Tokyo's Olympic Gamble

The magazine of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan July 2021 · Volume 53 · No. 7 TOKYO’S OLYMPIC GAMBLE Food for thought Now that your Main Bar and Masukomi Sushi are back to evening opening and a full wine list, why not look in a little later? Take some time out for the best-value three-course dinner in Tokyo at your home from home in Marunouchi. All this plus scintillating PAC speakers and, on July 7 th, a Book Break with Dr Iris Haukamp on the politics of cinematic representation in Axis Japan. Here’s one for the curious, exclusive to in-person guests, with roast chicken in mushroom sauce and a blood orange sorbet to top o a perfect evening.* Enjoy! The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. Home from home for the intelligent and hungry. *Front Desk reservations: 03 3211 3161 NEW MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN ¥5,000 ~ ¥25,000 credit for introducing a new member ¥25,000 if you introduce: Associate, Diplomatic Associate or Five-Year Associate member ¥10,000 if you introduce: Regular, P/J Associate, Young Associate or Outside Kanto Associate member ¥5,000 if you introduce: Young Regular, Young P/J Associate, Outside Kanto Regular or Outside Kanto P/J Associate member FCCJ may end promotion at any time. Please check with the oce to conﬁrm still active. THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB OF JAPAN Marunouchi Nijubashi Building 5F, Marunouchi 3-2-3 Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0005, Japan www.fccj.or.jp E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +81-3-3211-3161 Fax: +81-3-3211-3168 03 | FCCJ | JULY 2021 In this issue July 2021 · Volume 53 · No. 7 JUSTIN McCURRY Contact the Editors [email protected] Publisher FCCJ fter months of fierce debate, resignations and recriminations, it now looks certain that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will open, as planned, Editor Justin McCurry Designer Julio Shiiki on July 23. The June issue of the Number 1 Shimbun looked at why Editorial Assistant Naomichi Iwamura Photo coordination Hiroko Moriwaki, Norio Muroi large sections of the Japanese media had failed to reflect widespread Publications Committee A Justin McCurry (Chair), Peter O'Connor, Suvendrini opposition to holding the Games during a global health emergency and, as Kakuchi,Monzurul Huq, Robert Whiting, David McNeill our deadline approached, amid rising cases in the host city. While much could FCCJ BOARD OF DIRECTORS change in the coming weeks, this feels like the right time for writers to outline President Isabel Reynolds, Bloomberg L.P. Special Advisor to the President their hopes and fears for the Olympics. Here too, consensus is impossible, with Monzurul Huq, Prothom Alo, Dhaka 1st Vice President Andy Sharp, Nikkei Asian Review our four contributors – Monzurul Huq, Sean Carroll, Jeremy Walker and Jeff 2nd Vice President Walter Sim, Straits Times Kingston – divided over whether the Games will be a source of hope in difficult Treasurer Mehdi Bassiri, O.B.M. Co., Ltd Secretary Ilgin Yorulmaz, times or a disastrous mistake (and a professional challenge). The theme continues Freelance/BBC World Service Turkish Directors-at-Large with spectacular black-and-white images from happier days in Japan’s Olympic Peter O’Connor, Freelance history – the 1964 Games in Tokyo. Elsewhere, Number 1 contributors examine the Simon Farrell, Custom Media K.K. Mary Corbett, Cresner Media “inequitable” arrangements for prime ministerial press conferences, Tokyo’s many Daniel J. Sloan, Freelance/Nissan Motor Kanji Gregory Clark, Freelance assassination sites, Japan's nuclear power industry and the fallout from “Operation Associate Kanji Vicki L. Beyer, Freelance Ex-officio Khaldon Azhari, PanOrient News Tomodachi”, and the campaign to protect the legacy of Fleet Street, the spiritual Regular Reserve Director: Pio d'Emilia, SKY TG 24 home of London’s newspaper industry. FCCJ COMMITTEE CHAIRS Diversity Co-Chair and Board, Liaison: Ilgin Yorulmaz Co-Chair and Board Liaison: Walter Sim Publications Chair: Justin McCurry, THE FRONT PAGE Board Liaison: Peter O’Connor Website Chair and Board Liaison: Simon Farrell 04 From the President Associate Members’ Liaison Chair: TBA Isabel Reynolds Board Liaison: TBA Entertainment Chair: Sandra Mori, Board Liaison: Walter Sim Exhibition Chair: Bruce Osborn, COVER STORIES Board Liaison: Peter O'Connor Film Chair: Karen Severns, Board Liaison: Dan Sloan 05 Freedom from fear Finance Chair and Board Liaison: Mehdi Bassiri Jeremy Walker Food & Beverage Co-Chair: Robert Kirschenbaum, Co-Chair: Pio d'Emilia, Board Liaison: Mary Corbett 08 Keeping the faith Freedom of Press Co-Chair: Justin McCurry, Monzurul Huq Co-Chair: Simon Denyer, Board Liaison: Ilgin Yorulmaz House & Property Chair and Board Liaison: Andy Sharp 10 Quick and painless Human Resources Chair and Board Liaison: Walter Sim