just that we can take from the whole believes “Japan should be applauded in his thesis that Japan is a de facto “There is reporting which claims that with a handful of wealthy Bangladeshis turned out to be incidental victims. incident. Young people can become for liberating much of East Asia from protectorate of the United States,” he Japan is in a very dangerous position at who venture out to those places. And easily spoiled by misguided religious Western colonial powers” during the said. “And that the state is based on the moment, that it is very belligerent with July being a hot and humid month SADLY, VIOLENT EVENTS IN which teachings that fail miserably to early decades of the last century and the three main pillars of the economy, and that Abe has risen as a nationalist,” in Bangladesh, if foreign visitors Japanese citizens have become equate barbaric acts with heroism that “killings by Imperial Japanese politics and the military. In the case he said. “I do not, however, believe this incidental targets of attacks by Islamic in the public’s mind. They need to troops during he 1937 Nanking massacre of Japan, however, one of these three is the case.” ❶ Monzurul Huq represents the Bangladeshi fanatics are not at all new. Recent years understand that the two are on were exaggerated or fabricated.” pillars – the military – is missing and national daily, Prothom Alo. He was FCCJ have seen Japanese gunned down in opposite extremes and have completely Equally, “comfort women” were not the situation is one of a completely Julian Ryall is Japan correspondent for the president from 2009 to 2010. Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and elsewhere. different consequences. ❶ forced to provide sexual services for abnormal country.” Daily Telegraph.

14 AUG 2016 FCCJ FCCJ AUG 2016 15 CLUB NEWS CLUB NEWS

Left, actor Masato Ibu. JOIN THE FILM COMMITTEE . . . FCCJ EXHIBITION Below, singer, dancer and actress, Natsuki Mari . . . on Wed., Aug. 24 at 6:00 pm (an hour earlier than usual) to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the softcore porn genre that launched the careers of many of Japan’s now-prominent directors, Discount LexisNexis featuring a special preview Subscriptions of the upcoming releases in for FCCJ Members the Nikkatsu Roman Porno Reboot Project, a Q&A panel with the five filmmakers and a The FCCJ is pleased to offer screening of a Nikkatsu masterpiece of yesteryear, The World of Geisha, one of members a substantial discount on François Truffaut’s favorite films. Famed directors Hideo Nakata, Akihiko Shiota, subscriptions to LexisNexis’ news Kazuya Shiraishi, Sion Sono and Isao Yukisada will be on hand to discuss their first- database service, Nexis.com time efforts directing Roman Porno, following the same format in which the films were made in their 1970s-80s heyday: on a limited budget, with only one week to The Members-only deal shoot and a sex scene every 15 minutes or so. After the panel, stay for the many allows for flat-rate access at delights of The World of Geisha, a sumptuously beautiful, emotionally engrossing, ¥7,900 per month – offering sexy, often hilarious tale from erotic box-office king Tatsuro Kumashiro. big savings on a service that (Japan, 1973; 69 minutes; Japanese with English subtitles.) – Karen Severns normally costs ¥126,000 per month

