The Hong Kong Japanese Club is turning its back on decades of tradition by seeking more foreign members.
The club, which was formerly an exclusive association for Japan nationals and a small number of outsiders and guests, planned to double the number of non-Japanese on its books in light of falling membership, said club president Tatsuo Tanaka.
'We've always had about 200 or so non-Japanese members but I hope that we can bring the number above 500,' he said.
At the end of last year the club, on the 38th and 39th floors of the Hennessy Centre in Causeway Bay, had 2,715 Japanese members and 276 non-Japanese members.
Non-Japanese members have to pay a $9,500 membership fee and $340 a month, while Japanese pay a deposit of $1,000, a membership fee of between $200 and $400 and a monthly fee of $150 to $280.
Mr Tanaka said it was not the higher fees that limited non-Japanese members to people such as bank managers and honorary members like Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.