Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (1 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM

Japan-US Friendship Commission 

1201 15th St. NW, Suite 330 

Washington, DC 20005 

Tel: (202) 653-9800 

Fax: (202) 653-9802 

jusfc@jusfc.gov

Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1999-2000 

Biennial Report

The Japan-United States Friendship Commission, an independent federal agency dedicated to 

promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States and Japan, administers 

grant programs in the following areas: 

-Japanese Studies in the United States 

-Policy-Oriented Research 

-Public Affairs/Education 

-The Study of the United States in Japan 

-The Arts 

-Infrastructure Building 

A Message From The Chairman

I am pleased to present the Commission's Biennial Report for Fiscal Years 1997 and 1998. 

The Commission’s original mandate to ensure a vital base of expertise on Japan in the United States 

remains strong and meaningful today, but increasingly, the Commission looks for means to project that 

expertise in ever-wider spheres of activity where doing so will not dilute or distort it. One important 

arena where the Commission has sought to expand the boundaries of expertise is the United States 

Congress, where the Commission’s support of the Legislative Exchange Program at The George 

Washington University expanded this past year to include the leadership of both the Congress and the 

Diet. In the same way, it continues to give high priority to the professional dissemination of the results 

of Commission-supported policy research by experts in universities and research institutes.. In April, 

1997, for example, it supported a conference in Washington, DC to bring the results of research on 

deregulation in Japan to the policy community’s attention. The conference, organized for the 

Commission by the Japan Information Access Project, proved a major success and has created a 

model and a standard for the Commission in charting its current and future efforts in this area. 

In other program areas, the most significant work of the Commission over the past two years is a new 

category called "Infrastructure Building." Through this, the Commission will support the costs of 

professional staff development to provide national leadership in emerging areas of education and 

exchange. The model for this category is the National Coordinating Committee on Japanese Library 

Search: 

● JUSFC Homepage

● About the Commission

● JUSFC Grant Programs

● Creative Artists Program

● Links

● Advanced Social Science 

Research Fellowships on 

Japan

● Administrative Policies

● Contact JUSFC
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Resources (the NCC), founded jointly with the Japan Foundation in 1991. Its success has encouraged 

the Commission to seek other opportunities to help develop professional leadership in such areas as 

broadcast media, study abroad in Japan and Japanese language education in the United States. 

Infrastructure building is a concept that can be applied across the Commission’s five traditional areas 

of support. We look forward to increased activity in this new venture. 

Throughout the period under report, the Commission has continued to support the arts, and 

particularly, the Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship Program, which the Commission operates jointly 

with the National Endowment for the Arts. The artists sent to Japan for half-year residencies under this 

program continue to enrich American cultural life with the insight and techniques they bring back upon 

their return. Over the period of this report, the Commission preserved this program with the NEA by 

sending three artists annually to Japan. I am happy to report that beginning with the 1999 fiscal year, 

we will once again be able to send five artists – the original goal of the program. In addition, it is 

important to note here a significant new priority in the Commission’s program of support for the arts, 

namely, its intention for the foreseeable future to support exclusively the exchange of American art and 

artists to Japan. I encourage interested applicants to consult with Commission staff for details of this 

new priority. 

To support even this limited number of priority programs requires significant resources. Over the past 

two years, the Commission has drawn heavily on its funds to maintain even a minimal level of activity. 

At this rate of drawdown, the Commission would reach an untenable financial situation early in the next 

decade. Over the past two years, therefore, the commissioners and staff have worked hard to obtain 

relief from the regulations governing its investment authorities found in the Commission’s enabling 

legislation. Thus, it is perhaps the most significant achievement of my term as Chairman of the 

Commission that the Commission’s legislation was amended by PL 105-277 in October, 1998 to allow 

it to convert its dollar and yen funds freely to achieve maximum return on its investments in 

government issues of the two countries. The success of this legislative effort means the Commission 

will no longer need to draw down on its principal, relying instead on the increased revenue this more 

modern financial authority brings. Readers will find a significantly increased account of grant activity in 

the next biennial report. 

Finally, I am pleased to report on the successes of CULCON over the past two years. We have 

instituted a major new program to facilitate the exchange of American undergraduates for study in 

Japan in new semester- and year-long English-language programs at Japanese national universities. 

Projects funded by the Commission to support this initiative will be found under Japanese Studies in 

both years of this report. In addition, the CULCON Information Access Working Group has sought to 

enhance the flow of information through the Internet to users in both countries, especially that relating 

to bibliographic controls in the library communities in the two countries. In this regard, the NCC, 

mentioned above, has played a seminal role in carrying out many of the Working Group’s 

recommendations. The next CULCON session will be held in Okinawa in February, 1999, and I look 

forward to reporting to you on the results of the forthcoming session. 

With a permanent staff of only four, the Commission remains one of the smallest and most costeffective independent federal agencies. Its structure – a board of government officials and private 

citizens who serve as a peer review panel – is unique to the federal system. This experiment in mixing 

the strengths of the private sector and of the executive and legislative branches represents in my view 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (2 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

an excellent example of the current search for effective public/private partnership. This record of the 

Commission’s achievements of the past two years speaks to the success such partnerships can 

produce. 

