Publisher

Simon Farrell Publisher
June 2014

Meet the new editor

The World Cup, queen's birthday, economic promise make a buzz.
Simon Farrell Publisher
May 2014

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
April 2014

Kaizen in practice

Election reforms, ACUMEN redesign and even Everton show ongoing improvement.
Simon Farrell Publisher
March 2014

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
February 2014

Room for a View

Our newest columnist is an eloquent and informed female Japanese resident of London, Ginko Kobayashi.
Simon Farrell Publisher
January 2014

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
December 2013

First for Firsts

A list, from A-Z, with some of my favourite firsts BCCJ ACUMEN featured in 2013.
Simon Farrell Publisher
November 2013

And the Winner Is …

An excerpt from my partner Robert Heldt's acceptance speech for the 2013 Company of the Year award.
Simon Farrell Publisher
October 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
September 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
August 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
July 2013

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”.
Simon Farrell Publisher
June 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
May 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
April 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
March 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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
February 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
January 2013

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
December 2012

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.
Simon Farrell Publisher
November 2012

Only Winners at the BBA

Best wishes from BCCJ ACUMEN to the winners and organisers of the fifth annual British Business Awards (BBA) on 2 November at the Conrad Tokyo. We postponed printing ACUMEN to cover this special event, which is splashed over seven pages of this issue.
Simon Farrell Publisher
October 2012

It's a War Out There

For news, features and chat there’s nothing quite like Japan Today, although there’s often more of the latter than I need. This lively and popular website also carries what Chris Betros, the editor, considers to be the best of BCCJ ACUMEN.
Simon Farrell Publisher
September 2012

… We Can Depend on You

When I first came to Tokyo, in 1987, I thought: is this place obsessed with America or what? US flags and other icons were ubiquitous. There was a love hotel built to look like the Statue of Liberty and daily I walked past something called American Boulevard, next to Seibu Shinjuku Station, selling what was considered cool US stuff.
Simon Farrell Publisher
August 2012

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll?

For decades, one of Britain’s greatest exports and attractions has been music. The Fuji Rock Festival seems to become more UK-centric every year and 2012 was no exception, so we sent along photographer Chris Willson to capture the atmosphere for BCCJ ACUMEN readers. We also profile—and borrowed some images from—Mikio Ariga, who is living the dream as the only official photographer in Japan of what is perhaps the UK’s most proficient export in the rock industry, The Rolling Stones.
Simon Farrell Publisher
July 2012

To Be Gonged Is to Be Great

Great for recognition, motivation, careers and business, an award is something everyone loves. Personally, I haven’t had one since a campfire-cooking badge at Boy Scouts, but I do enjoy learning how people—especially the lesser known—richly deserve their gong.
Simon Farrell Publisher
June 2012

A Smoker's Last Stand

Health concerns tipped the balance and encourage the publisher to kick his smoking habit.
Simon Farrell Publisher
May 2011

Warm Welcome and a Wet Farewell

It’s not often that both an incumbent and a former prime minister visit Tokyo within a month or so of each other, as was the case in April and May. David Cameron arrived first, accompanied by a number of defence manufacturers, and we explore why.
Simon Farrell Publisher
April 2012

Cover Story

Not everyone will find allure in our striking cover shot of a snarling punk rocker; but then we can hardly be accused of being predictable and staid.
Simon Farrell Publisher
March 2012

Building the UK-Japan Partnership

Knowing the English language is dominated in Japan by the American model, I was relieved to be handed a free copy of the Financial Times on a recent flight with a US airline from Tokyo to Saipan, a US territory.
Simon Farrell Publisher
February 2012

Welcome New Additions

Greetings to Mark Schreiber. Mark and I had previously worked together at another publication and I am delighted that he has agreed to offer his exclusive translations to our media pages. Unless you are intimate with Japanese-language weekly and monthly publications, you probably have not read—or even heard—the news he will cover, be it business or lifestyle related.
Simon Farrell Publisher
January 2012

ACUMEN’s Growing Readership

Custom Media would like to wish BCCJ members, our readers, advertisers and friends a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012, and we hope you enjoy the first issue of the year. With circulation, readership and recognition greater than ever, the editors, writers, designers and other staff at Custom Media believe that our decision to go monthly has been vindicated. We hope you agree.