2009 President's Message

Thomas Whitson
2009 ACCJ President

Membership Trends

It has been a challenging year for membership with numbers down 12% as a result of the economic downturn. There has been a slight improvement this fall, but hopefully the downward trend has bottomed out. Two recruitment campaigns were implemented by the Membership Relations Committee, Membership Expansion Subcommittee, and the office to address the fall in numbers: (1) The Member Rewards Program (member intro and committee reward system) and (2) Entrance & Transfer Fee Waiver. A Membership Task Force was established to examine new membership recruitment/ retention strategies.

Programs

The ACCJ conducted 441 programs (Jan-Oct) this year, which is only 3% lower than the number for the same period last year – a record year in the number of events at the ACCJ. Approximately 14,460 people attended programs this year – down 7% for the same period last year – also a record year in the number of attendees at the ACCJ.

Networking event highlights:

• The ACCJ held 3 Nomu-nication events (jointly hosted with other chambers of commerce) that consistently sold out within 48 hours.
• The year we saw 2 Meet & Greet events which continue to be extremely popular with an average of 150 attendees each.
• The Golf Subcommittee held numerous golf-related events that appealed to a broad range of golfers.
• The 1st Tokyo Charity Ball Walkathon showed a large turnout even in the pouring rain.

Informational event highlights:

• Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and CEO, GE
• Green Market Forum (an all-day symposium on green building and green mobility) – great media coverage and a lot of work went into the event by the CSR committee (especially Vice Chair Chad Stewart)
• Timothy P. Flynn, Chairman, KPMG
• HRM Workshop series – a popular series (#3 will be held on Nov. 19)
• SME / Entrepreneurs workshop series – continues to be very popular

Committees

We had a few changes to our list of committees. The Environmental Committee and Aerospace and Defense Committee were revitalized, and three new subcommittees were added in the areas of Biosciences, Practice Liberalization, and Golf.

Advocacy

The ACCJ had a banner year in the number of Advocacy-related documents issued:

• 16 Viewpoints (+ 3 currently under review)
• 27 Public Comments (+ 1 under review)
• 1 White Paper
• 1 Position Paper
• 5 Joint Statements
• 16 Press Releases
• Media Coverage for such documents consisted of English Coverage 43 and Japanese Coverage: 90
• The ACCJ’s list of Advocacy-related meetings for the year consist of 14 USG Briefings, 9 Embassy Conferences, 130+ with the Government of Japan, and 3 Doorknocks

Highlights:

• Core Advocacy Principles were revised in preparation for the February Diet Doorknock to better reflect the uncertain political environment for ALL of 2009
• A report was released on the structure of a new U.S. - Japan Bilateral Dialogue, and played a key role in shaping recommendations put forth by the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce (APCAC) in the lead up to their DC Doorknock earlier in the year.
• The ACCJ has participated in public hearings on issues ranging from Corporate Governance to IT Policy; Extension of the Loss Carry-Forward Period to Gaiben issues. We have seen success in areas such as healthcare, immigration and investment and are developing significant interest within both governments in our Internet Economy initiative, which will continue to be a major driver of activity in the year to come.
• The ACCJ Environmental Committee jointly sponsored a Viewpoint with two other committees on Carbon Footprint Labels early in the year and is in the process of developing a new position on broader environmental policy.
• We continue to monitor developments relating to consumer affairs, the Japan Post, physical infrastructure and air transport, foreign direct investment, legal services, financial services, competition policy and others.
• In the year ahead, a reinvigorated US - Japan bilateral dialogue and APEC will drive much of our US and Japanese government interaction - beyond the Japan-specific issues we face day-to-day.

Chubu Chapter

Chubu's "18th Annual Walkathon" on May 24 was a great success with over 3,000 people participating and 5.5 million yen from the fund donated to 27 charities. The Board of Governors approved the establishment of the External Affairs Committee – Chubu, whose purpose is to strengthen ties with local Japanese business and government officials, create educational programs to attract more Japanese members, work with local Japanese organizations to promote Chubu as an attractive destination for international business, and collaborate with other foreign chambers of commerce in co-sponsoring events and maximizing resources.

Kansai Chapter

Membership revenue for the Kansai Chapter is up from September 2009 to date over the same period last year. Due to the Fee Waiver Campaign, there has been an increase in new member applications. The ACCJ Kansai 2009 Charity Walk & Festival participation numbers were the highest ever, and the participation of U.S. Ambassador Roos created the widest media coverage ever for an ACCJ Kansai event. The total amount of funds raised through sponsorship and the festival was nearly 10 million yen. This year also saw the 1st Annual ACCJ - KISS Charity Concert at the Canadian Academy Auditorium that raised nearly 500,000 yen. Kansai's first World Barbeque Classic (KWBC) in June consisted of Team USA (Kanto & Kansai member collaboration), Team Canada (Chubu & Kansai member collaboration) and Team Australia (Kansai only). Team Canada won with Team Australia coming in at a close second and Team America a distant third.

Community Service Advisory Council

The ACCJ Homeless Fund was renamed the "Mike Makino Fund for the Homeless " in recognition of the many years of dedication and contributions Mike made to the ACCJ’s philanthropic and charitable efforts.

Charitable Donations in 2009:

• From the Charity Ball, 3 million yen was donated to each of the four primary charities selected for the 2008 Charity Ball (the Elizabeth Saunders Home; Second Harvest Japan; the Polaris Project and the ACCJ Homeless Fund)
• From the Mike Makino Fund for the Homeless, 1.5 million yen was donated to three charities that care for the homeless in the Tokyo area.
• From the ACCJ Community Service Fund, 4.5 million yen was donated to selected, worthy charities including homes for orphans, abused and neglected children - ACCJ/YMCA Summer Camp for Challenged Children; the Japan Association for Refugees; the Tyler Foundation for seriously ill children; and the Waku Waku workshop for the blind and handicapped.

Board of Governors: Attendance Record

• President Thomas Whitson 9 - 90%
• Vice President Michael Alfant 10 - 100%
• Vice President Laurence Bates 10 - 100%
• Vice President William Bishop 7 - 70%
• Vice President Kumi Sato 5 - 50%
• Vice President Mark Schwab 6 - 60%
• VP-Kansai Michael Bobrove 5 - 50%
• VP-Chubu Chiristopher Zarodkiewicz 4 - 40%
• Treasurer Nasir Majid 7 - 70%
• Governor Andrew Conrad 9 - 90%
• Governor-Tokyo Kinji Yasu 1 (from Sept) – 33%
• Governor Bruce Ellsworth 9 - 90%
• Governor-Tokyo James Foster 9 - 90%
• Governor-Tokyo Tad Johnson 10 - 100%
• Governor-Tokyo John Kakinuki 5 - 50%
• Governor Patricia O'Keefe 3 - 37%
• Governor-Tokyo Douglas Peterson 2 - 20%
• Governor-Tokyo Nicole Piasecki 7 - 70%
• Governor-Tokyo Jay Ponazecki 8 - 80%
• Governor Mitsuyo Teramura 8 - 80%
• Governor-Tokyo Jim Weisser 8 - 90%
• Governor-Kansai Jiri Mestecky 6 - 60%
• Governor-Chubu Harry Hill 7 – 70%

Thomas Whitson
2009 ACCJ President