Richard J. Wood

Chairman 

January, 1999

The Japan-United States Friendship Commission, 1997-1998

Chairman:

Dr. Richard J. Wood* ** 

Dean 

Yale Divinity School 

Vice-Chairman:

Mr. Glen S. Fukushima* ** 

President, 

Arthur D. Little (Japan), Inc. 

Members:

Mr. Burnill F. Clark** 

President, KCTS TV, Seattle 

Hon. Joseph D. Duffey* ** 

Director, United States Information Agency 

Mr. Lawrence J. Ellison (from Oct. 1, 1998) 

Chairman and CEO, Oracle Corporation

Hon. William E. Ferris, Jr. 

Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities

Dr. Carol Gluck* ** 

Professor of History 

Columbia University 

Mr. David I. Hitchcock (ending Oct. 1, 1998)* ** 

Senior Associate 

Center for Strategic and International Studies 

Hon. William Ivey 

Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts 

Mr. Jeffrey M. Lepon** 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (3 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Partner, Lepon, McCarthy, White & Holzworth 

Hon. David Longanecker** 

Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs 

Post-Secondary Education 

US Department of Education

Mr. Thomas E. McLain** 

Partner, Perkins Coie 

Hon. Frank H. Murkowski 

United States Senate 

Hon. Thomas Petri* 

United States House of Representatives 

Hon. John D. Rockefeller IV* 

United States Senate 

Hon. Stanley O. Roth** 

Assistant Secretary of State 

for East Asian and Pacific Affairs 

US Department of State

Mr. George H. Takei** 

Actor/Writer 

Los Angeles, CA 

Hon. Robert Wise 

United States House of Representatives

Mr. Ira Wolf** 

Director, Japan Relations and Vice President 

Eastman Kodak Company 

Staff:

Executive Director 

Dr. Eric J. Gangloff

Assistant Executive Director 

Ms. Margaret P. Mihori 

CULCON Program Officer 

Ms. Pamela L. Fields 

Secretary 

Ms. Roberta S. Stewart 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (4 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Head Office:

1120 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 925 

Washington, DC 20005 

Telephone: (202) 275-7712 

Facsimile: (202) 275-7413 

e-mail: jusfc@compuserve.com

Japan Liaison Office:

c/o Program Office 

The International House of Japan, Inc. 

11-16, Roppongi 5-chome 

Minato-ku, Tokyo 106 

Japan 

Tel. (03) 3470-4611 

*Members of the Executive Committee 

**Members of CULCON 

The Japan-United States Friendship Commission in 1997-98

In compliance with the provisions of PL 94-118, as amended, the Japan-United States Friendship 

Commission is pleased to submit to the President and to the Congress this report on its twenty-first 

and twenty-second years of operations covering the period from October 1, 1996 to September 30, 

1998, which corresponds to the Federal Fiscal Years 1997 and 1998.

Background and Overview

The Japan-United States Friendship Commission is an independent federal agency, dedicated to 

promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between the United States and Japan. In passing the 

Japan-United States Friendship Act (PL 94-118) in 1975 to establish the Commission, Congress 

acknowledged the unique character and great importance of the relationship between Japan and the 

United States, and in particular the need to strengthen its foundation through educational and cultural 

exchange programs at the people-to-people level. It was searching for the means to develop the 

knowledge, the leaders and the friendly associations which in turn would improve the likelihood that 

any problems that might arise on the national level could be resolved on a basis of mutual 

understanding and respect.

To carry out these efforts, the Congress established the Commission, the only federal agency whose 

sole purpose is to promote friendship and understanding with a single foreign country. In the 

Friendship Act, it also appropriated the Japan-United States Friendship Trust Fund, an endowment 

denominated in both yen and dollars with a combined value of approximately $36 million at the 

exchange rate then in effect. These two funds represented a portion of the money paid by Japan to 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (5 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

compensate the United States for post-World War II assistance, and for certain public facilities on 

Okinawa at the time of the reversion of the Ryukyus. The former payment became the yen fund, and 

the latter the dollar fund. The Commission was authorized to invest the Fund in government 

obligations, and to expend the interest earnings, subject to annual appropriation thereof, and up to five 

per cent annually of the principal of the Fund to carry out the purposes of the Act. In 1982, the Act was 

amended to permit the Commission to invest such gifts as it may receive and to spend the principal 

and interest earnings thereof without reference to the appropriations process.

Although governmental, the Commission operates much like a private foundation. The Commission is 

composed of a board of eighteen commissioners and a permanent staff of four officers. The board of 

commissioners is divided equally between nine senior representatives of the United States government 

from both the legislative and executive branches, and nine private citizens, including the chairman. Of 

these eighteen, twelve members, including the private citizens and the representatives from the 

Departments of State and Education and the US Information Agency, serve ex officio on the 

Commission by virtue of their appointment to CULCON, a binational advisory board to the two 

governments in educational and cultural affairs. The board’s chief responsibility is to manage the Trust 

Fund, principally by investing it and using the proceeds to make grants to institutions in the United 

States and Japan to develop programs of education and cultural exchange.

