September 2020  

Message from the Chair

Dear Members and Friends,

I hope those of you in Japan are enjoying the lovely cool weather as we welcome Autumn.

September began with a flurry of political activity in Japan as we turned our focus from Prime Minister Abe’s sudden resignation to who might replace him. Through Abe’s time as the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history, his natural talent for diplomacy and fondness for Australia and New Zealand has seen Japan’s relationship with our countries grow even stronger than before. Our new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to maintain a level of consistency with Abe’s political stance, and we hope to see the important ties between Australia-New Zealand-Japan continue to see us through this current period of upheaval into a brighter and more connected future. 

Also this month, we were pleased to join ANZCCJ Chair Emeritus Melanie Brock as she officially launched the Japan chapter of Advance as its inaugural Advance Ambassador. Advance is a global network bringing together Australians located in all corners of the world and connecting them with their home country. ANZCCJ EC members Elizabeth Cox and I joined a number of ANZCCJ members at the launch, representing the many great Australians doing fantastic things here in Japan. You can visit the Advance.org website for more information about this exciting new network.

Speaking of new networks, we continue to be inspired and energised by the diverse community growing within our Technology, Innovation, Education and Research (TIER) Committee. This month, our new TIER leadership team was finalised, including Rio Tinto’s Kohei Tamura as Chair with Tim Tout of HummingByrd Inc. and NZTE’s Yoshifumi Imamura as Co-Vice Chairs. I wish to thank Kohei, Tim and Yoshifumi for volunteering for these roles, and am confident that the committee will be steered in an exciting direction under their guidance. For those interested in the TIER Committee, you can find up-to-date meeting minutes within the members resources on our website, and please stay tuned for upcoming events and announcements.

Finally, we look forward to reconnecting with our Food, Agriculture and Hospitality Committee (FAHC) members this evening, as we gather at Pullman Tokyo Tamachi for our first in person committee event for 2020. Networking amid COVID-19 presents a range of new challenges for us all, but we are reassured by the response we have had from members so far and look forward to planning more in person/hybrid events in the coming months.

Wishing you all the best for the month ahead.

涼しく過ごしやすい天気を皆様も楽しんでいますでしょうか。

安倍首相の突然の辞任発表から、誰が次期首相へ就任するか関心が集まり、目まぐるしく変わる政界の再編成から9月は始まりました。連続在任期間が日本史上最長となった在任期間に安倍首相は持ち前の外交的センスとオーストラリア・ニュージーランド愛をもって日本と両国との関係性をこれまで以上に強固なものにされました。菅義偉新首相は安倍首相の意思を継承し、オーストラリア、ニュージーランド、日本間の関係をこの激動の時代を通し、より明るく、より繋がりのある未来へと私たちを導いてくれることを期待しています。

また、今月はANZCCJの名誉会長であるメラニー・ブロックがAdvance日本支部の初代アンバサダーへ就任、そして正式にAdvance日本支部が設立されたことを我々も嬉しく思っています。Advanceとは、世界中で活躍するオーストラリア人と母国オーストラリアを繋ぐグローバルネットワークです。 商工会議所の役員でもあるエリザベス・コックスと私、数名の商工会議所メンバーの方がAdvance日本支部設立と初代アンバサダーの就任式にも招待され、ここ日本で躍進するオーストラリア人代表として参加致しました。非常にエキサイティングなこの新たなネットワークの詳細については「Advance.org」のWebサイトから是非アクセスしてみてください。

新しいネットワークと言えば、ANZCCJの新たな委員会テクノロジー・イノベーション・エデュケーション・リサーチ（TIER）が多様なコミュニティからの刺激を受けながら活性化しています。委員長の田村 浩平（リオ・ティント）と副議長を務めるティム・タウト（ハミングバード）と今村 吉文（ニュージーランド貿易経済促進庁）をリーダーとしてTIER委員会が結成されました。これらの役割にボランティアで参加していただいた

