Table Speech


President¡Çs Address at the First Regular Meeting for RY 2013

July 3, 2013

Mr. Motohiro Mibu
President, The Rotary Club of Tokyo

¡¡I joined Tokyo RC 26 years ago, in 1987, following the advice of my father-in-law Mr. Tsuchiya to become the third-generation Rotarian in the family.

¡¡Thanks to the economic policies advocated by Prime Minister Abe, the ¡ÈAbenomics,¡É there are some bright signs in the Japanese economy. I hope such momentum will make the ¡Èinward-, downward- and backward-looking¡É Japanese people to have ¡Èoutward-, upward- and forward-looking¡É attitudes. While many companies call for globalization, fewer and fewer Japanese students choose to study abroad and we are outnumbered by Chinese or Korean students. I believe the Japanese economy and our country can further revitalize through innovative ideas, by utilizing the potential of younger generation free from stereotype and women with great sensibility.

¡¡Two ideas underlie the Club theme of this year, which are ¡Èopen mind¡É and ¡Èpractical mind.¡É I want to make our Club ¡Èopen mind¡É to the outer world and welcome people from wide-ranging backgrounds, regardless of their age or nationality. I also aim to handle our internal matters with ¡Èpractical mind,¡É based on substantial and succinct management. I understand many of you engage yourselves tirelessly in various duties as heads of organizations, which leaves little, if any, room for Rotary activities. Thus we must reduce the burden to encourage active participation especially by the younger generation in the prime of their working life.

¡¡Tokyo is competing against Madrid and Istanbul to host the 2020 Olympics. The final vote comes on September 7th in Buenos Aires. Madrid has an advantage to attract votes of many IOC members from the European royalty and noblemen.

¡¡Istanbul, serving as the bridge between Asia and Europe, is also a strong rival as it appeals to become the first Islam country to host the games. Yet considering their economic and political concerns, I am convinced Tokyo has a good chance to win the bidding. I am looking forward to hosting the Olympics in 2020, which coincides with the Centennial Anniversary of our Club. We have newly appointed the ¡ÈDirector in charge of Centennial Anniversary,¡É who will organize various projects and programs that commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of not only our Club but of Rotary Clubs across Japan, in addition to our Challenge 100 initiative that support reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

¡¡I will work in close collaboration with you all to make this Rotary Year enjoyable and fruitful. Let me close my speech by asking for your generous support and understanding over the coming year.

Secretary¡Çs Address

July 3, 2013

Mr. Taro Kamegai
Secretary, The Rotary Club of Tokyo

¡¡I joined Tokyo RC in 2000, sponsored by Mr. Kashiwabara and my father-in-law Mr. Tanaka. I must admit my attendance rate had been rather poor until I was appointed Assistant Secretary in 2009, followed by Sergeant-at-Arms and Chair for the Fellowship Committee that required my regular attendance. I am determined to give my best support to President Mibu and work closely with directors, officers and member Rotarians. Let me ask for your generous support and cooperation.

¡¡President Mibu has set the club theme for this RY to be ¡Èopen-mind and practical club management.¡É We will cherish the long history and tradition of this Club, which will celebrate its centennial anniversary in 2020, while we keep making changes that meet the needs of the times. We will make our Club forward-looking and open to the outer world, while we will aim at practical and substantial management to handle our internal matters, with priority on vocational services of our members. I believe our club theme reflects the course of Japan, as we strive to break out of the deflationary quagmire and revive our country by new innovative ideas.

¡¡The Governor will visit us on July 24th and intends to discuss about ¡Èmembership development and how to activate the Club.¡É We aim at achieving a net increase of 2 members this year, like last year, and let me encourage you all to sponsor promising candidates. The birthday gathering was a successful new activity introduced during the last RY and will continue this year, on a bimonthly basis, to further activate our Club..

¡¡As the founder of Yoneyama Memorial Foundation, our Club has been aiming at achieving 10 million yen of donations since 2008, and it remains our goal. We will make increased donations (150 dollars per member) to the Rotary Foundation this year. Our ¡ÈTohoku Sukusuku (Mother and Child Care) Project¡É will receive generous support from Ardmore RC and Washington DC RC in the US and we will make formal application to the Global Grant.

¡¡Various events will be organized and we would like to have your active participation. The Intercity Meeting will be held in November, the District Conference in February 2014 as well as the International Convention at Sydney next June.

¡¡Before closing, let me encourage you, once again, to spare your time and join our regular meeting on Wednesdays so that we can improve our attendance rate at home.