It does not require special insight to comprehend that the mission given to the Commission remains 

valid. The relationship between Japan and the United States has no counterpart. In sheer size, in its 

variety and complexity, and in its mixture of cooperation with competition, friendship with rivalry, it 

stands alone.

The relationship stands, however, on a narrow and fragile base. Obviously, as the history of the past 

fifty years demonstrates, the United States and Japan have much in common in terms of broad 

national objectives. In the short term, each nation has its own objectives and concerns. Moreover, the 

record of that relationship shows that the centuries-old differences in thought patterns, value systems, 

social and economic behavior, decision-making processes and means of communication can readily 

lead to mutual misunderstanding and friction. There is above all a language barrier that all too often 

forces each nation to react to the other through stereotypes. There is a severe imbalance in the 

amount of attention that the media in the two countries devote to each other. Finally, there is growing 

recognition that many of the problems that exist and persist in the relationship are not amenable to 

easy solutions occasioned by enhanced cultural understanding alone. New thinking about the 

relationship and new ways of managing it -- based on greater understanding of the character and 

causes of these problems and devised through mutual deliberation -- are called for.

The Commission today has a new sense of purpose and a more focused program of activity to meet 

the new conditions both of its financial management and of the binational relationship. In accordance 

with its mandate, it continues to address the problems and misperceptions that exist between Japan 

and the United States by funding projects that will lead to greater mutual understanding and 

cooperation. It asks, however, that the projects it supports take cognizance of the contemporary 

relationship and each in its own way contribute back to the public good that PL 94-118 envisioned and 

sought to embody in the Commission. Currently it places priority on several areas that will directly 

affect the quality and management of the bilateral relationship, including policy research and its 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (6 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

dissemination, and programs of education and exchange for Members of Congress.

To secure the resources necessary for its operations, the Commission sought and achieved in 1998 an 

amendment to PL 94-118 that allows it to convert its dollar and yen funds at will, to achieve the best 

rate of return available in government obligations of the two countries, and to convert the interest 

income into the currency of the other country to carry out its operations. For the two years under 

consideration in this report, the Commission resorted to drawdown of its funds, specifically the yen 

fund, to maintain even a minimally acceptable level of grant-making activity. Up to 1997, the 

Commission had followed a strict policy of no drawdown of funds, limiting support to what interest 

income alone would allow. With the historically low interest rate that came to dominate Commission 

investments in Japanese government bonds, however, it had a very difficult dilemma to resolve, 

beginning in 1997. The origin of the dilemma was found in the language of PL 94-118, which required 

that the dollar and yen funds be kept separate and virtually unconvertible. If the Commission limited 

activity to interest income alone, it could preserve its principal to maintain long-term viability, but it 

risked allowing institutions of long-standing, vital to the national interest and unique in character, to 

collapse if critical Commission funding were to cease.

This was not an easy choice, for those institutions faced with danger would not easily be recreated if 

allowed to disappear. The commissioners chose to sacrifice Commission principal in the short term, 

knowing that the long-term benefit to national interest would be better met by preserving the 

institutional base of expertise and knowledge on Japan in the United States, and seeking relief from 

the restrictions that prevented the currencies from being freely converted. If there is a story to the 

Commission in these two fiscal years, it is in its effort to obtain relief from the restrictions on its 

investment and financial management authorities, which it did obtain in PL 105-277. Achieving it has 

modernized the Commission’s finances to a great degree and has brought about the desired effect of 

significantly increasing income from the Friendship Trust Fund. The effect of that increase should be 

seen in the next biennial report.

The story of this amendment serves as an interesting footnote to the Commission’s history as well. The 

original of the Commission’s yen fund was GARIOA, a fund provided by the Government of the United 

States to Japan for assistance to help redevelop the economy in the immediate postwar period. 

GARIOA funds were, for example, the first funds available for Japanese scholars to visit the United 

States for training and research at that time, and their repayment by the Government of Japan to the 

United States during the ambassadorship of Edwin O. Reischauer was used in part to establish the 

yen account that ultimately became the Friendship Trust Fund yen account. By converting that fund 

into dollars, rather than spending it down and out, the Commission will be able to keep its value intact 

and thus preserve not only the spirit of GARIOA, but its resources as well, for the future.

Program Highlights 

1. Japanese Studies in the United States

In the period under consideration, there are two major trends to note in the Commission’s program of 

support for Japanese studies in the United States: vigorous support for the basic institutions of 

Japanese studies; and a new interest in CULCON recommendations related to this field. With its 

overlapping membership with CULCON, the Commission is in an excellent position to initiate projects 

in cooperation with the private sector that will help implement CULCON recommendations.

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (7 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

For the past two years, the direction of this fundamental category of Commission activity has been 

dictated by discussions held among the commissioners in spring, 1996, on program priorities. At the 

time, the Commission faced declining interest income, especially in the yen fund, which is critical to 

support of this category. They concluded that the Commission would need to divest itself of many of its 

programs of long-standing in this category if it were to help preserve even a minimal number of the 

basic institutions of Japanese studies in the United States and still have any funds available for new 

initiatives. In April of that year, they published the following announcement:

In the area of Japanese studies, the Commission will in principle provide seed money only to 

assist those start-up projects that have good prospects of converting to a self-funding basis 

within a reasonable period of time. Those projects that the Commission has supported annually 

on a long-term basis will be treated on a case-by-case basis, within the following guidelines: 

those that serve to "retail" the Commission’s general support to the individual scholar and 

researcher over a broad range of disciplines and geographical regions, such as the Northeast 

Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies, will be given precedence over those that 

serve only a single discipline, institution, project or region.

As a result of these discussions, readers of this report will find that Commission support of Japanese 

studies has been concentrated on four major institutions that serve the field nationwide: The 

Interuniversity Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama; the National Coordinating 

Committee on Japanese Library Resources; the Association of Asian Studies; and the Social Science 

Research Council. These grants serve to support language study, library collection development, and 

basic research in the case of the last two. In the Commission’s judgment, these grants help serve to 

keep the field vital as a whole, and are able to project their services and resources both to the highest 

level, and simultaneously, to the widest level possible of participation by individuals in the field.

Even here, the Commission continued to work with these institutions to help them find ways of 

diversifying their sources of support, given the limitations the Commission faced during this period on 

its own funding base. In particular, it worked with the Interuniversity Center to design and launch an 

endowment drive. That initiative has been highly successful and will help the Center better tolerate the 

vagaries in its external funding sources that have made its management increasingly difficult.

In new ventures, the Commission worked with two organizations, the Association of American Colleges 

& Universities (AAC&U) and the Association of Teachers of Japanese (ATJ), to help them design 

projects to implement a CULCON priority, the Bridging Project. Since 1993 CULCON has set as its 

foremost priority significantly increasing the number of American undergraduates studying in Japan, 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (8 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

and the Commission has worked to help create an institutional base to set that priority in motion. In the 

last reporting period, the Commission had worked with the Japanese Ministry of Education and the US 

Department of Education to begin the work of creating English-language curriculum at Japanese 

national universities to expand study opportunities for American undergraduates. In this reporting 

period, the Commission turned its attention to American campuses, working with the AAC&U to foster 

greater interest in study abroad opportunities in Japan among the American professorate, and with the 

ATJ to recruit students for study. This latter project, the Bridging Project Clearinghouse at the ATJ, was 

created under the rubric of the Commission’s Infrastructure Building initiative. For its part, the 

Commission has launched a fundraising effort for student scholarships for the Clearinghouse to help 

move the effort forward.

2. The Study of the United States in Japan

The Study of the United States is a core element of the Commission’s programs as defined in its 

enabling legislation. In its implementation, the Commission looks for guidance and leadership in this 

field from Japanese colleagues and friends. Of particular interest in this regard was a comprehensive 

survey of the field organized in Japan in 1997 by the International House and partially funded by the 

Commission that outlined current maximizing dollar income in both countries as well as building on 

earlier efforts in the field. This approach is represented by the Commission’s grants to both the 

American Studies Association of the United States (ASA), and the Organization of American Historians

(OAH), to carry out short-term exchanges for lecturing and consultations between their members and 

members of the Japanese Association of American Studies (JAAS). By arranging extensive 

opportunities for graduate students in Japan to establish personal contacts with ASA and OAH 

members, the plan looks forward to the nurturing of a new generation of American studies scholars in 

Japan. Even more so, by arranging for JAAS members to lecture in classrooms and consult with 

graduate students in the United States, the ASA has converted the Commission’s long-term support of 

its exchange program into a truly exciting and innovative approach to the field. Future plans call for 

opening the exchanges of lectures and consultations to practitioners from third countries in Asia with 

encouragement from the Commission.

3. Policy-Oriented Research

Since 1990, the Commission has made a concerted effort to take a more active stance vis-à-vis the 

US-Japan relationship and the serious challenges facing both countries in its management through 

placing emphasis on supporting policy-oriented research projects and their professional dissemination. 

In sponsoring policy research projects the Commission intends that the results of these research 

efforts be pertinent to those concerned with Japan in the Congress, various think tanks, academia and 

the media. In this category, the Commission places high priority on projects that deal with Japan-US 

economic, political and security policies. In the period under consideration, the Commission also 

announced interest in projects analyzing trends in Japanese society and their implications for bilateral 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (9 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

relations. Increasingly, the Commission seeks research projects will provide analysis of pertinent 

issues in the bilateral relationship in broader contexts, whether disciplinary, regional or global.

Support of policy research was a high priority for the Commission in the period under report, and will 

remain a high priority for the foreseeable future. Key to its success is dissemination of the results, and 

thus in reviewing proposals to the Commission for support under this rubric, the commissioners pay 

close attention to the quality and feasibility of the dissemination plan. Late in 1998, the Commission 

made a grant to the Japan Information Access Project to serve to provide professional advice on 

dissemination to policy research projects supported by the Commission, and opportunities at various 

policy venues in Washington, DC for direct presentation of results by the researchers in person.

