I’m writing this month’s column having just attended the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ) seminar entitled, Tokyo Disaster: Get Prepared. It was hosted by platinum member Barclays Security Japan and led by the firm’s Vice President of Business Continuity Management Yasu Sayanagi, a disaster preparedness specialist.
With Japan this year having experienced a string of extreme happenings—including earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, and record-breaking temperatures in parts of the country—we were keen to deliver a free information session to provide member firms with the latest information based on the Japanese government’s disaster forecasting and hazard mapping.
With more than 99.9% of disaster-related preparedness information and news in Japan currently available only in Japanese, we were very grateful to Sayanagi for translating into English a swathe of crucial information to help minimise risks for BCCJ members, families, friends and colleagues, in the event of emergencies.
During the session, our group focused on the increased possibility of flooding in central Tokyo due to climate change and other factors. Sayanagi also introduced the relatively new concepts of Pre-Evacuation and Family Business Continuity Plan, based on lessons learned from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. Please check the BCCJ website to ensure that you have the latest information on all of the above.
Business as usual
While the core BCCJ team is focused on the task of delivering the 2018 British Business Awards on the evening of 2 November, our Executive Committee task forces are operating on a business as usual basis.
The events task force, in particular, is planning an active and informative programme for the remainder of this year and early 2019. Business exchange, networking, and learning and development opportunities are being created for you and your teams.
Alison Beale, director of the University of Oxford’s Japan office, leads the task force, supported by Mark Dearlove of Barclays, Reiko Sakimura of Clifford Chance and Heather McLeish of EY. Members of the group carefully select topics they believe to be of relevance and interest to our 200+ member firms. Keep your eyes peeled for forthcoming sessions on corporate governance, crypto-currencies, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, automotive matters and defence.
Our communications task force, meanwhile, is reviewing how we engage and connect with BCCJ members, and our 5.0 task force will be introducing an exciting update at our 2019 shinnenkai. More details coming soon.
Over to you
Is there a hot topic that you would like to see featured in the BCCJ events offerings? Any organisations with which you would like the BCCJ to collaborate, to bring you even more enhanced knowledge and relevant business connections? Feel free to email us at info@bccjapan.com
As a footnote, many BCCJ ACUMEN readers may have affiliations with other large international chambers of commerce in Japan. This year, we are in the process of creating a master internal chambers calendar to help us all avoid schedule clashes for major events during a jam-packed 2019 and 2020. We hope this means that we will be seeing you even more at BCCJ events, large and small, enriching your life and work in Japan.
