44 - The British Chamber of Commerce (Japan), 1948–2015

Summary

EARLY IN 1948 a handful of British businessmen – post-war pioneers – met in Tokyo to discuss ways in which they might help each other take advantage of the obvious business opportunities that peace and the Occupation afforded. Among them were the late William Salter and the late Douglas Kenrick, two men who essentially spawned the idea of creating a British Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

Although founded in 1948, it wasn't until 1955 that what was then the ministry of trade and industry (MITI) permitted the use of the name British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ). This granted the organisation Foreign Juridical Person status under Article 36 of the Civil Code. The Treaty of Commerce, Establishment and Navigation between Japan and the United Kingdom ratified that status in 1963. Only then did the chamber set up a permanent secretariat, which was initially manned by a volunteer.

Hugh Cortazzi, who was commercial counselor in the British embassy from 1966 to 1970, recalls that he tried to attend all the main meetings of the executive committee of the chamber (as his predecessor Colin Harris had done). If he could not do so either John Whitehead or Alan Harvey, first secretaries (commercial), would represent the embassy. Hugh Cortazzi writes:

Our aim was to ensure that British companies were briefed on the trade promotion activities of the embassy and our efforts to prise open the Japanese market. Bill Salter who acted as secretary was at that time one of the few British businessman who was fluent in Japanese. We helped as much as we could even sometimes drafting the minutes of meetings. We planned a major trade promotion British Week in Tokyo in 1969 and when Ben Thorne was appointed as head of the British Week office he worked hard with members of the chamber to engage British companies in backing our efforts.

The chamber elected as its chairman during the run-up to British Week Duncan Fraser who represented Rolls Royce and who galvanized the enthusiastic support of the British business community in Japan.

Sadly, much of the chamber's early archive was lost during a move, so we can only speculate about what issues dominate the early proceedings of the chamber.