Key to the dissemination plans of the Commission is the policy conference format. The Commission 

supported two such efforts in this period, the first in April, 1997, and the second in October, 1997, on 

deregulation in the Japanese economy and on intellectual property rights in Asia respectively. Both 

were based in part on research previously sponsored by the Commission and were organized for it by 

the Japan Information Access Project.

In 1997 the Commission announced priority topics for research on competition policy and on social 

transition and change in Japan. Under the former topic it provided support for a major research project 

directed by Professor Mark Tilton of Purdue University in FY 1998 and looks forward to the results of 

that project and several others in the conference format described above in the 1999 calendar year. 

Surprisingly, the topic of social change in Japan has not yet elicited significant interest from the 

research community, and the Commission currently is considering an alternative topic of greater 

salience.

In addition to the projects described above, the Commission supported various projects in security 

issues, increasingly looking at US-Japan security relations in the context of East Asian security 

relations as a whole. Finally, the Commission also supported a project on US-Japan trade relations at 

the Council on Foreign Relations in FY 1998 under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV 

and Representative Amo Houghton, to ask what better initiatives the two countries might take as trade 

relations worsen in the late 1990s. This project also will be given a major public presentation by its cochairmen to the Washington policy community in 1999.

A full record of the Commission's support for policy-oriented research projects for both FY 1997 and 

FY 1998 follows in this report. Readers are urged to consult the Commission’s website to link directly 

to the results of many of these projects that are posted on it.

4. Public Affairs/Education

In this category, the Commission endeavors to meet the growing demand for information on Japan 

throughout the United States. The Commission emphasizes projects that disseminate information on 

major issues between the two countries through the creation of public forums and conferences for the 

exchange of opinion and information among professionals and policymakers, and through print, 

broadcast and multimedia outlets in both countries.

The most important event of the past two years in this category was the end of the Gift Fund. The Gift 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (10 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Fund was a cooperative effort of the Commission and the Government of Japan to help build Japan 

America societies across the United States. Beginning in 1981, over a span of five years, the 

Government of Japan made several gifts to the Commission totaling five million dollars for this 

purpose. The Commission used these funds at an average of $300,000 annually to help newly-forming 

societies with seed grants for administrative purposes, and once formed, with grants for programs on 

public and policy aspects of US-Japan relations.

When the Commission began this venture, there were perhaps a total of seven such societies on the 

two coasts. Today, there are more than thirty-five such societies across North America, tied together 

through a vibrant network of mutual programming and shared administrative mechanisms, and 

overseen by the National Association of Japan-America Societies, Inc., (NAJAS). In 1998, with the end 

of the Gift Fund in sight, the Commission concluded that its historical mission in helping establish this 

network had ended. Future efforts in fundraising and organizational development properly belonged to 

the societies themselves, represented in American public life on a national plane by NAJAS. The 

societies themselves have set a policy of converting much of their common administrative tasks and 

information sharing to the US-Japan Links, a shared website belonging to all the societies that the 

Commission and its Japan counterpart, the Center for Global Partnership, have helped support over 

the past several years.

The Commission lacks the staff and funding to make a major contribution to the complex and costly 

field of media. Thus, beginning in FY 1997, under its "Infrastructure Building" category, the 

Commission worked with KCTS, Seattle, a major PBS programming station, on Japan Connection, a 

clearinghouse for the production and distribution of information on Japan for newly emerging 

multimedia outlets. Now in its second year of operation, the Connection has made considerable 

progress in organizing interactive multimedia conferencing for numerous professional non-profit 

organizations on Japan-related issues, production of educational and business materials on Japan for 

interactive use over multimedia outlets, and plans for two series of documentaries on Japan-related 

themes for the broadcast media. Again, as with the NCC under Japanese studies, the Commission 

sees the Japan Connection as an innovative means the Commission can leverage its relatively modest 

resources into programs of truly national impact.

In the area of counterpart exchanges, the Commission placed increased emphasis on support of 

congressional exchanges during the period under report. Of particular note were developments in the 

Legislative Exchange Program, a Commission-supported element of the larger US-Japan Economic 

Agenda of The George Washington University. Over a decade, groups of legislators from both the 

Congress and the Diet met in semiannual meetings to hold direct discussions on issues affecting the 

bilateral relationship and of common interest to both societies. Over time, the two groups of core 

legislators not only came to possess a body of solid knowledge about the political process of the other 

country and of the views and opinions of their counterparts, but they also came to form close personal 

bonds

In 1998, the leaderships of the Congress and the Diet designated this program to help organize a more 

systematic exchange of legislators between the two bodies that would extend to members of the 

leaderships themselves. The core members in both countries took up the challenge and designed a 

program that would preserve the benefits that close personal contact and frank and open discussion in 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (11 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

a common language had traditionally bequeathed, but that would also allow for participation at the 

highest levels and in more formal settings. The expanded program will begin in an experimental phase 

in 1999, and the Commission has committed the resources necessary on the US side to support the 

expansion. We look forward to the success of this very important initiative.

