IPS is pleased to announce that our journalist Catherine Makino has been elected President of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. According to official results, Makino beat Bradley Martin of Bloomberg News, the FCCJ Election Committee said after the press club’s five-day balloting last week that Makino collected 124 votes and Martin 59 votes.

She will succeed Martyn Williams, Tokyo bureau chief of the U.S. high- tech IDG News Service, for a one-year term starting July 1.

Among successful candidates for the club’s 2008-2009 board of directors were Tim Kelly of Forbes Magazine as first vice president, James Simms of Dow Jones Newswires as second vice president, Daniel Sloan of Reuters TV as secretary, and Yoshisuke Iinuma of the Oriental Economist as treasurer.

The election committee also said Martin Koelling of Financial Times Deutschland, Steve McClure of Billboard Asia, Peter Alford of the Australian and Pio d’Emilia of Sky TG 24 were elected as directors at large.

Kazuo Abiko of the Associated Press was elected as the club’s “kanji” inspector for the board of directors, the FCCJ said.

“The FCCJ has a 63-year history. Now the Club is making a little more history as I have the honor of becoming the Club’s second female president. I am looking forward to the new challenge of guiding the organization in a positive direction.” Makino said.

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