Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Cost: FEW Members ¥2,000 / Guests ¥5,000 (supper and drinks included)

Venue: Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), Yurakucho Denki Building, 20th Floor (map)

Speaker: Debbie Hodgson, Newsweek Japan reporter

Topic: The Importance of Being Gaijin - A Foreign Body in the Japanese Media

Japan’s media industry is often described as a closed world with various interested parties vying to shape and influence public opinion. Newsweek Japan reporter Debbie Hodgson shares her experience working for both American and Japanese media, and delves into the pressure-group role expected to be played by foreign journalists in Japan. In tackling sticky topics like mental health, Korean minority issues, the Imperial Family, Chinese crime, discrimination and relations with North Korea, Debbie sees her gaijin reporter role as offering an outside perspective on local issues as she attempts to connect with Japanese readers while refraining from being too judgemental or “foreign”.

A writer at Newsweek Japan for over two years, Debbie also served as a part time reporter at Newsweek International’s Tokyo Bureau. After graduating from the Australian National University in Asian Studies, she received her Master of Arts at Tsukuba University. Debbie is also winner of a translation prize in the Shizuoka Literary Translation Competition and a former lecturer in Japanese language and culture.

Debbie enjoys learning to play the shakuhachi Japanese flute and occasionally kicks up her heel at salsa bars in Roppongi.

Join Debbie on September 9th for a discussion on current affairs and the media in Japan.

Contact: few@gol.com

No advance reservation required. Please note this is a women only event.