Information Technology Chair: TBA Sean Carroll Board Liaison: TBA 12 LAW Co-Chair: Koichi Ishiyama, Japan’s Olympic folly Co-Chair: Suvendrini Kakuchi Jeff Kingston Board Liaison: Peter O’Connor Public Relations (incorporating Marketing Membership) FEATURES Chair and Board Liaison: Simon Farrell Membership Co-Chair: Andrew Horvat 14 Take back control Co-Chair: Monzurul Huq, Board Liaison: Peter O'Connor Professional Activities Co-Chair: Tetsu Jimbo Yoichiro Tateiwa Co-Chair: David McNeill, Board Liaison: Andy Sharp 17 Special Projects Chair: Haruko Watanabe, X marks the spot Board Liaison: TBA Mark Schreiber DeRoy Memorial Scholarship Co-Chair: Abby Leonard Co-Chair: Kazu Takada, Board Liaison: Ilgin Yorulmaz 22 Saving Fleet Street Compliance Chair: Kunio Hamada, Board Liaison: TBA Anthony Rowley Election Chair: Reed Stevenson BOOKS 24 The CIA and the Prometheus of Japanese nuclear power Jon Mitchell The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan CLUB NEWS Marunouchi Nijubashi Building 5F Marunouchi 3-2-3 Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0005 27 New members, New in the library, Tel: (03) 3211-3161 Fax: (03) 3211-3168 fccj.or.jp Join the Film Committee, Regular by eggs Published by the FCCJ All opinions contained within Number 1 Shimbun are those of the authors. As such, these opinions do not constitute an official EXHIBITION position of Number 1 Shimbun, the editor or the Foreign Correspondent’ Club of Japan. 29 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics Please pitch and send articles and photographs, or address comments to [email protected] Read the Number 1 Shimbun online: www.fccj.or.jp/number-1-shimbun.html Cover photos: top courtesy of Aflo; bottom by Justin McCurry 04 | FCCJ | JULY 2021 THE FRONT PAGE From the President Dear members, his is my first message following the election results, which brought us both good and bad news. I was delight- Ted that so many people took part this time, and that most members opted to use the online system, which helps enormously with simplifying the whole process and reducing the costs involved. The fact that we nonetheless failed to assemble a complete Board on this occasion is disappointing, and I think the lesson we should take away is that we need to create opportunities for regular members and associate members to get to know one another. From my conversations with many voting members, I realized that many people feel uncomfortable clicking the button to support people they don’t know all that well, if at all. Since we are a club, the obvious solution is to make sure everyone has more opportunities to cultivate networks among the membership. I hope that will become possible as we emerge from the worst of the SHIIKI JULIO / ©FCCJ pandemic. Journalists shouldn’t forget that the associate members are key to the survival of the Club and we need to reach a point where we’re able to vote in a full quota of three associate Board directors without the need for run-off elections. as for staff and the membership at large. We It’s now 11 months since I took on the mantle already have a business plan proposed for us of president amid the worst crisis the Club has by our Japan Market Expansion Team, based ever faced. I had little idea of what this would on extensive research, and we need to make entail, and how far the post would take me sure we act on it. from my comfort zone of writing and talking In closing, I wanted to say a few words about about political developments in Japan and why we should continue to devote time and Asia. Without a general manager in place, the energy to the FCCJ, despite our current difficul- president becomes responsible for all sorts of ties and the changing nature of the media itself. aspects of club management that are about as Of course, we have a distinguished past that we far from journalism as you can imagine. In navi- shouldn’t forget. More importantly, the events gating my way through this, I can say I received of this year in Hong Kong, Myanmar and else- valuable advice from every single member of where have made clear that the freedom of the the current Board, as well as several other for- press is increasingly at risk in this region. Now mer directors. I don’t have the space to men- more than ever, we need to thrive so that we tion all the names, but I’m sincerely grateful to can continue to play a role in support of jour- all these people. nalists who risk their lives to report the truth. As you know, the Club remains in a very difficult position, with our membership num- ● Isabel Reynolds has been reporting for bers continuing to fall. Retaining members Bloomberg in Tokyo since 2012. She has lived in and attracting new ones will need to be the Japan for more than 20 years and been a regular overarching priority for the new Board, as well member of the FCCJ for most of that time.

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