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| Newsletter
No.80 |
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Jan.
2006
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New Year's Greetings HANABUSA Masamichi
A Happy New Year to all of you.
It is gratifying to welcome the New Year with the
prospect that this year will be better than the
previous one.
Following the launch of ESU Republic of Korea two
years ago another ESU was born last August, in the
Philippines, our southern neighbor. I am glad to
know that the ESU family is enlarging in this part
of the world.
It is less clear to me whether 2006 holds as good
a prospect for the world in general. The Japanese,
working closely with other peoples, should endeavor
to make the world safer and more prosperous. I believe
that we are better able to do so in the years ahead
with the return of sanguine health to the Japanese
economy.
On her way back to Britain from the Philippines,
Mrs. Valerie Mitchell, Director General of the International
Council of the ESU, of which our ESUJ is a member,
visited Japan. At the reception held at the Tokyo
Club in her honor, she spoke clearly of the ever-widening
network of the ESU movement around the world.
Our major mission is to promote mutual understanding
and friendship among various peoples through the
use of the English language. We intend to continue
our activities to fulfill this mission. I wish to
urge our members to make more efforts to bring non-Japanese
friends and acquaintances to our activities, particularly
students from East Asian nations.
It is entirely thanks to the hard work of our ardent
volunteers and the financial and other forms of
support from many corporations that the English-Speaking
Union of Japan was able to make steady progress
last year. At the beginning of the New Year, I would
like to express our sincere appreciation to them.
Please extend the same strong support to the ESUJ
this year as you did last year.
Wishing you all good health and prosperity in 2006!
Christmas Party a Big Success
The annual ESUJ Christmas Party was held on Wed.
December 21, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club
in Yurakucho. 130 members and guests participated,
filling the room. Following ESUJ Chairman Hanabusa's
welcoming remarks, the Jordanian Ambassador to Japan,
Mr. Samir Naouri, proposed a toast. The Australian
Ambassador, Mr. Murray McLean, and the Turkish Ambassador,
Mrs. Salmaz Unaydin also attended the party. Following
on from last year, the nearly 20-member strong English
Club chorus entertained the group with Christmas
carols, singing three selections this year, with
Secretary-General Ayako Hanabusa accompanying on
the piano and ESUJ Director Muneo Wakabayashi serving
as conductor. This year, after extensive practice,
the group demonstrated its increased prowess by
tackling a two-part selection and one in rounds.
Afterward, guests chatted happily, with Ms. Yuka
Mizuno providing background music and accompaniment
for a surprise performance of ESUJ's renowned singer
and Councilor, Rabinder Malik, who sang My Way.
As an encore, Malik-san also sang his specialty,
Japanese enka. This year, the delicious buffet was
so plentiful, our Director-General Matsudaira, rather
than apologizing for a lack of food, found himself
in charge of trying to get the still-chatting guests
to leave, even after closing time!
ESUJ Takuwakai Luncheon “The World as Seen from
France, and Japan”: talk by Mr. Hisanori Isomura
The always well-received Takuwakai Luncheon for
individual and corporate supporting members met
on Wed. Dec. 7. Mr. Hisamori Isomura, the ‘face’
of NHK, was the guest speaker, with nearly forty
persons in attendance. Starting with Winston Churchill's
joke about English as a language “understood
in spite of many misunderstandings”, Isomura-san
analyzed the international situation in an extremely
interesting way from the European point of view,
providing numerous ‘key words’. He also
introduced “Japan Cool”, describing the
current high regard of Europeans for Japanese culture.
ESUJ's New Year's Events!
(Please note the venue and the time!)
New Year's Lecture “Scotland and its
National Poet Robert Burn”
by Mr. Gray McGregor
Wednesday, January 25, 18:30-20:00
at Kasumi Kaikan (34th fl. of Kasumigaseki Bldg.
Tel 03-3581-9151)
A genuine Scots gentleman, Mr. McGregor will
talk about beautiful Scotland and its great poet,
Robert Burns on Burns' birthday. A must!
Ambassador's Lecture Series “Bulgaria, Present
and Future”
Thursday, February 23, 18:30-20:00 at Japan
National Press Club
English Club: see below
English Club
January 17 (Tuesday) 18:30-20:30 at Tokyo
International Forum G408 (Note Venue!)
As our guest speaker we will welcome Mr.
James Yellowlees, Director-Japan of Canadian Education
Alliance, who has wide experience of Japanese
business and friendship.
The next English Club will be held on February
21 (Tue) 18:30-20:30 at the office of Nikkei
Hanbai Kaihatsu (new place!) in Otemachi.
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For
further informaiton contact!
E-MAIL:esuj@esuj.gr.jp
Fujikage-Building
9th Floor, Motoakasaka 1-1-5
MInato-ku, Tokyo 107-0051
TEL: 03-3423-0970 FAX: 03-3423-0971
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