5. The Arts

The Commission continues to support projects in the arts of the highest merit, with emphasis on 

collaborative projects in contemporary modes. It recognizes that it must take an increasingly selective 

approach to funding in this field, given pressure in other program areas. However, it supports the arts 

in the firm belief that they can help foster better understanding between the two countries at a time 

when they face increasing strain over trade deficits and other current issues.

In FYs 1997 and 1998 the Commission continued to work closely with the National Endowment for the 

Arts (NEA) and the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs in sponsoring the US-Japan Creative Artists 

Exchange Fellowship Program. The national competition for the fellowships awarded annually to 

American participants is administered by the NEA and draws hundreds of applications from 

established creative artists in a wide range of disciplines. The recipients spend six months in Japan, 

studying Japanese culture and its manifestations in their particular fields. In addition, the Commission 

continued to provide support to the International House of Japan to hire an expert to facilitate the 

program on site. Given the budget constraints in this period, the joint program was able to sponsor only 

three artists annually, but with the beginning of the 1999 fiscal year in October, 1998, and with the 

enthusiastic support of the commissioners, the Commission and the NEA once again were able to 

increase the number to five fellowships annually.

Throughout the 1990s the Commission had given priority to the exchange of American art and artists 

to Japan, especially to major venues outside Tokyo, when all other factors were considered equal, but 

in view of the new infusion of funds from Japan to bring Japanese art to the United States, the 

Commission adopted this priority as its policy in support of the arts, beginning in 1998. Fundamental to 

this policy was a grant that year to the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center for the first 

year of the project "US Arts Export to Japan," an innovative approach to identifying and funding the 

exchange of American art to Japan through cooperation with US state arts councils and boards of 

trade, and prefectural arts presenters in Japan. The Commission anticipates the development of a 

strong base of presenters in Japan interested in exhibiting American performance and visual arts in 

their venues as this project matures.

In addition, the Commission supported a number of collaborative projects in line with this new policy in 

their developmental and presentation phases in Japan in 1998, in such projects as "The 1998 

SILENCE in Japan Tour," AN Creative’s presentation of a collaborative work by the American 

choreographer Doug Varone, a presentation of KWAIDAN and a two-week workshop by the Ping 

Chong Company of New York at the Fukuno Culture Center in Toyama and residencies arranged by 

the Atlantic Center for the Arts for American master artists at the Akiyoshidai International Art Village in 

Yamaguchi. 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (12 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

6. CULCON

CULCON (the US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange), a binational advisory 

panel to both governments, serves to focus official and public attention in both the United States and 

Japan on the vital cultural and educational underpinnings of the bilateral relationship. Its origins lie in 

discussion held in 1961 between President John F. Kennedy and Prime Minister Hayato Ikeda. In 

cooperation with the United States Information Agency, the agency with oversight for CULCON, the 

Japan-US Friendship Commission assumed responsibility for US secretarial functions of CULCON in 

1991.

CULCON continues to serve as a forum for discussions over a broad range of US-Japan educational 

and cultural issues. At the same time, CULCON emphasizes the implementation of recommendations. 

In recent years, CULCON activities have been focused in two areas: undergraduate educational 

exchange and information access.

Since 1993, CULCON’s first priority has been to increase the number of American undergraduate 

students studying in Japan. Based on extensive research, the US CULCON secretariat developed a tripartite, comprehensive approach to this goal: 1) to create appropriate programs for US undergraduates 

in Japan; 2) to develop faculty and curriculum at the United States home campuses that will allow 

students to form a solid base for study both before and after a study abroad experience in Japan; and 

3) to gather and disseminate the information necessary to inform students of opportunities for study 

abroad in Japan and actively recruit them to do so.

CULCON progress in building English-language curricula at Japanese national universities has been 

outlined in previous Commission biennial reports. By September, 1998, over twenty national 

universities have programs now in operation or under development. This is a striking change from a 

1993 base of zero programs. 

In both 1997 and 1998, the Commission worked to fund CULCON programs on the US side that would 

help increase the flow of students to Japan. In both years it provided the Association of American 

Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) funding for projects to help teams of faculty from eight colleges 

and universities undertake a year of directed study of Japan and develop courses and course units that 

will ensure more widespread attention to Japan in the undergraduate curriculum. In a similar fashion, it 

provided funding in both years to the Association of Teachers of Japanese (ATJ) for the Bridging 

Project Clearinghouse, a center for study abroad opportunities in Japan for American undergraduate 

students. Its functions encompass recruitment, information gathering and dissemination and the 

establishment of a network of faculty "champions." The clearinghouse is located at ATJ headquarters 

at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

A new activity for CULCON in educational exchange in 1998 has been an aggressive campaign to 

raise funds in the US private sector for incentive scholarships for American students going to Japan. 

The goal of the campaign is to raise two million dollars over the next three years. With an average 

$5,000 scholarship per student, this will generate a new wave of study in Japan with an additional 400 

students. The ultimate goal is to double the number of Americans studying annually in Japan on a selfsustaining basis. The work of recruitment and selection will be handled by the Bridging Project 

Clearinghouse. 

