Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan


The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan was started in 1945 to provide infrastructure for foreign journalists working in Post-World War II Japan. Historically, the club has been located in the area around Ginza.
Today, the club offers a workroom facility, a library, a restaurant, a bar, and a steady stream of local and international speakers and panels, for its members. Its facilities are housed on the 19th and 20th floors of the Yurakucho Denki North Building in Yūrakuchō.
FCCJ publishes the monthly No. 1 Shimbun.

Presidents

Past presidents include legendary war correspondent John Rich, leading "China watcher" John Roderick, later editor of the Chicago Sun-Times Frank Devine, 1951 Pulitzer Prize winner Max Desfor, and Burton Crane, also well known as a singer for Columbia Records, singing Japanese-language versions of popular Westerns songs of the day, becoming known as the "Bing Crosby of Japan".
NameAffiliationPeriod
Howard Handleman International News Service Oct - Dec 1945
Robert Cochrane Baltimore Sun Jan - June 1946
Walter Simmons Chicago Tribune July - Dec 1946
Tom Lambert Associated Press Jan - June 1947
George Folster NBC July 1947 - June 1948
Keyes Beech Chicago Daily News July 1948 - June 1949
Allen S. Raymond Herald Tribune July 1949 - June 1950
Burton Crane The New York Times July 1950 - June 1951
Joe Fromm U.S. News & World Report July 1951 - June 1952
William Jorden Associated Press July 1952 - June 1953
Dwight Martin Time-Life July 1953 - June 1954
Hessell Tiltman Manchester Guardian July 1954 - Sep 1954
Rutherford Poats United Press Oct 1954 - June 1955
Robert Eunson Associated Press July 1955 - Mar 1956
Marvin Stone International News Service Apr 1956 - Mar 1957
Earnest Hoberecht United Press Apr 1957 - Mar 1958
LeRoy Hansen United Press Apr 1958 - Dec 1958
July 1959 - Jun 1960
Sydney Brookes Reuters Dec 1958 - Jun 1959
Nathan Polowetzkey Associated Press July 1960 - Jun 1961
John Randolph Associated Press July 1961 - Jun 1962
Fritz Steck Neue Zuercher Zeitung July 1962 - Jun 1963
Lee Chia Central News Agency July 1963 - Jun 1964
Julius Cohn Fairchild Publications July 1964 - Jun 1965
John Roderick Associated Press July 1965 - Jun 1966
Frank Devine Australian Newspapers Association July 1966 - Jun 1967
Al Kaff United Press International July 1967 - Jun 1968
Henry Hartzenbusch Associated Press July 1968 - Jun 1969
Ugo Puntieri Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata July 1969 - Jun 1970
John Rich NBC July 1970 - Jun 1971
Pierre Brisard AFP July 1971 - Jun 1972
Mack Chrysler U.S. News & World Report July 1972 - Jun 1973
Sam Jameson Los Angeles Times July 1973 - Jun 1974
Max Desfor Associated Press July 1974 - Jun 1975
Al Cullison Daily Telegraph July 1975 - Jun 1976
Bill Shinn Sisa News Agency July 1976 - Jun 1977
Frederick Marks United Press International July 1977 - Jun 1978
Bruce Dunning CBS July 1978 - Jun 1979
Swadesh DeRoy Press Trust of India July 1979 - Jun 1980
Jack Russell NBC July 1980 - Jun 1981
Edwin Reingold Time July 1981 - Jun 1982
Karel van Wolferen NRC-Handelsblad July 1982 - Jun 1983
Ken Ishii International Herald Tribune July 1983 - Jun 1984
Mary Ann Maskery ABC July 1984 - Jun 1985
Jurek Martin Financial Times July 1985 - Jun 1986
Bruce Macdonell GlobeNet July 1986 - Jun 1987
Naoaki Usui McGraw-Hill World News July 1987 - Jun 1988
Andrew Horvat The Independent July 1988 - Jun 1989
Mike Tharp U.S. News & World Report July 1989 - Jun 1990
Peter McGill The Observer July 1990 - Jun 1991
David Powers BBC July 1991 - Jun 1992
Clayton Jones Christian Science Monitor July 1992 - Jun 1993
Lew Simons Knight-Ridder July 1993 - Jun 1994
Gebhard Hielscher Süddeutsche Zeitung July 1994 - Jun 1995
James Lagier Associated Press July 1995 - June 1996
William Dawkins Financial Times July 1996 - June 1997
Steven Herman CBS Radio/Discovery Channel July 1997 - June 1998
Robert Neff Business Week July 1998 - June 1999
Roger Schreffler E.I.U.Publication July 1999 - June 2000
James Treece Automotive News July 2000 - June 2001
Kazuo Abiko Associated Press July 2001 - June 2002
Hans van der Lugt NRC-Handelsblad July 2002 - June 2003
Myron Belkind Associated Press July 2003 - March 2004
Dan Sloan Reuters April 2004 - June 2004
July 2005 - June 2006
Anthony Rowley Business Times July 2004 - June 2005
Dennis Normile Science July 2006 - June 2007
Martyn Williams IDG News Service July 2007 - June 2008
Catherine Makino IPS July 2008 - June 2009
Monzurul Huq Daily Prothom Alo July 2009 - June 2010
Georges Baumgartner Swiss Radio and Television July 2010 - June 2013
Lucy Birmingham Freelance July 2013 - June 2015
James Simms Forbes July 2015 - Sept 2015
Suvendrini Kakuchi University World News Sept 2015 -

Membership

Club membership is around 2,000, with over 300 foreign correspondents as well as over 200 professional associates, mostly working for local media. Associate members number around 1,500 and include entrepreneurs, business executives, other professionals as well as authors and artists.

Association

The FCCJ is not a member of the International Association of Press Clubs but has reciprocal agreements with a number of Foreign Correspondents' Clubs in Asia and North America: