2021 State of the Chamber

Nov 16

A look back at a year of challenges as well as great progress and success

By C Bryan Jones

On October 26, at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) Ordinary General Meeting, I had the honor of sharing with the chamber membership an update on the progress the ACCJ has made over the course of 2021—a year still marked by the challenges brought forth by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the start of the year, when I took on the role of president, I set out three main strategic priorities:

Help member companies to be agile and recover more quickly from the challenges of Covid-19
Transform the membership experience through digitalization
Create a more resilient and sustainable chamber

I’m proud to say that not only have we made significant progress toward these goals, but our members have gone above and beyond over the past year to help fellow members seize new opportunities, give back to the community, and stay true to our mission of improving the international business environment in Japan.

The pandemic has challenged the ACCJ, but we have come together to help our member organizations chart a path to recovery. One way we have done this is by advocating for an easing of restrictions on entry into Japan—something that is finally becoming a reality as this issue of The ACCJ Journal goes to print—as well as facilitating an unprecedented and successful vaccination rollout to members and their families.

Catalyst for Change

These challenges have brought about exciting changes at greater speed, such as the acceleration of the chamber’s digital transformation.

I’m grateful to each member for their contributions, which have had a positive impact on the US–Japan Economic Dialogue and further reinforced the ACCJ as the preeminent voice of international business in Japan. Here are some highlights of the progress we have made.

Goal 1: Help member companies to be agile and recover more quickly

To help members emerge stronger from the pandemic and to reinvigorate the Japanese economy, the chamber’s proactive advocacy efforts have focused on easing entry to Japan, post-Covid economic recovery, digital transformation, healthcare policy, and reforms to help build a more sustainable society.

During 2021, the ACCJ published more than 50 advocacy documents, including those aimed at:

Improving corporate governance
Promoting uniform reporting requirements for environmental, social, and corporate governance
Introducing regulatory changes to make Japan more attractive to foreign investors

In February, the chamber issued the Japan Digital Agenda 2030, a monumental report produced in collaboration with McKinsey Japan which lays out a 10-year road map for the country’s digital transformation.

The Financial Services Forum issued a white paper entitled Reimagining Japan as a Global Financial Center, which outlined recommended actions for Japan to become a globally relevant financial center. This was followed by a miniature Diet Doorknock during which ACCJ leaders engaged with Japanese lawmakers.

Our relationships with the Japanese and US governments have remained strong through the transitions to a new administration in the United States as well as two prime ministers in Japan. Our steady engagement has allowed us to offer real-time feedback on behalf of our members. This summer, we completed a very impactful Diet Doorknock and held 37 meetings—the most ever. Twelve were at the minister level and included audiences with now-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and several members of his cabinet.

We have also advocated directly with senior officials from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Immigration Services Agency on both easing entry restrictions related to Covid-19, and recognizing international vaccination certificates.

In May, we formed the Special Digital Task Force to assist the Government of Japan in achieving its digitalization goals.

We continue to build on our relationship with the US Embassy through meetings with Chargé d'Affaires Ray Greene and Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs Alan Turley. These were in addition to our regularly hosted embassy conferences.

The chamber has also been at the forefront of helping members navigate the evolving vaccine and reentry information through the Vaccine Information Hub and Reentry Resources pages on the ACCJ website.

To provide immediate and concrete avenues to vaccination for members, the ACCJ secured 1,000 vaccinations for members and their guests. Of these, we provided 300 ourselves, with the recipients including many of our small and medium-sized enterprise members. A further 700 vaccinations were provided in partnership with our member companies, private entities, and other foreign chambers of commerce.

Goal 2: Transform the membership experience

Our second strategic goal is to transform the membership experience, including through digitalization, to provide the greatest value possible to the ACCJ network, which comprises 3,000 members and 550 commercial memberships.

We have had strong growth in the Corporate Sustaining Member (CSM) category, which has increased by six percent since January to 83 CSMs. The Small Company package has been very successful; the category has nearly tripled in size since its creation in 2019. And we have 50 new commercial memberships, an eight-percent increase from this time last year.

