IMR: Entries: 2001: April: 08 — Sunday, April 08, 2001

And They're Off After two days of frantic internal work, the public portion of our conference kicked off today. This is it. Actually, this year's meeting is on a compressed schedule (those Japanese, always making things smaller and more efficient!), so today was both the end of the administrative sessions and the beginning of the formal stuff. The mid-day transition was tough, especially since some of the big questions tackled in the morning involved our office. The headliners at the grand opening included much-maligned Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the Prince and Princess from the Royal Family, and various high-level government ministers, including Fidel Ramos and Rafidah Aziz. Unfortunately I missed most of it, as well as the few speeches that followed, except to pick up on the fact that more than one was focused on "The China Factor." Work wise, apart from finalizing and distributing policy statements, and drafting and broadcasting press releases, we focused on general logistical issues. We gave support wherever needed, but the local organizers are resisting excessive involvement. We can understand, but we're also worried about some areas, with which we might be very familiar after years of these conferences but which could be new territory for them. One of the bigger bombs was dropped on us today: despite many earlier conversations and assurances confirming that on-site management of media and journalist interview requests would be handled by a "capable staff" provided by our Japanese partners, they finally told us (in an unsigned e-mail, in fact, rather than in person) that there was no staff. We were it. Near panic. Fortunately, though, I had some practice in arranging a few advance requests, and knew how to line things up. And further, the good-slash-bad news of the day was that we had less than a third of the usual number of journalists registered for this conference compared to years past. More importantly, though, we had just stumbled upon an intern, a student at Sophia University brought in by the Chamber of Commerce, who both loved having stuff to do and had a great head on his shoulders. In no time, one Henrik Henke dove in with gusto, efficiently hooking international media up with esteemed speakers, doing a great job despite the fact that he was doing work that should have been done by three full-time professionals. I helped where needed, of course, as did my boss' son, who was attending the meeting to see what all the fuss was about. Since I stubbornly insist that I have journalism in my blood, I enjoyed the contact with both overseas media and assorted CEOs and VIPs (or rather, their handlers) — CNBC, Reuters, and most notably, China's Xinhua News Agency. Tonight was the Opening Gala Dinner, which of course I mostly missed. The entertainment, at least, I'd seen before (at our previous conference last March in Hawaii): Japanese violinist Ikko Kawai. And I popped in just in time to catch the "surprise" appearance of Honda's famed bipedal robot, which gave Ms. Kawai some flowers and did a little jig to her last piece. What else? For lack of sleep and thus ability to craft decent transitions, it's random note time: Given hotel prices, here and anywhere, we've started buying our food outside. One good thing about the venue's location in Odaiba is its proximity to giant shopping malls, and thus, restaurants and food courts. I'm ashamed to say, though, that more than once we've gotten stuff from "Hawaiian Bowl." Another favorite is Indian food, which is surprisingly popular here. Walking back and forth between the two hotels sucks. My feet, back, and neck hurt, both from the walking, and all the bowing. (I find I get stuck in "bowing loops," usually with hotel staff, since they're apparently instructed to always get the last bow.) I've got blisters on my ankles and in other spots I can't mention in polite company. Wonder of wonders, I saw Alexander Wollenberg today. He was one of our interns in Honolulu, and our office helped to get him into Waseda University, where he just started this week. Of course my coworkers and I were too busy to hang out with him, but maybe we'll hook up again later. In today's Japan Times, a decent two page spread on our meeting (featuring photos I sent them a few weeks ago). What really caught my eye, though, is this notice on the front page: "Today is a newspaper holiday, which means there will be no newspaper on Monday. This press holiday is to provide time off for delivery personnel." Fascinating. Switching around on the television news channels — between the Chinese spy plane, Easter, tax day, the Bush tax cut, and the Master's — I discovered Dalton Tanonaka anchoring on CNBC. A local boy! After all those silly local sets and aloha shirts, he looks so... professional now. The slogan for Coca Cola here is not "Always," but, "No reason." Two days to go. I miss Jen and Katie, and she says they miss me (even though I wouldn't if I were them!). We've arranged it so they call me every morning at 6 a.m. (11 a.m. in Hawaii), the best way to wake up I could think of. Based on handwritten notes collected Sunday, April 8, 2001, finally reconstituted and posted after considerable delay.

Comments E kala mai! Comments have been disabled due to overwhelming abuse by spammers. Please click through to any of the video hosting services linked above to leave a public response, or feel free to send an e-mail. Mahalo! < April 07 · April · April 09 > © 1997-2008 Ryan Kawailani Ozawa · E-Mail: imr@lightfantastic.org · Created: 13 November 1997 · Last Modified: 14 January 2008