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The NCCJ’s Annual General Meeting took place this year in the Deshima Lounge at the Netherlands Embassy, with new Chairman Hans van der Tang running the gathering.

Hans started with a brief rundown of the past year’s highlights, including the chamber’s assistance to the tsunami-struck town of Yamada-machi, in particular the donation of Y6 million and a much-needed Miffy-adorned school bus to help the town’s children commute to school. He also noted some of the successful events in the last year, notably the three Lotgenoten gatherings and the recent Giving Back to Japan 2 event, as well as personnel changes within the chamber since the last AGM, including Membership Committee Chairperson Wendela Elsen Nakajima being replaced by Bjorn Courage; Chairman Duco Delgorge replaced by Hans, who was replaced as secretary by Taco de Vries; and the departure of auditor Arno Groenewoud. There were some newcomers too, such as two new auditors, Diederik Ellemeet and Pieter Janson.

The committee chairmen then gave short presentations detailing their committees’ activities, beginning with Treasurer Jan Remie, who gave a brief rundown on the chamber’s very tidy finances.

 Activities Committee Vice-Chairman Richard van Rooij talked about events in the last year organized for the benefit of members, including a variety of presentations, the three well-regarded Lotgenoten, in which businesspeople discussed their experiences, knowledge and opinions on doing business in Japan; networking events and various joint chamber activities; and the activities with the Oranda-jima Foundation and the very successful Giving Back to Japan 2 event on May 16 this year, which attracted an audience of over 400 people. Activities also included a trip to view sumo training with people from prominent micro-motor maker Mabuchi Motor in September last year, and another excursion in March this year to tour Mitsubishi Heavy Industries production facilities.

 Membership in the NCCJ, as committee Chairman Bjorn Courage noted, has been somewhat limited, though stable, and showed a slight uptick in the last year, from 66 to 72 members in total. The committee is actively trying to recruit more, however, through its new LinkedIn NCCJ group, committee expansion, encouragement of referrals by existing members and creating flyers to spark interest in the chamber, as well as a Facebook page that is under considerations.

 Communications Chairman Maarten Molenaar outlined his committee’s efforts to boost the chamber’s brand and its ability to pass on relevant information to members and people outside the chamber. This was primarily through the new website, as well as a newsletter that is closely tied to the website, online ads, including banner ads from sponsors and job postings, and professional support for updating information such as chamber news and events, member news, etc.

 The External Relations Committee was also active in the last year. Chairman Takeo Nishitani described his committee’s successful efforts to create ties with outside organizations, as well as the committee part in negotiating a special favor from Dick Bruna to use his character Miffy on the school bus donated to the town of Yamada-machi. The committee is applying its expertise to events planned for the coming year, including speakers, tie-ups with other chambers, visits to industrial sites and the Deshima Business Award 2012.
 European Business Council Representative Taco de Vries gave a rundown on the activities of the EBC and its strenuous and varied efforts to improve the trade and investment environment for European companies in Japan.

To wind up the meeting, all regular members present voted for the new 11-member Management Committee to be chaired by Hans van der Tang, as well as the two auditors, Diederik Ellemeet and Pieter Janson. All the nominees being eminently qualified and suitable, and the quorum of 13 regular members being present, the motions were passed unanimously with a show of green voting cards.

 All business thus properly addressed, the participants then retired to the nearby La tana di Bacco restaurant to partake of its superb food and drinks.

At the second Giving Back to Japan event on May 16, five mayors of towns and cities in areas of Tohoku devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, were invited to report on progress in their efforts to rebuild.

The event was organized by the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce in Japan and Tohoku Planning Forum (TPF), in cooperation with 17 foreign chambers of commerce, and sponsored by nine companies. 

 The mayors were Hidetoshi Watanabe of Aizu Misato-Machi, Fukushima Prefecture; Kimiaki Toda of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture; Kiichi Numazaki of Yamada-Machi, Iwate Prefecture; Tsuneaki Iguchi of Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture; and Yoshiaki Suda of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture. In a discussion moderated by radio personality Peter Barakan, the five mayors each gave a short rundown describing the destruction the tsunami wreaked on their towns on that terrible day, and their efforts so far to rebuild, as well as their plans and visions for the future.

They described both the destruction, loss of thousands of their fellow citizens, and decimation of their residential areas and industrial facilities. But they also reported on the progress of their rebuilding efforts and solicited feedback on current efforts and future plans for reconstruction of their areas. Some of the mayors mentioned the potential benefits of the response to the disaster, and the opportunities for regions away from the major cities as governments and companies move to decentralize their operations, and develop offices and data centers for cloud computing, and others, for example.

Aizu Mayor Watanabe noted that his town had taken in a large number of refugees after the disaster, and that hundreds are still living in temporary housing. And due to its industrial base being decimated, a huge amount of investment will be needed to bring Aizu back.

