The traditional FCCJ Christmas Luncheon was held for the tenth time at the Embassy of Finland on Tuesday 8, December. The 40 participants enjoyed a delicious seafood style Christmas lunch prepared by the Embassy's chef.

H.E. Ambassador Jari Gustafsson gave us some impressions of his first three months "on duty". He said that actually he might need three more months before making any firm comments. He also gave an interesting insight on his view on the current political and economic climate in Japan. The new First Secretary at the Embassy, Jukka Pajarinen, introduced himself and explaned about his tasks at the Embassy and hope for a good cooperation with the business community.

For a picture report from the luncheon, attended by 40 members and guests, click link at right!
Ecentral Crouching Tiger Campaign

If you are in charge of hiring decisions at your company then, give Ecentral a call today at 03-5403-7782. You may get a call from the Ecentral team very soon, anyway.

If you delegate hiring decisions to a dedicated HR person, then, by all means introduce Ecentral, either by passing along this information, or letting Ecentral know who they should be in contact with at your organization.

ECENTRAL CROUCHING TIGER CAMPAIGN - SPECIAL FCCJ CHAMBER DEAL

To kick off the Winter Crouching Tiger Campaign, Ecentral is offering all Chamber member direct hire clients, a special Chamber discount on the monthly subscription service model (which allows you to post as many jobs as you need for a single monthly fee).

Click the link at right to read more:
The EBC Report on the Japanese Business Environment 2009

The EBC is pleased to announce the release of the 2009 Annual White Paper, entitled "Time for Change, The EBC Report on the Japanese Business Environment".

The distribution of the report has started and an electronic version as well as comments from the Chairman is also available at the EBC website (http://ebc-jp.com/).

The online catalogue-style layout of the 2009 EBC White Paper, which also can be downloaded as a PDF file in its entirety or section by section, will be available later this week.

The EBC would also like to thank all the contributors, supporters, and sponsors.

 EBC WEB SITE 

Tuesday, 15 December - DCCJ Event
On the Way Home" Groupe SEB Japan Co., Ltd.
Presentation & Christmas Sale

Mr. Per Rasmussen, General Manager of Groupe SEB Japan Co., Ltd has kindly offered to arrange an "On the Way Home" event for DCCJ and other Nordic Chamber members.

Groupe SEB is the world's largest company in the area of small home/kitchen appliances through our 6 international brands and through our portfolio of more local brands.

Groupe SEB is present in Japan mainly by the T-fal brand (it is spelled Tefal in most countries). You can view their homepage here!

The event will start by Mr. Per Rasmussen's short presentation on the Groupe SEB and later discussing the success of the T-fal brand in Japan by applying a specific local strategy, followed by a small buffet where attendees can enjoy a special Christmas discount on products only at the event.

Date & Time: Tuesday, 15 December, 19:00-21:00 Venue: Groupe SEB Japan Co. Ltd  MAP  Fee: 1,000 yen Registration by Friday, 11 December

Please note that there is a max capacity of 30 people to this event, kindly register on your earliest convenience.
For more information and registration, click link at right.

 MORE INFO & REGISTRATION 

News from Finland

Finnish third-quarter GDP down 9.1 pct yr/yr but up 0.3 pct sequentially

Finland's third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for the number of working days, contracted by 9.1 per cent year-on-year but rose by 0.3 per cent from the second quarter, Statistics Finland (SF) said in a statement Tuesday.

The country's GDP had fallen at a revised sequential rate of 0.3 per cent in the second quarter.

 MORE BIZNEWS 

Grin of the Week

Lucky driver?

A police officer pulls over a driver and informs him that he has just won $5,000 in a safety competition, all because he is wearing his seat belt.

"What are you going to do with the prize money?" the officer asks.

The man responds, "I guess I'll go to driving school and get my license."

His wife says, "Officer, don't listen to him. He's trying to be smart when he's drunk."

The guy in the back seat pops up out from under the blanket and says, "I knew we wouldn't get far in this stolen car."

Just then a knock comes from the trunk and a voice calls out, "Are we over the border yet?"