The colorful history of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan

(First published on May 25, 2022)

First in a three-part series

TOKYO — The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan is a venerated institution that has been based in Tokyo since 1945. Rich in history, it has been a magnet for world leaders, movie stars and other famous people over the years. Its interior walls are covered with photos of famous individuals who had spoken or appeared there: Muhammad Ali, Gina Lollobrigida, Ronald Reagan, Willie Nelson, the Emperor and the Empress of Japan, a young, and articulate Donald Trump, Roger Moore, Maradona, Sting, Tony Bennett, Princess Margaret, Rachel McAdams (promoting the Academy Award-wining film Spotlight), Carlos Ghosn, and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. Among Japanese, some of the most influential people in the nation had set foot in its doors, including Shintaro Ishihara, Mao Asada, Ken Watanabe, Yuriko Koike, Junichiro Koizumi, Hayao Miyazaki, Hideki Matsui, Yuzuru Hanyu, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and a host of others.