We had our annual general meeting on the 5th of September because of the Corona Virus restriction, we had to have one online.

We are honoured to have two special guests from the Consulate General of Japan Brisbane, Mr. Tanaka Consul-General of Japan, and Mr. Hayashi Consul.
We also have another guest who is our valuable patron, former Minister for Multicultural Affairs Queensland Hon Glen Elmes, and President of the Japanese Society of Gold Coast Inc. Ms. Ando.

President report:

I acknowledge traditional custodians of this land, and pay my respect elders past, present and future.

President’s Report
JCQ has reached our second AGM. Since our inauguration in August 2018 at the Queensland Parliament House, we have been involved in several events and activities.
JCQ acts as the sole group in Queensland that provides direct assistance to Japanese people and Japan-related groups who reach out for support.
We have worked very closely with organizations such as ECCQ (Ethnic Community Council QLD), MCCGC (Multicultural Community Council of Gold Coast), and MFO (Multicultural Families Organisation) to make sure every one received the help they needed. We also provided information to the public to tackle issues such as domestic and family violence and cyber bullying with the help of Queensland Government departments such as the Department of Multicultural Affairs, Department of Community, Department of Queensland Health and Queensland Police Service,
Department of Child, Safety, Youth and Women. We have continued close communication with the Consulate-General of Japan to ensure we share with our members and community, up-to-date and accurate information.
As an organisation we supported the Saitama Prefectural Government in organizing the Reception to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Saitama-Queensland Sister State relationship in October 2019. We also attended the
Japanese Consulate’s first Emperor’s Birthday Reception for Reiwa, the New Years Reception for Japan-related communities, and meeting with the Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs to exchange views on the Japan-Queensland relationship.

In regard to community support, we have worked in cooperation with local NPOs to provide support for Japanese victims of domestic violence. Through our regular information sessions, we have been able to help several victims in difficult situations.
JCQ has also produced an information flyer for distribution to children and parents to promote awareness around bullying and cyber-bullying.
In recent months we have seen devastating bushfires and flooding across Australia. JCQ has attained support from top game producer KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS and anime studio COMIX WAVE FILM to produce original design charity tshirts to sell through events. Through this, we successfully donated __ dollars to the RSPCA.
For our members we have set up Facebook pages for all 47 Japanese prefectural groups for people around Queensland to meet and join others from the same prefecture for a fun way to socialise. We support various cultural groups and their activities, including AWA ODORI dance workshops, Brisbane Idol Project and Koto.
As we know, there are many Queenslanders who love Japan, reflected in the number of Japanese contestants in the University Speech Contest receiving highest entries across all languages. We continue to support the MLTAQ (Modern Languages Teacher’s Association QLD) to promote Japanese language education. For this, we ask for your continued support of our Recycle Project where all collected funds will be donated to the speech contest organisers -one bottle recycled can make a huge difference.
Lastly, I would like to encourage everyone to allow themselves to thrive and be active members of the community, so that JCQ can grow and deliver more and more exciting activities. This coming AGM, we will be discussing our mission and visions, and considering the path of signing up to become a charity organisation.
I appreciate the support from all members and corporate members, and ask for your continued support and valuable contributions.

Thank you.

President of the Japan Community of Queensland Inc. Naomichi Hirano