田村さん、ティムさん、今村さんに商工会議所スタッフ一同、感謝しいたします。そして彼らの舵取りの下、皆様がワクワクするような方角に委員会を導いてくれることを確信しています。 TIER委員会に関心のある方は、ウェブサイトのメンバーリソースで最新の議事録を閲覧することができます。今後のイベントや活動については随時更新するANZCCJからの発表にご注目ください。

最後となりますが、今夜2020年初の対面型の委員会イベントをプルマン東京田町の屋外エリアで行います。初回はFAHC（食・農業・ホスピタリティー業 委員会）「ネットワーキング・キャッチアップ飲み会」と題し、コロナ禍で開催する対面イベントという点において様々なチャレンジではありますが、前回の対面イベントでのポジティブな反響にも後押しされ、実りのあるイベントにしたいと考えております。また、今後も多くの会員の方にご参加いただけるよう対面とオンラインを使ったハイブリッドイベントを計画しておりますのでご期待頂きますようお願いします。

Sally Townsend
サリー・タウンゼンド

News

 ANZCCJ Moves to Virtual Office 

From October 1, 2020, the Australian and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Japan will be moving from its current office space in WeWork Shimbashi to become a fully virtual office. Exactly six months on from our transition to work-from-home, we have adapted to the significant changes brought about by COVID-19 and believe that the chamber will benefit from fully embracing this new style of work.

Secretariat staff Emily Hallams (Executive Director) and Akihiro Ito (Operations Manager) will remain as accessible as always, and can be reached by the same email addresses or contact phone number. While we encourage members to contact us via email or phone, any physical mail can be sent to our new registered address:

Win Aoyama, 2−2−15, Minato-ku, Minami Aoyama 〒107-0062

Thank you to everyone who participated in the ANZCCJ Webinar Series this month. September began with an engaging and very timely joint-chamber webinar, A Prime Minister and His Legacy, featuring Tobias Harris, author of The Iconoclast: Shinzo Abe and the New Japan, and ANZCCJ Chair Emeritus Melanie Brock for an in-depth look at what Prime Minister Abe achieved during his long stint in office, and the direction Japan may take under his successor.

In mid-September, we were glad to host our first joint webinar with the Tokyo One-Stop Business Establishment Center, where we learnt of the many subsidies and grants available for those starting businesses in Japan. 

On September 17, our Sports for Business Committee had the honour of welcoming Lynne Anderson and Fiona Allan, CEOs of Paralympics Australia and Paralympics New Zealand, who provided a much needed dose of enthusiasm and excitement with their update on preparations for Tokyo 2020ne, the way their committees have responded to COVID-19, and the legacy they expect to come out of the Paralympics in Japan.

Our final webinar to round off the month was the third in our webinar series with Bronze Member JSL Nippon Academy: Easy Japanese for Everyday Life, Culture and Business. Following on from the previous sessions covering everyday greetings, first impressions and business emails, our September webinar covered the minefield that is surviving professional phone calls in Japanese as a non-native speaker.

If you would like to catch up on any of our past webinars, please visit the ANZCCJ Event Gallery for access to a range of recordings, presentation slides and summaries.

New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo: Economic Update for Japan

The New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo have prepared their latest Economic Update for Japan, covering the current consumer and household spending trends, New Zealand exports to Japan and insights into Japan's 'silver economy' (the market for consumers aged 60 and above).

Please click here to read the report, or visit the MFAT website for previous monthly reports.

Report: An Overview of Australia and Japan's Space Industry

Next month, ANZCCJ will be publishing a new report for members to explore the many new exciting developments and areas of collaboration between the Australian and Japanese space industries – prepared by Operations Assistant intern Clare Learoyd.

This report provides an overview of the space agencies of Australia and Japan, some of their projects, and the funding available within the space sector. It also introduces some of the private space enterprises of each country that are growing the space industry. The report discusses the opportunities and capabilities emerging in the space sector, as well as the accompanying challenges, and areas of collaboration between countries, agencies, and enterprises.

The report will be made available from the Member Resources page on our website, where members can also access various committee meeting minutes, policy documents and infographics.

ANZCCJ Member Promotions and Updates

Are you taking full advantage of your ANZCCJ membership? Make sure to regularly check our Promotions page for the latest discounts and deals, available to ANZCCJ members only.

