Out on the Town Once Again

Live sports and in-person gatherings bring back a sense of normalcy

The scoreboard in Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall read 95–94 with 0.5 seconds remaining. The visitors had the lead. After a hard-fought game, it seemed that the Sunrockers Shibuya of Japan’s pro basketball B.League would fall a point short. The crowd cheered and then held its collective breath as a quick pass and a long three-point shot whooshed through the net and sent the Ibaraki Robots home with a 97–95 loss.

It was an exciting way to spend a Sunday in late November, and a reminder to me that life was starting to return to normal. Having spent most of the past three years in my countryside studio, peering through a screen to talk to friends and colleagues—and to watch sports—it was refreshing to take in a game in person.

It was also a chance for me to meet one of our new American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) company members, Sunrockers, Ltd., who joined the chamber in September. They provided courtside seats as part of the ACCJ’s Member to Member Offers and put us so close to the action that I even caught a stray ball!

Chamber events have also added to the feeling of normality. The ACCJ Charity Ball returned to its in-person format at the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku, where the Charity Ball Committee put together a spectacular Chicago-themed bash. It’s clear from the photos that all who attended had a blast, including US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago native.

January brings us the ACCJ Shinnenkai at the Imperial Hotel for the first time since 2020. I remember that last gathering on January 29 and the energy that filled the room as we did not yet know of the pandemic that would soon come. It will be wonderful to properly kick off a new year together once again! The Kansai chapter will host their Shinnenkai in person for the first time in three years as well.

And perhaps the biggest sign that we’re getting back to normal is the number of people traveling again, in and out of Japan, heading home to see loved ones, and arriving to do business. It took a long time and a lot of effort to get to the point where Japan’s borders reopened, but the benefits are already being felt. We look back at that journey, and to the path ahead, in our cover story. Here’s to a happy, prosperous, and healthy 2023!