We continue to see strong engagement by members through a varied and informative lineup of virtual events and meetings. We hosted nearly 380 sessions in 2021, garnering 9,500 member and guest registrations. These figures are on par with those of previous years, indicating that our virtual events continue to provide valuable information and interaction for members.

These events have enabled the ACCJ to become truly borderless and expand our reach through even more world-class speakers and topics. An example is the ACCJ/NAJAS Leadership Speaker Series, which provided global networking opportunities with the National Association of Japan–America Societies in the United States.

Members have participated in virtual networking opportunities through breakout rooms, workshops, and mentorship programs.

The pandemic has challenged the ACCJ, but we have come together to help our member organizations chart a path to recovery.

Now, with the lifting of the most recent state of emergency and a lower risk of Covid-19 transmission, the ACCJ is making plans to resume in-person aspects of our events. The planning includes guidelines and safety protocols to protect attendees, as well as technology to deliver seamless event experiences to those attending virtually.

Goal 3: Create a more resilient and sustainable chamber

In terms of our third strategic goal, I established the Governance Task Force to assess areas of governance about which members have expressed concern and to ensure that we continue to evolve as an organization that reflects contemporary business practices.

Specific areas on which the Governance Task Force is focused include the role and authority of the Executive Committee, the role of presidents emeriti, succession planning, and document management, as well as guidelines for the Nominations and Election Supervisory Committees.

To coordinate crosscutting, multiyear advocacy initiatives, the Board of Governors introduced the new Advocacy Coordination Groups, which work with committees and councils to guide the chamber’s advocacy strategy.

These groups will ensure inclusive and transparent communication within the chamber on important issues in order to attain more impactful and sustainable change.

As a voice for championing women and diverse leaders in the workforce, the ACCJ is a positive driver for growth and innovation, both in Japan and the chamber. The quality and range of our white papers, statements, and events are a direct result of the diversity—as well as the depth of knowledge and experience—of our membership.

We continue to promote diverse leaders on all committees and, this year, 40 percent of our Board of Governors and 31 percent of committee leadership positions are held by women—a goal we achieved at the end of 2020.

On International Women’s Day, the chamber launched the Women in Business Reading List, an online library of critical resources for women in the workforce.

In April, we issued the 2021 edition of the Women in Business Toolkit, which highlights actions that member companies are taking to increase the participation of women and diverse leaders at all levels.

In March, we issued comments supporting the Sapporo District Court ruling that it is unconstitutional not to recognize same-sex marriage. Our marriage equality viewpoint was cited in multiple national and international news outlets.

One of our four core pillars is Community, and we are committed to responsible corporate citizenship and supporting the recovery of our local community. To that end, we donated ¥1.25 million to local charities facing challenges due to Covid-19, including the non-profit organizations Save Food, Mirai no Mori, and Hands On Tokyo. We will support more organizations through the virtual Charity Ball auction which will run December 1–11 (page 16). Last year, the event raised ¥7.4 million.

This year, the ACCJ Community Service Advisory Council offered new opportunities to support and promote local charities through a new listing and donation request form available directly on the ACCJ website.

The Chubu chapter has provided strong support for the community and member businesses. This year marks an important milestone for the Chubu Walkathon, which celebrates its 30th year and raised nearly ¥5.6 million for 18 charity organizations.

Since 2019, the chapter has seen a 30-percent increase in the number of committee meetings since 2019, and a 31-percent rise in event attendees from across all three chapters since 2020.

The Kansai chapter continues to drive exciting and impactful initiatives, including the 7th Annual Kansai Diversity & Inclusion Summit Series; 2nd Annual Healthcare x Digital Pitch Event and Ideas Day; and the Kansai Leadership Series, which had a record 102 participants in this—its 10th—year.

We should all be proud of what we have accomplished as a chamber.

One motto that I personally like is: Be the change you want to see in the world. The ACCJ is an embodiment of that message and the power of what can be achieved when we work together.