It has been a mixed month here in Japan, both in terms of the weather—equal parts sunny and stormy—and events. We have said goodbye to one of the most respected and prominent UK scholars of Japanese and former diplomat, Sir Hugh Cortazzi GCMG, who passed away on 14 August at the age of 94. You can read an obituary written by Sir David Warren, also a former British ambassador to Japan, here.
Meanwhile, September marks the beginning of a new school term for many, with some schools welcoming their new intake for the year. Given that Tokyo is so well served by international schools, many catering to the numerous British expats living in the capital, BCCJ ACUMEN has taken a look at what is being offered by some of those schools and why people choose to send their children to them. More on this can be found here.
Divided opinions
If you keep up with British affairs, you’ll know that one issue that has been inescapable for the past two years is Brexit. The topic continues to divide opinions, while the final outcome of the whole saga looks ever more uncertain.
This month, we present a look at Japanese opinions of the UK pre- and post-Brexit referendum, thanks to some valuable research carried out by the British Council. Some of the findings are quite surprising, with certain areas faring better or worse than you might have expected. You can read more about this on here.
Well-known figures
Finally, as part of BCCJ ACUMEN’s ongoing series marking the 70th anniversary of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, we move away from articles and into images. I was given access to the BCCJ’s archive of photographs, and selected 13 of them for inclusion in the photo spread which you can find here.
The images, which cover the past 25 years of chamber activities, include an array of well-known figures, choice locations and well-attended parties, giving an indication of how much influence and clout the BCCJ has. I hope you will enjoy looking at the images as much as I enjoyed selecting them.