The service will be billed by the Tax Deduction Benefit | 税額控除に関して Club. The FCCJ benefits from all subscriptions sold under this As announced at the Associate General Membership Meeting last April, the arrangement. FCCJ applied for “Tax Deduction Benefit” to the Cabinet Office as one of benefits of being Koeki Shandan Hojin (Public Interest Organization). On May Nexis provides access to news and Shintaro Shiratori 16, 2016 they approved our application, so now the FCCJ is able to treat the information from more than 34,000 was born in Nagano initiation fees and monthly dues from Associates as their donation to the Club. sources, including Kyodo News, Jiji, Prefecture. In 1971, From next year, you will have Tax Deduction Benefit if you apply on your Yonhap, Xinhua, AP, Reuters, AFP, he joined Shiseido own final return（確定申告） . Up to almost 40 percent of your donation will be all major world newspapers and Photographic Studio returned as a tax deduction. and later joined the specialist news sources. Also In the case of calendar year 2016, payment received after May 16 is applicable photography department included is a database of U.S. and at Hakuhodo. In 1983, for this benefit. The Club Office will issue a certificate/receipt for your final return international company information, he established Shiratori after January 2017. Please contact the Club Office if you need that document. biographical databases, country Photo Studio. He has Please access the website of National Tax Agency below or the Tax Office for profiles and a U.S. legal database. received numerous detailed information about the procedure of this benefit on your final return. awards for his work. National Tax Agency (No.1266 Donation for Koeki Hojin): Recently he published a www.nta.go.jp/taxanswer/shotoku/1266.htm For those already in on the secret, sequel to his book KAO, If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Club Office. the application form is available whose portraits are the — Khaldon Azhari, Acting President on the FCCJ website or from the subject of this month’s exhibition. 19F Club office. www.shintaro-shiratori.jp プロフェッショナル・アソシエイト会員およびアソシエイト会員の皆様、本年4月に開催されましたアソシエイト会員総会にてお伝えしました「税額控除」に関して、5月16日付で内閣府より当協会が税額控除の要件を満たしている内容の「税額控除に係る証明書」 Kao: photographs by Shintaro Shiratori を受け取りました。 ONE DAY I FOUND a book of portraits entitled Who’s who in Shinano by my great これにより個人でお支払い頂く入会金ならびに月会費は、確定申告をすることで grandfather Itarou, which was published in 1908. When I turned the pages, I was 税額控除を受けることが可能となりました。寄付額の約40％までの税額控除を受け impressed by his ingenious lighting technique. I realized that it was all about light and られます。 shadow. My encounter with this old book affected my portrait works. It made me feel 2016年に関しましては、5月16日以降にご入金頂きました入会金ならびに月会費が that portrait photos are not only records but can also be an art form. 対象となりますので、ご承知おき下さい。税額控除の申請に必要な書類は来年2017年 I’ve shot numerous portraits for advertising clients that are no longer used after the advertising campaign ends. I felt that I shouldn’t let these photos – which I poured my 1月以降に発行する予定ですので、申請されるメンバーの方は協会事務局までご連絡 heart and soul into – be left unknown. I added around 100 more new portraits, especially 下さい。 of the dankai (baby boomer) generation who have contributed to the country’s prosperity 尚、確定申告の手続き詳細に関しては、国税庁ホームページあるいは税務署まで and are now in their late 60s and facing retirement. ご確認下さい。 For the past three years I’ve photographed these people. Their faces overwhelmingly ◇国税庁ホームページ（No.1266 公益社団法人等に寄附をしたとき） communicate vitality and enthusiasm for the future. I sincerely hope that the messages www.nta.go.jp/taxanswer/shotoku/1266.htm from the Kao Project will encourage people and bring positive thoughts. Lastly, I’d like to express profound gratitude to the people who kindly participated and cooperated with █ 会長代行、カルドン・アズハリ this project. ❶

16 AUG 2016 FCCJ FCCJ AUG 2016 17 CLUB NEWS

HEARD AT THE CLUB “The rallying point which brings together disparate groups to join the Nippon Kaigi or participate in this movement is their common interest in calling for women and children to just shut up.” Tamotsu Sugano, author of A Study of Nippon Kaigi, at the FCCJ on July 19

REINSTATEMENT (REGULAR MEMBER) New SAID KARLSSON is a freelance journalist and photographer from Sweden, whose regular clients include the TT News Members agency, Sydsvenskan and RES, the country’s premier travel magazine. He is also associated with Folio, one of Sweden’s largest stock photo agencies for commercial photography. Karlsson studied journalism at Tollare Folkhögskola in Stockholm and spent two years working for Pressens Mediaservice, Sweden’s second largest news agency, before leaving the country to live and work in China, Korea and Germany. From Japan, he covers everything from politics to travel and popculture, and is also involved with TV and documentary-film production. Karlsson has been a member of FCCJ since the end of 2010.

PROFESSIONAL/JOURNALIST ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Takayuki Hanji, Kazuhiro Tachi, Techno Bits ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Thomas Davis Carrick, Mitsubishi Corporation Co., Ltd. Elliot Silverberg, Freelance Sberbank Asset Management Yoshiaki Nishimura, REINSTATEMENT (ASSOCIATE) Pia Von Waldau, Inter Media Leif Nilsson, Scandinavian Airline Sumitomo Riko Co., Ltd. Suguru Nagashima, Unite Public Japan K.K. Susam Lam, Hong Kong Trade Akira Susuki, Relations Co., Ltd. Toshio Kusamitsu, Open University Development Council Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. of Japan Tomoyuki Sato, Ability Co., Ltd.

In the Land of the Ichiefu: fukushima Abe seiken ni hirefusu The Quotable Little Adventures in Japaneseness: A Guide New in the Kami: A Journey Into daiichi genshiryoku nihon no media Nichiren: Words for Tokyo: 39 Thrills for to Values and Virtues Library the Hearts of Japan hatsudensho rodoki Martin Fackler Daily Life the Urban Explorer Yoji Yamakuse Michael Hoffman 1-3 Futabasha Nichiren Rick Kennedy Stone Bridge Press Virtualbookworm.com Kazuto Tatsuta Gift from Martin World Tribune Press Stone Bridge Press Publishing Kodansha Fackler Gift from Robert Gift from Robert Japan Company Gift from Michael Gift from Kodansha Linington Linington Handbook Hoffman (Summer 2016) Toyo Keizai Inc.

18 AUG 2016 FCCJ