And yet, the mayors’ message was primarily one of hope and optimism as their reconstruction plans gather steam. A huge amount of work remains to be done. Several of the mayors described plans to relocate residential areas to upland regions away from the danger of future tsunami, and hundreds of projects already approved and under way. In addition to these enormous undertakings, efforts to rebuild industrial bases devastated in the disaster, present numerous opportunities to start anew with new infrastructure.

A recurring theme was the need for support in their efforts to maintain local control of the rebuilding process. This, they agreed, is the best way to ensure that the reconstruction meets the needs of local residents and their communities.

 One audience member asked if the mayors planned to rebuild their towns like they used to be, or would there be differences? Before the disaster, many communities in the area were already only barely sustainable, with a majority of the residents well over retirement age and little to offer young people entering the work force. “Young people tend to leave the area and head for Tokyo,” Ofunato Mayor Toda said. “We need to create some incentive for them to stay.” He noted that some initiatives, such as a proposed “mega-solar” power plant, a smart grid, hybrid energy systems and biomass energy projects, as well as sustainable wood housing, could help alleviate this chronic drain of talented people and lead to a more prosperous future.

 Yamada-machi Mayor Numazaki described his town’s plans to move its residential area to higher ground and build a higher seawall, both of which will require huge amounts of funding. He also said they were planning to rebuild infrastructure for primary industries such as fishing, as well as create facilities to attract new industries such as tourism.
The mayors also cited lessons learned from the disaster, and their intention to incorporate these lessons into their plans for a sustainable future. For example, Iwanuma Mayor Iguchi noted that on the Sendai Plain, one of the characteristics is the type of trees that tend to be planted around the houses and towns, which helped to dissipate the energy of the tsunami. “We intend to plant more such trees and use them as a natural barrier to protect our homes,” he said.

 Subsidence of the land due to the effects of the tsunami will continue to be a problem for the areas struck by the disaster. “We have to start by elevating the ground, a process that will require a lot of both time and money,” Mayor Iguchi said, noting that his town had suffered subsidence of almost a full meter in many places.

Another common theme was jobs for local residents and “creative reconstruction,” including the creation of smart cities boasting new industries and attractive lifestyles, while preserving the Tohoku region’s traditions and history, as well as the key existing industries.
One audience member asked what the foreign community could provide. What do the affected communities need? “Everything,” one mayor replied, to general laughter. But the participants agreed that what they wanted most was long-term, friendly relations with communities overseas, sustainable investment in their communities. A boost in tourism and the number of visitor coming to enjoy the natural beauty and culture of the region also couldn’t hurt.

The mayors, asked how they would encourage investment in their areas, mentioned various incentives, including tax breaks, land grants, subsidies and many other initiatives.

Onagawa Mayor Suda expressed how gratified he was by the response of the foreign community, and the interest and concern for his community shown by so many people around the world. During the presentations, a Twitter feed was projected on a screen on the stage. It showed that Twitter was trending in Japan, indicating the intense interest that the Giving Back to Japan event, and the issue of rebuilding Tohoku, was generating worldwide.

The event was also webcast live and the videos posted later at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gbtj2-jp and in English at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/gbtj2

For more information about the Tohoku Planning Forum, please see http://www.tpf2.net/forum

The press coverage:
GIVING BACK TO JAPAN2 in Asian Scientist
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
EURObiZ Japan

Text: Robert Cameron

The EU Gateway Progamme is funded and managed by the European Union to support EU companies in developing business cooperation with Japanese companies. 
The Netherlands Embassy in Tokyo is supporting the programme by maximizing business opportunities for Dutch participants. 

From 22 to 23 May 2012, the following two Dutch companies will visit Japan and show their products and technologies at the two-day Exhibition.

Date:  22-23 May 2012

          11:00-18:00 (22 May)

          10:00-17:00 (23 May)

Venue: Hilton Hotel Tokyo, 4F “Kiku Room”

Admission: Free (Prior registration is required)

Dutch participants:
Exact Dynamics: Training device for rehabilitation purposes
Forcelink: Treadmill

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is accepting applications for a subsidy program.
The programme aims to promote new investment, maintain and create jobs in Japan, and improve the site location environment for companies in Japan to encourage companies to locate their production bases domestically. The subsidy will be offered for production bases in the fields of
parts and materials, which constitute the core part of the supply chain and cannot be substituted, as well as high added value growth sectors that will create employment in Japan.

APPLICATIONS:
Applications will be accepted until June 1st, 2012. Applications must be submitted in Japanese.

MORE INFORMATION:
JETRO has prepared a provisional translation of the subsidy information and posted it on the JETRO website.  The criteria are very specific but the offering may be of interest to some members. Please see Application Guidelines for more details.

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