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The author (far right) at the Osaka G7 Roundtable event in October
2024: an “event-full” year
Looking back as this year comes to an end, I can hardly count the number of events I attended. It was truly another “event-full” year.
Last winter I attended several events beyond Tokyo, thanks to the encouragement of the CCCJ’s Honourary Advisor, Akiko Kosuda. In early February, I went to Nagoya for the 20th anniversary reception of the Tokai Japan Canada Society (TJCS), billed as the “Northern Lights Shinnenkai.” TJCS is just one of several Canada-Japan groups across the country.
Later that month, thanks to generous support from Global Affairs Canada, I traveled to Singapore for the CanCham Indo-Pacific Meeting, on the occasion of the Canada-in-Asia Conference (CIAC), hosted by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. This gathering brought together 25 Canadian chambers from around the region to discuss implementation of the Indo-Pacific CanCham Capacity Building Program. For me, this was a great chance to finally meet the leaders of these chambers in person.
I returned to Tokyo in time to prepare for the first Net-Zero Forum, held on March 4th at the embassy. Our Energy Committee put everything together – from speakers to sponsors – and the Forum was well-received by all participants. The second Forum was held in September.
On March 21st I traveled to Osaka for the groundbreaking of Canada’s EXPO 2025 pavilion. Since nothing had yet been built it was hard to find the site but once I got there it was an enjoyable event.
On May 10th CCCJ co-hosted the EmpowerHer panel discussion and reception at the beautiful residence of the South African ambassador. Women leaders from various sectors shared their experiences with the audience. Highlight of the event was a speech by Mrs. N. Ngonyama.
For me, a highlight of National Indigenous History Month was the June 3rd screening of Kamui no Uta, a film that tells the story of the Ainu people.
Although summer is often a quiet season for the Chamber, that was not the case this year. On July 2nd, to celebrate their 75th Anniversary, our friends at the ACCJ kindly invited their fellow national chambers to “A Night of Stars & Stripes.”
During a one-week break in Canada, on July 18th in Ottawa I had the privilege of a lunch meeting with Ambassador Kanji Yamanouchi where we exchanged updates on the Canada-Japan relationship.
On October 7th, half a year before EXPO 2025, the Osaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry hosted a G7 Chambers Roundtable, which was followed by the first-ever G7 joint-chamber networking event.
In the autumn we once again began to host luncheons, starting with events to introduce Export Development of Canada (EDC) and Niagara Economic Development, who are both new corporate members.
Climax of our 2024 events was the December 6th Maple Leaf Gala at The Okura, Tokyo. Over an elegant eight-course dinner, 250 guests enjoyed the entertainment that included an appearance by the Expo 2025 mascot Myaku Myaku.
While my year was filled with events, I had almost daily online calls with business and academic professionals in Canada. And depending on where they lived, this made for many very early starts to my day.
Last but not least, I’d like to express my appreciation to our members and all the people I met this year. I hope we will be able to welcome many of the new people I met as our new members. I hope the seeds we planted this year will grow in the year to come. Next year will be CCCJ’s 50th Anniversary year. Another event-full year awaits us.
Happy Holidays!
