President’s Address at the Last Regular Meeting for RY 2014-2015
June 24, 2015
Mr. Takeo Katoh
President, Rotary Club of Tokyo
As I look back on this Year, the frequent occurrence of abnormal natural phenomena both in Japan and overseas strike me the most, including unseasonable heat waves, typhoons, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions and the recent deep-focus earthquake.
Growth in the Japanese economy was another striking movement. We were encouraged by the positive news of companies achieving record-high earnings and the Nikkei average exceeding 20,000 yen.
Having said that, the social structure of our country has been undergoing transformation, due to declining population coupled with lower birthrate and population aging, which triggers serious issues like hobbling consumer demand or expanding disparities between the central and local governments, major companies and SMEs as well as among different generations. A mid- and long-term growth strategy is yet to be established by the government.
Against this backdrop, Tokyo RC has based its activities on the following four goals of 1) Enjoy Rotary, 2) membership development, 3) preparations for the Centennial Anniversary and 4) maximizing efficiency of Club management.
I believe we have made some achievements in “Enjoy Rotary” through various meetings and events (Family Christmas and Birthday Parties, Dogwood Viewing, excursions organized by the Vocational Service Committee etc.) that enriched and enlightened our lives, together with our family members. The attendance rate disappointingly stayed at 63%, falling short of our 70% target. Let me call upon your continuous active participation in various events and programs.
Membership totaled 325 at the end of this RY. While we succeeded in welcoming 15 new members, including 3 female members, 19 Rotarians left the Club due to inevitable reasons.
The “Tohoku Sukusuku Project” is an initiative implemented towards our Centennial Anniversary in 2020. The childcare house Ayukko was built last year and is frequented by residents in the community. This year we opened the Kesennuma Sukusuku House for mothers and children in Kesennuma as a Global Grant project of Rotary International, thanks to the painstaking efforts made by our member Rotarians in charge.
Each Committee strived to streamline its activities and we managed to maximize efficiency of Club management, with some surplus in our accounts.
As I close my speech, let me extend my sincere gratitude to each one of you for your cooperation and understanding this year. Let me also wish for further growth and prosperity of Tokyo RC under the presidency of Mr. Moroto.
Secretary’s Address
June 24, 2015
Mr. Zen Tatsumura
Secretary, Rotary Club of Tokyo
This year we had the honor to welcome the US Ambassador to Japan Her Excellency Caroline Kennedy as our Honorary Member, together with another female Honorary Member Mrs. Sadako Ogata. Mr. Masuzoe, Governor of Tokyo, also accepted to be our Honorary Member. We managed to overcome the long-standing issue concerning membership development and welcomed three new female members. I believe our decision will influence other RCs and I expect more female members to join the Club.
We welcomed on average 12.2 visitors from other RCs in Japan and 1.5 overseas visitors for each Regular Meeting throughout this Year. Our club served as a leading RC for many others and we recognized anew the weight and responsibility of our Club.
Let me express my gratitude for your active participation in the District Conference this February. We were impressed by the video shown then with beautiful nature of Taiwan and children’s chorus that heralded the era of Asia. Our Club was also awarded with six prizes during this Conference, including the RI President Award and Membership Development Award. In addition, RI Significant Achievement Award was given to our Director Mr. Tsuno which proves our remarkable achievement to the Rotary Foundation.
We started to implement the Tohoku Sukusuku Kesennuma Project as a Global Grant initiative. The newly renovated childcare support facility Kesennuma Sukusuku House opened last December. Fourteen member Rotarians made an on-site inspection tour on April 17th and visited Kesennuma and Rikuzentakata, which received newspaper coverage by the local press Sanriku Shinpo. The Tohoku Sukusuku Project continues until 2020, but we will seek candidates that can take over various activities to make it sustainable.
Thanks to your generous contributions, we made donations to those affected by the landslide in Hiroshima and the earthquake in Nepal. Our contributions to RI exceeded the target by 38%. We also raised 10.1 million yen for the Yoneyama Memorial Scholarship, making our contributions exceed 10 million yen for seven consecutive years.
Our member Rotarians actively participated in various events and meetings both in our and other Clubs. They were invited to RCs in the District to make table speeches. Birthday parties, cherry blossom viewing, English nights and various circles (music and igo etc.) were excellent occasions to deepen our friendship.