Dear Branch Chiefs and ContactsI hope you all enjoy this last month of the year, and that you all are in good health. Here in Japan, the month of December is also called “Shiwasu”, and it is a month when everybody is very busy with various things before the end of the year. There are several explanations about the origins of this word, but the most widely accepted theory is that priests are supposed to intone a sutra at individual houses before the New Year’s Day, so they have to run in haste from east to west, from place to place.NOTE:We use two Chinese Characters for the word “Shiwasu”– one means a teacher (in this case priest), and the other means run.As the World Championship is the biggest event in our organization, WKO is basically administrated on a four year period base. This means the year 2008 is the first year of a new four year period and I believe, with the work that has been done this year, we have built up a good base for the 10th World Championship, 2011. I have tried visiting as many countries and branches as possible during this year, and I am glad that I have had the chance to meet and talk with many of you and also your students. Thanks you for all your opinions, ideas and comments which help our organization head in the right direction. The bottom line is that this year has been a very, very good year to me and I am very grateful to all of you.Further, in the reports and information that I have received from you, it is obvious that you all have a good cooperation within your branches and that your organizations are democratically run with decisions made thorough discussions. This is also a proof of that WKO is growing in a healthy way.In this newsletter, you will find the financial report of this year. As you can see, there has been an improvement of our financial situation. This is also thanks to your cooperation and hard work. We must always remember that WKO is Our organization, and it is run by US.We must also remember that our organization is a BUDO organization, so we must never forget our own training, continuing our efforts to deepen our knowledge and improving our skill of Karate. It is also important that we find a balance between the traditional BUDO organization and the democratically management which is necessary in order to build up our organization.The KARATE World Cup is getting very close now, and I believe that our friends in Russia are very busy. There are only six months left to this tournament and, although I know that the Russian Branch is working very hard, I hope that all of you will cooperate as much as possible in order to make their work a little bit easier.Today, there are 73 countries affiliated to our organization, and we receive a lot of requests about joining us from many countries. By continuing our work and activities, I am convinced that many more countries will come and join us and I hope that we will soon reach the figure of 100 countries.Lastly, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!Osu!Kenji Midori WKO President