BCCJ Acumen – The Magazine of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan


Cover Feature Women in Business Summit by Megan Waters The Seneca Falls Convention, held in New York in 1848, was the first conference in the Western world to be organised by women. It sparked the women’s movement in the US and could even have inspired the founding of the U.S.–Japan Council (USJC) in 2009.	BCCJ ACUMEN’s Purpose: To strengthen UK-Japan economic and cultural relations by providing BCCJ Members, the British community, and others in Japan with a forum to promote their products and services, share ideas and information, and cultivate Anglo-Japanese understanding and cooperation. Leaders

Japanese Media

What You Missed in the Japanese Press

by Mark Schreiber

Abenomics at Work?; Working to Reduce Waste; How Diets are Developing; Cheaper Models Drive Bike Boom

Competition

JMEC 19 Winners Announced

by Julian Ryall

The 19th Japan Market Expansion Competition (JMEC) has produced a new crop of 62 talented and capable businesspeople, with Team Aurora emerging as the overall winner.

Visiting Japan

From rail transport systems to thermal and nuclear power generation, construction machinery, enterprise-level data storage solutions and automotive components, Hitachi, Ltd. has become a major part of the British industrial scenery.

Sustainability

Doing Well by Doing Good

by Megan Waters

Founded in 1930, Unilever now boasts products used daily by more than 2bn consumers around the world.

Interview

Jeff Streeter

by Custom Media

I am from Devon in the UK, and grew up on a farm. I studied English Language and Literature at university and have worked for the British Council—mostly outside the UK—for many years. I really enjoy living in Tokyo.

Anniversary

Legends and Facts

by Julian Ryall

A little over 403 years after William Adams became the first Englishman to set foot on Japanese soil, the contribution that he made to Anglo–Japanese relations has been celebrated at the inaugural Anjin Summit held in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture.

Award

A Day of Pride at the Palace

by Philip Gibb

At 10am on Friday 17 May, 2013 we arrived at the south gate of Buckingham Palace to begin a day of celebrations, starting with my investiture as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Charity

Living in Limbo

by Jane Best MBE

World Refugee Day is held on 20 June, but for millions around the world, it is every day. Refugees live a life torn apart, and are living in limbo with little hope for the future.

Design

Creating Colourful, Festive Funerals

by Custom Media

The Tokyo-based advertising agency I&S BBDO Inc. recently won a number of prestigious creative awards, including silver at the Clio Awards—major international creative honours—for their advert design for Japanese funeral home Nishinihon Tenrei.

Publicity

Mars: More than a Cuppa

by Custom Media

The modern office, scientists are discovering, can be a stifling and inhibiting space. Partitions cut us off from our colleagues, we are glued to our computer screens for hours on end, and our creative and innovative juices ebb away.

Industry

The Tenant Representative Advantage

by Andrew Stevens

Location, location, location. We all know the importance of suitable space to conduct business. Unfortunately, few firms have the experience in acquiring commercial property to effectively serve this need when it arises.

Publicity

High Performance; Motorsport Genes

by Custom Media

Two new BMW M GmbH models—the M6 Gran Coupe and the M3 Coupe DTM Champion Edition—were unveiled at the New BMW M Model Japan Premiere on 28 April.

Fashion

An Oasis in Omotesando

by Megan Waters

Liam Gallagher, former front man of English rock band Oasis, may not seem like a typical fashion lover. However, Pretty Green, the rocker’s clothing label, has been hugely successful since the 2010 opening of its first store in London.

Music

The 50-year Friendship

by Julian Ryall

As the final note of Bruckner’s Symphony No 9 died away in the highest reaches of the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, the crowd erupted into applause.

Film

Bard to the Future

by Julian Ryall

Welsh filmmaker John Williams has taken one of William Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, turned it upside down, inserted a Japanese rock-and-roll band, and set it 30 years in the future and on remote Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture.

Arts & Culture

Arts Events

by Yoko Yanagimoto

Arts events compiled by Yoko Yanagimoto.

Health

Planning a Trip to Paradise?

by Dr Nicola Yeboah

Summer is on its way and it’s time to make holiday plans. One of the many benefits of living in Japan is the opportunity it gives to explore South-east Asian countries without having to endure long-haul flights and jet lag. However, there are health hazards.

If You Ask Me

Dragon in Shallow Waters?

by Ian de Stains OBE

What—if anything—are we to make of the recent upset in the UK’s local elections in which the UK Independence Party (UKIP) won almost 25% of the votes?