The latest promotion on offer has been provided by Corporate Bronze members Club Med:

Starting to feel like it's time for a holiday? ClubMed has luxury holiday offers exclusive to ANZCCJ members, with discounts of up to ¥14,000 per person, all-inclusive. Applicable destinations are Tomamu, Hokkaido and Kabira on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa. The packages include luxurious accommodation, premium open bar, all-day gourmet dining, kids club, myriad available activities throughout the day, as well as ski lift passes and ski/snowboard lessons (only for ski resort accommodation). To find out more and to book your next holiday, visit the Hotel section of the ANZCCJ Promotions Page.

そろそろ旅行をお考えになられてる方も多いのではないでしょうか？クラブメッドからANZCCJメンバー限定のラグジュアリー滞在プランが、最大お一人14,000円引きでご利用いただけます。滞在先はは北海道のトマムと沖縄は石川島カビラになります。このパッケージには豪華なホテルにプレミアムバー、グルメ料理やキッズクラブ、そして様々なアクティビティをお楽しみいただけます。北海道の冬にはスキーリフト券やスキー・スノーボードレッスンなどもご用意してます。詳細はANZCCJのプロモーションページでご確認ください。

Celebrating Women in Japan 

After a year-long campaign, ANZCCJ partnered with Celebrating Women in Japan (an initiative founded by our Chair Emeritus, Melanie Brock) to continue profiling different women within the Chamber who have gone above and beyond to build the relationship between Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Today we celebrate Miori Tomisaka.

Miori Tomisaka studied medicine at Jutendo University in Japan and completed her training at the University of Tokyo School of Medicine and Aiiku Hospital, specialising in obstetrics and gynecology. Miori recognised a need to improve perinatal care in clinical practice, and moved to the US to study and graduated with a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. After returning to Japan, Miori worked as a consultant for McKinsey and Company. She currently lectures part-time in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Juntendo University’s School of Medicine. 

Miori has various research interests, including vaccines and public health. She has experience as a consultant for medical TV-shows, as well as appearing as a guest commentator, and providing interviews for magazines. Miori has written several journal papers and three books.

When asked about suggestions for change in Japan, Miori responded:

My suggestion is that diversity in places of power is critical.  Diversity, of course, includes gender. One good example of how this lack of diversity affects decision making in Japan relates to the approval of drugs.

Viagra, for example, was approved in Japan very quickly while various female oral contraceptives had a great deal of difficulty being cleared by the Japanese government.

Miori's advice to women in Japan is this:

Many women in Japan believe that they are not capable of making a difference. Change can, however, be made in small careful increments.  As everybody is unique, I suggest that women in Japan think about how they can participate in a way in which they are comfortable.

Intern Profile - Clare Learoyd

Clare grew up in rural NSW in a town called Cooma. She learned German when she went to Austria on a year-long Rotary Youth Exchange at the age of 16, after which she left home to finish her schooling at Dickson College in Canberra. She spent the next 2.5 years working in administration and bookkeeping to save up to move to Germany, and is now about to start the final year of her undergraduate degree in Japanese Studies at Leipzig University. Clare joined the ANZCCJ as operations assistant in August after finishing an exchange year at Kobe University, where she also joined the local Rotaract club. Her interests include relations in the Indo-Pacific, security, space, and strengthening international ties through youth engagement. She’s particularly passionate about gender and class diversity, challenging herself, learning, and restaurants that give you free bread while you wait for your meal. 

During her internship, Clare assisted in event preparation, correspondence, marketing, and day-to-day operations at the ANZCCJ. Her two primary projects have been the development of a welcome pack for new members, and the production of the ANZCCJ’s report on space. 

You can connect and keep in touch with Clare on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/clarelearoyd) and Twitter (@C_Learoyd). 

Welcome to our New Members

Bronze Member

Individual Member 

Emi Kasahara (Accenture Japan)

Daniel Kelley (Philip Morris Japan)

Yoshimasa Sawa (Oh-ebashi LPC&Partners)

Nicholas Fraser (Fujitsu Limited )

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