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (13 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

In information access CULCON has placed priority on the need for increased flow of information, 

especially through the Internet, as a primary means of improving the quality and quantity of discourse 

between the two countries. Beginning with a broad agenda of information issues, members of the 

CULCON Information Access Working Group came to agree that the best means of achieving progress 

in this area would be to focus energies on improving flows of bibliographic and other library-related 

sets of data. The Working Group met for a second time in June, 1998 in Tokyo, at which meeting the 

members drafted a set of recommendations on library practices and information exchanges between 

the library and information communities in the two countries. The members agreed that talented 

librarians on both sides act most effectively as the gatekeepers of information to the information 

community as well as the general public. 

Breaking with precedent, CULCON will hold its next plenary session outside Tokyo or Washington. In 

February, 1999 CULCON XIX will be held in Naha, Okinawa at the invitation of the Japan CULCON 

Panel. The binational meeting will provide an opportunity to review progress to date and to chart a 

course of action over the coming two years. Discussions will focus on current projects in educational 

exchange and information access, as well as on subjects for future action. Prior to the plenary session, 

the two panels will jointly host a symposium on the topic of national identity and cultural interchange in 

the 21st century. The results of this symposium, to include a wide range of views from local experts as 

well as CULCON members, will be incorporated into planning for future directions of CULCON activity.

NOTE: In the listings below, in many cases Commission support met only partial costs of the total 

project. 

Grants Awarded in Fiscal Year 1997

October 1, 1996 - September 30, 1997

 

Grants Awarded US Dollar Grants Japanese Yen 

Grants

A. JAPANESE 

STUDIES IN 

AMERICAN 

EDUCATION

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (14 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Faculty and 

Curriculum 

Development

1. Association of American 

Colleges & Universities 

- for support of the 

project "Faculty and 

Curriculum 

Development Seminar 

on Japan

62,075

Language

2. Stanford University, for 

the Inter-University 

Center for Japanese 

Language Studies in 

Yokohama - for 

advanced Japanese 

language training for 

American graduate 

students

50,500,000

Libraries

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (15 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

3. National Coordinating 

Committee on Japanese 

Library Resources - for 

continuation and 

expansion of activities, 

and support of the 

National Program for 

Coordinated Japanese 

Library Acquisitions of 

Multi-Volume Sets and 

External User Services 

for 1997-1998

50,050 10,000,000

 

Grants Awarded US Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

Professional 

Studies

4. Committee on 

Japanese 

Economic Studies -

for support of a 

program to train 

specialists on the 

Japanese economy

37,000 3,750,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (16 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Research

5. Association for 

Asian Studies, 

Northeast

Asia Council - for 

the various 

programs the 

Council undertakes 

to promote the 

teaching and study 

of Japan in the 

United States

49,105 200,000

6. Social Science 

Research Council - 

for fellowship and 

administrative 

support for 

advanced research 

on Japan by 

American scholars

80,000 6,000,000

Other

7. Association of 

Teachers of 

Japanese - for 

support of the first 

year of a project to 

establish a 

clearinghouse to 

encourage study 

abroad in Japan by 

American 

82,017

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (17 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

undergraduate 

students

8. Columbia 

University, The 

Donald Keene 

Center of Japanese 

Culture – for 

support of the 

project "The JapanUS Friendship 

Commission Prize 

for the Translation 

of Japanese 

Literature"

18,426

9. University of 

California, San 

Diego - for support 

of a project 

"Competing 

Moderni- ties in 

Twentieth-Century 

Japan Part II: 

Empires, Cultures, 

Identities, 1930-

1960"

13,225

TOTAL FOR JAPANESE 

STUDIES

$391,898 ¥70,450,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (18 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants Awarded US Dollar Grants Japanese Yen 

Grants

B. THE STUDY OF THE 

UNITED STATES IN 

JAPANESE 

EDUCATION

Research 

Centers

1. Doshisha University, 

Center for American 

Studies - for support of 

the activities of the 

Center

6,000 1,000,000

Faculty and 

Curriculum 

Development

2. American Studies 

Association - for the 

second year of support 

of the project "JapanUnited States Dialogues 

Across the Pacific: 

Curriculum, Program, 

and Faculty 

Development for an 

International American 

Studies"

6,440 1,067,360

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (19 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

3. Organization of 

American Historians - for 

support of the project 

"Short-term Residencies 

in Japan for US 

Historians"

5,295 1,465,500

4. University of the 

Ryukyus - for a faculty 

development grant for 

Professor Katsuyuki 

Miyahira, College of Law 

and Letters, to develop 

new curriculum in the 

area of American 

communications at the 

University of 

Washington, Seattle

23,017

Other

5. American Studies 

Society of the University 

of the Ryukyus – for the 

participation of Dr. Lee 

Francis in the 18th

annual meeting held in 

Naha 

3,779 140,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (20 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants Awarded US Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

6. International House 

of Japan, Inc. - for 

support of the 

project "Survey on 

American Studies 

in Japan"

