Greetings everyone, I am Seiji Omote. I have been in the HBA function since 2013 and also involved as a Governor since June, 2021 for the CCCJ.

Prior to that, for over 40 years I was in the forestry industry marketing wood products such as lumber and other building materials and representing major forestry product manufacturers in British Columbia and Alberta. During these 4 decades,  I developed 2 key items for the Japanese market, one is 2x4 lumber products for the so-called 2x4 housing construction, which was introduced from North America in early 1970’s, and the other is what is called OSB, which is in the same product group as plywood also for housing construction.  My challenge was always to narrow the gap in language, culture, way of thinking etc between Japan and Canada.

As a governor, my main functions have been to steer the membership committee, and supporting the events committee as well as the golf committee for the CCCJ Golf Scramble and upcoming The TPP Cup.

CCCJ has a long history and is a great organization for developing business and a cultural network between Japan and Canada as well as other countries. In order to make this organization more active and influential,

I believe increasing the membership through various events would be quite meaningful, and this is what has driven me to pursue the above functions at CCCJ.

To further and achieve these objectives, I need some more time, which is the key reason for running for the elections for the board this year.

In addition, I hope to strengthen the HBA group positioning at CCCJ after COVID-19, which has made it difficult to network and deepen relations with this group.

Bonjour CCCJ members, my name is Andréanne Parent and I am asking for your support to join the CCCJ Board of governors. If we haven’t met yet at the Maple Leaf Gala, mixer events or family Hockey event,  you should know that I am trilingual in French, English and Japanese, born in Quebec and graduated with honours with a Bachelor's degree in International relations and Japanese Studies jointly from Bishop's University in Quebec and Waseda University in Tokyo.

Upon my graduation I worked for two years in a Japanese international consortium "HIS GROUP", in the hospitality and tourism industry. I supported the local Japanese management in the communication with the Canadian executives during their business trip in Japan eventually leading to a successful merger and acquisition.

Since then I joined Robert Walters Group, a multinational recruitment consulting firm which specializes in mid-career and executive bilingual recruitment in Japan. Promoted to manager in the manufacturing operations, supply chain and logistics field in January 2022, I now want to take a step further in contributing to the economic synergy between Canada and Japan.

I joined the events committee in January 2022 and decide to run for a seat on the Board of Governors to encourage the younger generations to engage further with our organization. I believe in the value of inter-generational exchanges at all levels and in the opportunities for both corporate members and individuals to gain value from our committees to achieve maximum prosperity between Canada-Japan business relationships.

“My name is Shailesh Shukla,  I am president and representative Director of Reckitt Benckiser a  consumer goods multinational. 

However what is more important is that I am a Canadian in Tokyo and  member of this wonderful community of CCCJ. I have received so much guidance and help from many members of CCCJ, and I am so thankful for this chamber community. 

I am also the Chair of Market Access Advisory committee at CCCJ with objective of promote commerce between Canada and Japan. I believe we have very key role and knowledge to help and enhance more Canadian companies coming in to do business in this third largest economy and many Japanese companies which could gain access to the Canadian market and Canadian consumers.

I believe this would  enhance business for the current members of CCCJ and also  increase our membership base and make CCCJ  more vibrant, a greater contributor and value builder in the bilateral relations between Canada and Japan and in doing so benefit the members of our own chamber.

Within our  chamber there are many members and organizations who can contribute to this endeavor   and gain themselves  thru more clients, business, network and relationships as we advance commerce between Canada and Japan , this is what gets me most excited.

This is my objective as a Governor and as Chair of Market access advisory committee I look forward to your support , your help to deliver this endeavor.

I hope the possibilities of this endeavor  excites you as much as it does excite me and I look forward to your  vote to be on the Board of Governors to continue to add value and enhance our wonderful Chamber further, 

Thank you

Shailesh Shukla

Dear CCCJ members,

My name is Marc Bolduc and it is with great honour that I was elected to the Board of Governors in 2020 and now looking to serve a second consecutive term since my return to Japan close to 3 years ago.

The last two years have been some of the most challenging times for us. The pandemic restricted open movement of people which is vital part of how we grow personal and business connections. On the upside, we all adopted new ways to work virtually and so did the CCCJ adapt. As a board member, I was pleased to be involved in the organization of many virtual, hybrid and more recently more in person events.

With your support in these elections, I look forward to continuing, as Governor, to be active in our various CCCJ committees that represents the core of our organization. As well, I would like to actively invite more members to become involved in these various committees as this is where we can all make a difference for the Canada-Japan Business community.

As per my corporate experience, I am proud to say that I have had an extensive career between Canada and Japan that dates to over 20 years. I have worked for large multinational companies such as  Sumitomo Corporation, Hitachi High-Technologies, and more recently as country director for Intralox Japan, which has in turn become a corporate member of the CCCJ. Over the years, I have also done market entry consulting for Quebec based companies, such as for Les 7 Doigts de la Main (The 7 Fingers).

I look forward to furthering business relations between Canada and Japan and thank you in advance for your vote!

Raised in Saskatchewan and educated at the University of Manitoba and later Harvard, I am licensed as an architect in Ontario and also one of a small number of foreigners designated as a 1st Class Licensed Architect in Japan, where I have lived and worked for the past 31 years in design, construction management, environmental sustainability, and real estate investment.

Through this experience with both Japanese and multinational organizations, I have learned important skills in problem-solving at a comprehensive scale and how to build consensus around clear objectives and innovative solutions. I also can bring a strong perspective based in blending world class best practices with local business and culture.

In addition to stepping up my involvement in the CCCJ, I have been an active member serving as a committee chair of several other foreign chambers, as well as an executive council member of the Urban Land Institute in Japan. Through my involvement with these organizations, I have enjoyed many benefits from participation in learning, networking, and advocacy initiatives, and hope to contribute to ensure the CCCJ can offer similar opportunities to its members.

