Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the United Kingdom (JCCI)
Registered number: 632622

Salisbury House, 29 Finsbury Circus, London EC2M 5QQ
Tel: 020 7628 0069
Fax: 020 7374 2280

The Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the United Kingdom was set up in 1959, initially as the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in London and changing to its present name in 1974. It is a registered private company limited by guarantee, funded by its members’ annual subscriptions. Its purpose is to promote and extend economic relations and trade between Japan and the UK and to promote and protect the interests of Japanese business in the UK. Present membership is over 300 companies and organisations.

The Council of the Chamber consists of 33 members, one of whom is the President, and five of whom are the Vice-Presidents. The Honorary Secretary is appointed from the staff of the President's company and acts as liaison between the President and the Secretariat. The JCCI Secretariat consists of a Japanese Secretary General, one British and two Japanese officers.

The criteria for membership are as follows. There are two categories of membership, Full and Associate. To qualify for either category, a company (or organisation) should (a) be recommended for membership by at least one Chamber Council member; and (b) understand and accept that the official working language of the Chamber is Japanese (in particular, for meetings concerned with the running of the Chamber such as Council Meetings and the AGM, proceedings and minutes will be in Japanese only, though most other activities and communications will, in practice, also be accessible in English). There is no requirement for Japanese ownership of the company applying.

Any company with employees in the UK who are either Japanese nationals or fluent in the Japanese language would become a Full Member. Any company without employees in the UK who are either Japanese nationals or fluent in the Japanese language is only eligible for Associate Membership. This is because Full Members are eligible for membership of JCCI’s governing Council; the Council conducts its business in Japanese and any Council Member must be fluent in Japanese. A company which subsequently loses its Japanese language capability after becoming a Full Member may then, if it wishes, switch to Associate Membership. The main difference between the categories of Full and Associate Membership is that Associate Members have no voting rights and could only attend the AGM as observers. Associate Members are also not eligible for election to the Chamber’s governing Council. Associate Members may otherwise participate fully in the activities of, and have full access to the services of the Chamber.

The final decision on all applications for membership will be at the Council's discretion at one of its quarterly meetings.

It is normal practice for representative(s) of the applicant company to meet the Chairman (or other members) of the New Members Committee as part of the application procedure. Introductions will be made to Council members for the purposes of (a) above if necessary. Annual subscriptions for Full Membership are on a scale of £350-£3300 (depending on numbers of Japanese staff). Annual subscriptions for Associate Membership are at the flat rate of £500.

Services to Members

The Chamber arranges events with subjects of interest to members. It holds a major annual reception to celebrate the New Year. The Chamber and the Japan Society jointly arrange: four lunches a year, to which a prominent speaker is invited, and an annual golf match; these functions are open to members of both organisations. Members are also able to attend other selected Japan Society events. The Chamber provides the secretariat for the Palmerston Kai, an organisation which all Chamber members have the right to join. Palmerston Kai holds four or five lunches a year with guest speakers in Japanese on economic, political and other topics. The Chamber organises an annual golf tournament and other occasional sports-related events. The Chamber also holds seminars and briefings. The Chamber arranges, or takes part in arranging, functions and meetings for important visitors and on other special occasions.

The secretariat sends members a quarterly Japanese-language newsletter, “Thames”, containing information about Chamber activities and other notices, and a quarterly English-language newsletter, JCCI Review, with news on the Chamber, its members and Japanese business generally in the UK. The secretariat also publishes the Directory of Members which is distributed yearly (with quarterly updates) to the members only. Members also receive copies of the minutes of Council meetings quarterly and of the AGM and a quarterly publication in Japanese entitled "British Economic Trends" edited by JETRO and published by this Chamber.

The Chamber has a website (www.jcci.org.uk) reflecting many of the above services.

The Chamber represents the views of its members to the relevant authorities as necessary. The secretariat also assists members with enquiries.

Services to non-members

The Chamber receives enquiries from non-members, which are dealt with, where possible, by the secretariat or referred to other organisations. The English-language newsletter, JCCI Review is issued quarterly to a selected readership. The Chamber is involved in the organisation of the popular annual Japan Matsuri (festival) held in London in September.