【Event Report】AGM 2021 – First All Online Annual General Meeting

First Online AGM

On Thursday January 21. the NCCJ held its Annual General meeting. From Aurora Hall at the Norwegian embassy in Tokyo, Chairperson Svend Haakon Kristensen, Vice-Chairperson Anette Yamamoto-Hansen and General Manager Simen Aasen presented the Chamber’s activities from the year passed, the focus areas for 2021 and the new additions to the boards to a solid turnout of NCCJ members.

A Word from the Ambassador

After the welcoming messages from the General Manager and the Chairperson, ambassador Inga Nyhamar gave her remarks, touching upon the lessons learned in a challenging 2020 – a year that has changed the ways we communicate and consequently increased our overall digital competence. In a situation where meeting in person has been difficult, we have found new ways and solutions to bring each other closer together. The cooperation in Team Norway, was also mentioned. The embassy, Innovation Norway, the Norwegian Seafood Council and the NCCJ will continue to work hard to support Norwegian business in Japan through common events and projects. The ambassador highlighted the ongoing Team Norway project on an Economic Relations report that aims to support the efforts to initiate negotiations between Japan and Norway on an Economic Partnership Agreement and also the embassy’s wish to continue the breakfast discussions where business leaders from the NCCJ are invited to discuss relevant topics together with Team Norway.

Plans for 2021

After a financial report with green numbers and an activity report of 2020 which saw an increase in events offered to members, many new and reoccurring initiatives the Chamber has in store for 2021 were presented. As main focus areas, in addition to continuing ongoing initiatives such as the recurring monthly benkyokai “Tie-in, Tie-Off” which started in 2020, a cultural awareness workshop is to be offered named “Norway 101”. This workshop will cover topics of Norwegian culture, society and business culture and aims to train the employees at our Corporate Member companies who are working with Norway-related matters. A new membership offering named “Partner” was presented, where Corporate Members can opt for additional benefits to increase visibility for their company and extra services from the NCCJ. The offering is to be launched on April 1. 2021. All corporate members are welcome to contact the NCCJ secretariat to opt for this new offering. An event series which aims to create visibility and awareness for Norwegian B2C companies in the NCCJ named “Norwegian Taste”, and which has received funding through the embassy was also presented.

The Chamber could also share the welcoming news of an 11-member increase in the past year. We want to thank new and existing members for your vote of confidence and we are looking forward to keep working with you on the planned activities in the year to come.

New Additions to the Boards

The voting participants unanimously welcomed Mr. Yuzuru Goto (Sayfr), Mr. Kei Koto (Fuglen), Ms. Shino Mikamo (Finn Tour) and Mr. Hiroshi Kamo (AutoStore) to the Board of Directors. Mr. Kjell Ellefsen was welcomed to the Board of Trustees – The NCCJ would like to thank them all for their support.

The NCCJ would also like to thank Mr. Kjell Ellefsen (Nordisk Inc.), Ms. Elise Frantzen (Individual Member), Mr. Kenji Kojima (Fuglen) and Mr. Bjørne Hoff (AVRJapan) for their contribution to the Board of Directors, and Mr. Keita Koido (Leroy) for his contribution to the Board of Trustees.

Click the button below for a full overview of the current organization structure for the NCCJ.

We are very grateful for the support we got this evening from Ambassador Inga Nyhamar, our new board members and all participants who made the first online AGM a successful endeavor.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at our exciting events and happenings in 2021!