From Our Leader

CJST President Rob Bracey

It’s been an extremely busy year at the CJST. Without the newsletter, lots of you are wondering if we’re really still here!

At long last, we’ve finally completed the newsletter. We’ve received lots of calls and comments wondering whether Ichimoku-kai was the only event happening! In reality, we have been quite busy but without the newsletter - you weren’t kept informed. Our sincere apologies. Be reassured that we are now back on track, so here goes ...

The CJST has had representatives at a number of conferences and events. I represented the CJST at a meeting with Trade Minister Art Eggleton to discuss Canada’s Year of Asia Pacific. I also participated in a meeting sponsored by the Royal Bank with a senior official from the Bank of Japan as well as various leaders from Canada’s business community. John Harris represented the CJST at a one-day conference sponsored by the Asia Pacific Foundation to discuss opportunities in Asia for small and medium enterprises. The CJST is also a member of the Japan Community Network, an organization of all the Japan-related organizations in the Toronto area.

On the local front, we continue to enjoy the relationships developed with the Consulate of Japan and the Japan Foundation. We work closely with the Japan Foundation to develop ideas and host events. They are also kind enough to let us hold our board meetings in their boardroom! The Consulate has been generous in providing advice, developing ideas and supporting events. We are extremely grateful to both organizations and hope to develop these relationships further.

On a sad note, we had to say sayonara to two of our most avid supporters from these two organizations: Kazuo Tanaka from the Consulate has received a new posting in Lagos, Nigeria. The CJST has lost a close friend and a great supporter. We wish Kazuo and his wife, Yoshiko, the best of luck. From the Japan Foundation side, Osamu Honda received a new posting in Tokyo. We will miss his humour and genuine affection, and appreciate all he did for us during his term in Toronto. Fortunately both men have left kind instructions with their successors and we look forward to having them contribute to our organization.

Also on the local front, we took the initiative with the Japan Foundation to arrange a bursary to send author and columnist Robert Fulford and his wife to Japan. Ted Goossen and John Harris started with this idea and did a great job bringing it to reality. Since there are no Canadian press representatives in Japan, having an individual of Mr. Fulford’s stature over there will make a significant contribution to what Canadians learn about Japan. Our goal--to increase Canada-Japan understanding--will be significantly furthered by this bursary. Congratulations to Ted and John on a job well done. Good luck to Robert, and many thanks to the Japan Foundation.

CJST Organization

For some reason we are able to plan ahead for the first time in the history of the CJST. Our event calendar is full through the first part of the summer! We’ll be having the AGM, a session about Japanese animation, a launch for Ted Goossen’s latest literary collection and a kimono fashion show. Ichimoku-kai will continue to be held on the first Thursday of every month. We are in the planning stages of a reorganization of the CJST Board. CJST is evolving and we need to keep the Board fresh! We’ve always had "committees" to fill the need for social, business and cultural events. Unfortunately, each committee ended up being one or two people who usually felt guilty for not doing enough! Another reality is that we have not been promoting our events to the best of our ability. How to solve the problems? Well, we’ve decided that instead of having "committees" we’ll ask each Board member to manage two events. We’re also creating the position of Promotions Director to help spread the word of all the activities. We’ll fill you in on this and more at the Annual General Meeting on April 28. So make sure you come out and let us hear your ideas.

Rolling Along!

Although we seem to be in an era when public interest in Japan is sagging and numerous Japanese branch offices are relocating, the CJST manages to keep rolling along. We’re having a lot of fun doing what we do. We continue to help build the foundation for Canada-Japan relations and we play an important role in long-term bilateral development. Sometimes we lose sight of this when we’re having so much fun-but we should be proud of our accomplishments. I look forward to doing more in future and hope we all get a chance to meet.

Get Involved!

The CJST is an organization run by volunteers and we need your enthusiasm and ideas to help us be the kind of organization you want us to be. If you want to help stuff envelopes, organize or help at events - let us know. It’s definitely worth the time to contribute, so feel free to get more involved.

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