I believe we are entering an important period of growth in relations between Canada and Japan. The voice of Canada is highly respected on the world stage and I see the Chamber as a key player in communicating the unique advantages that Canada has to offer and encouraging increased penetration for Canada in the Japanese market, making our opinions heard by industry and authorities.

The Canada-Japan relationship has been a central part of my life since childhood.  My father’s work as a professor of Japanese history at UBC lead to me spending several years in Japanese schools.  This was followed by a degree in Asian Studies and many summers as a tour guide for Japanese visitors to BC and Alberta.   In 1985 I had the opportunity to represent Canada in Japan was while working at the Expo in Tsukuba.

 This was followed by several years as a consultant helping Canadian companies access the Japanese market.

For the past 30 years I have represented Japan in the world of international investments.  My main responsibilities were to manage the analysis of companies and marketing Japanese equities.  Advising a broad range of Japanese corporations as they raised capital and expanded globally was a fascinating challenge.  

I have been active in the CCCJ for most of the 20+ years I have lived in Japan.   It continues to be an amazing, accessible organization that punches above its weight at the centre of the Canada-Japan relationship.  Some of my key Chamber leadership roles include head of the events committee, membership, CSR and our Team Canada efforts in support of the Rugby World Cup/Olympics.  In the past 6 months I have returned to  my roots as a Japan consultant. As a governor I would like to help the Chamber create a long term plan to support Japanese investment in Canada as well as focus on opportunities for Canadian SME’s and younger Canadians to realize their full potential in Japan.  

Kayo Ito

Vice President Strategy & Design, Integrated Services, NTT Ltd.

As a Saskatchewan native who attended the U of S, I did what a lot of us do when we graduate – move away for what we saw as “better opportunities”.  Since I have been in the workforce, I have been very lucky to work in the US/APAC and in Japan over the last 20 years in the telecommunications/IT industry; however, the one place that work has not taken me yet is Canada.  I have been wanting to find opportunities to strengthen ties back to the Canadian community, especially with the recent rise in the technology sector.

For me, running for Governor for CCCJ will give me a chance to: 

• contribute to the Canadian community, by volunteering my time towards initiatives which will benefit the Canadian community here in Japan

• bring the two communities closer together by acting as a “bridge” through my understanding of both cultures.  There are benefits for both Canada and Japan to collaborate more closely, and I hope to be able to contribute to strengthening and broadening the partnership

I am particularly interested in collaborations in the areas of developing technology partnerships & investments, educational opportunities, spreading the knowledge around best practices for gender diversity management and of course, supporting the social aspect of the Chamber.  I was able to get involved in a few activities for the Chamber this year since I joined, and I have found the work very rewarding because the people are just great - of course, Canadian, eh?!  

I hope that I can get your support so I can represent you as a Governor for the CCCJ and I look forward to contributing towards the growth of this vibrant community.  

Dear CCCJ Members,

My name is Shawn Lawlor and I am running for CCCJ Governor. By way of self introduction, I was born and raised in Ottawa, but please don’t hold that against me. I graduated in 1990 with a degree in history at which time a had the choice of either doing a History M.A. in Cuba or teach English in the newly formed JET Program in Kochi Prefecture. I chose Japan and so began this wonderful journey that still finds me home in Tokyo over 30 years later.

Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping busy. I went to grad school for international business, did a brief stint in public relations marketing California Raisins and Australian Rice. Then I went back to Canada for 15 years and found my industry of calling – the Canadian forest products industry. I began a career as a lumber trader of Canadian forest products from places like Nanaimo, Prince George, Cochrane and Senneterre to global markets – primarily to Japan and China.  

In 2007 I had the opportunity to join the COFI/Canada Wood Tokyo Office to represent Canada’s softwood lumber industry in Japan. Over the past 15 years, I have made many great friends at the CCCJ and have been active, serving as Vice-Chair, Governor and several committees including Trade Policy and Membership. After a hiatus of several years, I am seeking your support o return to the CCCJ Board so that I might positively contribute to the Chamber as our world begins to recover from the pandemic. This time around I would like to draw on my experience to mentor and support our new and younger membership to help build the next generation of young professionals to renew and strengthen our Chamber.

Greetings CCCJ members! As some of you may know, I am part of the current board of governors and will be running for re-election for the 2022-2024 term.

The initiatives that I committed to and continue to stand by are; 

1. Creating valuable business development opportunities for members, 

2. Increasing memberships and sponsorships, and 

3. Deepening collaborations with other chambers, organizations and businesses to bring practical and timely information and connections to members.

During my current term I established the Real Estate Committee and together with the board completed a successful relocation of the CCCJ office to Toranomon Hills Business Tower in 2021.

To increase business engagement and strategically position CCCJ more effectively to carry out its mission, we conducted a stay-versus-go analysis and moved to a location with direct transportation access to the station, increasing meeting room and conference room facilities to build scale and provide members maximum business networking and engagement opportunities. We also upgraded to an A grade building with enhanced amenities including access to shops, restaurants, hotels, conference rooms, etc. As part of the core member in the Membership Committee I have assisted to increase membership and engagement amongst CCCJ members through outreach programs, creation of marketing materials and organization of events in collaboration with the CCCJ office and other committees. Furthermore, I am part of the Golf Committee and have helped with coordinating golf events, which have received extremely positive feedback with our membership.

Born in Japan and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, I returned to pursue my career and dream in Tokyo in 2002. This year marks my 20th year working and living in Japan.

Working experience includes sales, marketing and management positions in the real estate, technology, and hospitality industries.

Please view full profile: https://www.cccj.or.jp/ai-nakagawa