Simon Farrell
Publisher
With extensive knowledge and key contacts from many years in the global print, digital, and broadcast media, Simon leads a diverse team of experienced editors, writers, designers, and photographers.
Contributions
Henry Scott-Stokes
Myth and Reality
Tokyo 2020: how did we do?
Labour of love
One foot in both Oxford and Kyoto
Carolyn Davidson
The other Japan
Britons gonged for great deeds
Finding Black in the Union Jack (and Japan)
Para aims high
Land of fair play and freedom
Exporting education
BBC picks sake expert
Put your passion into action
H.E. Julia Longbottom CMG
Is Robert Hirst the first Briton to bring a theme park to Japan?
Cynic’s guide to Japan
New name for new era
Steve Crane OBE: Gentleman, now an officer
Changing of the Guard
Not rocket science
ARK marks 30 years
The good life?
The camera hunter
Isabel Reynolds
Expats in action
Life in the fast lane
For quirky bookworms
Hitachi signals new rail era in Durham
Don’t doubt our diversity
Passion for #PlasticFree
Lotus: lean and mean
Dr Kenji Shibuya
EXCLUSIVE:
My Dad was in Prison with Nelson Mandela!
Tokiko Shimizu
Power of positive
Japan’s best of breed
Survival—not Silence—for the Sinfonia, Olympics … and Thomas the Tank Engine
Matthew Knowles
War games
Tears, fears and cheers
Tim Minton OBE
North Korea: open all hours
Land of legends
Saitama Hosts “Blind Rugby”
When nature hurts, humans are inspired to help
Rugby fans take slow road to Tokyo
Capital battle: work–life balance
Plus our magnificent machines, magazines, musicians and Ms Matsushita
Glass ceiling smasher
Many firsts for female role model Haruno Yoshida
Diversity in action and acronyms
LGBT and KIWL annual events raise profile and funds
It’s in our DNA
Making, knowing, retaining history
Reasons to be cheerful
Million-dollar men
English plums at the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards
Behind the scenes
Japan-British Society Awards
Royal tribute for charity founder and ballet star
Week is long time in politics and publishing
The End of History
Name for niche, quality, tradition helps UK goods in Japan
People and places
Make history, music … and scandals
Govt’s World Events Team — plans for 2019 and 2020
Nikko’s Victorian legacy
Tea and scones served at 19th century British villa
When disaster strikes
What the UK government can—and cannot—do for you in Japan
Be prepared...
2p, or not 2p
The sun rises and falls
Sayonara, Doreen, and congrats to six Brits
Inside 1 Ichiban-cho
It’s people who make places
Strong bonds
What does Brexit mean for Scotland, the UK and Japan?
Happy Birthday, BCCJ!
It’s our Platinum jubilee (1948-2018): Part II
Happy Birthday, BCCJ!
It’s our Platinum jubilee (1948-2018): Part I
Strong and long
More busy times for bilateral ties
Ian de Stains OBE (8 December, 1948–18 December, 2017)
BCCJ executive director for 24 years and prolific BCCJ ACUMEN writer
May Day
More than a mission
Happy Official Birthday!
To Queen Elizabeth II
E-bulletin
Sponsor the 2017 BCCJ British Business Awards
Rare chance to be part of Japan’s biggest UK event
Welcome to Ambassador Paul Madden
The UK’s new top diplomat in Japan
Guys and LOLs
Taking stock, looking ahead
UK Ambassador Tim Hitchens CMG LVO
An exclusive interview with the departing ambassador
New editor
For a new era
Big thanks
Meet the new editor
The World Cup, queen's birthday, economic promise make a buzz.
Winds of change
Truly a readers’ magazine, BCCJ ACUMEN aggregates news, industry insights and cultural reports to both inform and entertain a broad audience of leaders and professionals.
Memory lane for motors
Preserved or renovated British car classics gathered for the inaugural Great British Rally in Tokyo.
Kaizen in practice
Election reforms, ACUMEN redesign and even Everton show ongoing improvement.
Inside the mind of a magazine designer
I’m delighted to welcome our gifted Creative Director Cliff Cardona to share with us his wisdom on the much-anticipated redesign of BCCJ ACUMEN.
Room for a View
Our newest columnist is an eloquent and informed female Japanese resident of London, Ginko Kobayashi.
Great Year for Great Causes
We are proud to have won the award for “Best Charity & Fund Raising Cookbook–Asia”, for producing Flavours Without Borders.
First for Firsts
A list, from A-Z, with some of my favourite firsts BCCJ ACUMEN featured in 2013.
And the Winner Is …
An excerpt from my partner Robert Heldt's acceptance speech for the 2013 Company of the Year award.
Memory Lane for BCCJ Members
Not all BCCJ events are about business. Of those I have attended, the UK–Japan Defence Collaboration on 2 October was one of the most intriguing.
BBA: You Judge the Judges
In case you needed more reasons to nominate a candidate for one of the six BBA awards, or attend one of the foreign community’s most prestigious events of the year, here is a list of the diverse and expert luminaries who will serve as judges.
British Business Awards: Artist, Judge, Nominations
With violinist Diana Yukawa’s British Airways ticket from London to Tokyo confirmed for her performance at the BCCJ 2013 British Business Awards (BBA), it’s also a pleasure to announce that Michael Woodford MBE, the whistle-blower, has kindly agreed to be a judge at the annual black tie event, on 1 November at the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo.
Helping the Other Half
Partner has become a popular word, with many couples, sponsors, firms, friends, colleagues, countries and ideologues preferring this warm and fuzzy term to “the missus”, “comrade” or “collaborate”.
Never Too Early to Plan the BBA
With a full season or two before the sixth British Business Awards (BBA), it feels strange as we plan—the aircon running—the BCCJ’s flagship event, traditionally held closer to winter.
BCCJ ACUMEN Without Borders
We don’t take sides at BCCJ ACUMEN, whether political, geographical or other. We avoid, of course, favouring England over her close neighbours north and west, as the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish traditionally accuse the media and others of doing.
A Year to Remember
As we compiled features in this issue about the UK and Japan marking their 400-year relationship and a tourism campaign by VisitBritain and British Airways, I was intrigued to learn about a number of other important anniversaries in 2013.
Fighting—and Cooking—for a Cause
There are just 10,000 foreign refugees living in Japan compared with over 200,000 in the UK, the eighth-largest recipient of asylum seekers in 2011, according to the most recent numbers I could find.
Please Help Middle-aged Men in Lycra
I used to presume that Brits at Lunch was just a boozy excuse to shorten Fridays, attended by nostalgic expats getting misty eyed over their green and pleasant land, accompanied by chicken tikka masala and spotted dick with lashings of custard. Sorry, I was wrong.
Meet the New Ambassador
The UK and Japan share a curiosity and appetite for each other’s products, services and culture, says London’s recently appointed chief diplomat to its “closest partner in Asia”. He is busy promoting modern Britain’s creativity, diversity and ability to deliver.
Happy New Year!
We at Custom Media are proud to enter our fourth year of publishing BCCJ ACUMEN for the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan and wish loyal readers, members, advertisers, the Executive Committee and Secretariat the very best of British for 2013.
Looking Back ... and Forward
In January 2012, Custom Media vowed to showcase in BCCJ ACUMEN a diverse array of subjects, industries, people and things related to UK–Japan business, culture, sport, lifestyle and more over the following 12 months.