2,300,000

TOTAL FOR THE 

STUDY OF THE UNITED 

STATES IN JAPANESE

EDUCATION 

$44,531 ¥5,972,860

Grants Awarded US Dollar Grants Japanese Yen 

Grants

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (21 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

C. POLICYORIENTED 

RESEARCH

1. Association of Japanese 

Business Studies - for 

support of a panel to 

present Commissionsupported research at the 

tenth annual meeting of 

the Association

2,710

2. Georgia Institute of 

Technology - for the 

second year of support of 

the project "Deregulating 

Japan’s Health Care and 

Pension Systems"

33,294

3. National Bureau of Asian 

Research - for publication 

of the monograph "Act 

Now or Pay Later: A Call 

for a Farsighted Policy 

Toward Japan’s 

Production Network in 

Asia"

5,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (22 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

4. University of California, 

San Diego - for the 

second year of support of 

the project "Deregulation 

and the Japanese Firm"

43,837

5. University of Georgia - for 

support of the project 

"Nonproliferation Export 

Controls: Japan, China, 

and the United States"

19,550

6. University of Washington

- for the second year of 

support of the project 

"Regulating Electronics: 

Japan’s State 

Management of 

Competition in the 

Telecommunications, 

Computer, 

Semiconductor, Software 

and Consumer 

Electronics Industries"

49,360

TOTAL FOR POLICYORIENTED RESEARCH

$153,751

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (23 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants Awarded US Dollar Grants Japanese Yen 

Grants

D. PUBLIC AFFAIRS/

EDUCATION

Outreach 

Programs 

1. Japan America Society 

of Charlotte - for the 

third and final year of 

administrative support

30,000

2. Japan America Society 

of Greater Philadelphia - 

for the second year of 

administrative support

30,000

3. Japan America Society, 

Ithaca Area - for the 

second year of 

administrative support

15,000

4. Japan America Society 

of Nevada - for the 

second year of 

administrative support

30,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (24 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:17 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

5. Japan America Society 

of New Mexico - for the 

first year of 

administrative support

30,000

6. Japan America Society 

of Northwest Florida - 

for the third and final 

year of administrative 

support 

14,000

7. Japan America Society 

of the State of 

Washington - for the 

second year of support 

of the project "USJapan Links"

30,000

8. Japan Society of 

Cleveland - for the third 

and final year of 

administrative support

25,000

9. Japan Society of San 

Diego and Tijuana - for 

the first year of 

administrative support

30,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (25 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants Awarded US Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

Counterpart 

Exchanges

10. College and 

University 

Partnership 

Program - for 

support of the 

project 

"Commemoration 

of the 20th 

Anniversary of 

CUPP Japan 

Exchange"

5,000

11. The George 

Washington 

University - for 

support of the 

project "1997 GWU 

US-Japan 

Economic Agenda 

Legislative 

Exchange Program"

62,623 1,280,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (26 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

12. International 

House of Japan - 

for services for 

American 

educational, 

cultural and 

professional 

institutions

8,500,000

13. The Mansfield 

Center for Public 

Affairs -for support 

of the project 

"Japan-US 

Congres-sional 

Program" and 

other 

congressional 

exchange programs

44,705

14. Mississippi State 

University - for 

support of the 

project "Legislative 

Exchange on USJapan Security 

Relations"

25,000

15. US Association of 

Former Members 

of Congress - for 

support of the 

project 

"Congressional 

Study Group on 

Japan" and other 

congressional 

35,015

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (27 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

exchange programs

Grants Awarded US Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

Media and 

Dissemination

16. KCTS Television - 

for the first year of 

support of the 

project "Japan 

Connection: A 

Multi-media 

Production Center"

75,000

17. The Roper Center 

for Public Opinion 

Research - for the 

first year of 

support of the 

project "Building 

an On-Line Public 

Opinion 

Information 

48,736

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (28 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

System for Survey 

Data from Japan"

TOTAL FOR PUBLIC 

AFFAIRS/EDUCATION

$530,079 ¥9,780,000

Grants Awarded US Dollar Grants Japanese Yen 

Grants

E. THE ARTS

1. Exchange Fellowships 

for Creative Artists - 

Jointly-sponsored 

program funded by the 

Japan-United States 

Friendship Commission 

and the US National 

Endowment for the 

Arts. The funds 

devoted to this program 

include $75,000 

received from the 

National Endow-ment 

for the Arts. Grant 

funds for the artists in 

14,803 14,790,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (29 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

FY 1997 are 

administered in Japan 

for the Commission by 

the International House 

of Japan, Inc. Yen 

funds are provided for 

the ensuing program 

year.

Artists sponsored under 

the exchange 

fellowships:

Beliz Brother

Craig McTurk

Yoji Yamaguchi

American 

Performances/

Exhibitions in 

Japan

2. Goh Productions - for 

support of the 

collaborative 

performing arts project 

"The Poe Project"

30,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (30 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

3. Walker Art Center - for 

support of the 

collaborative 

performing arts project 

"Unfinished Symphony"

20,000

Grants Awarded US Dollar Grants Japanese Yen 

Grants

Japanese 

Performances/

Exhibitions in 

the United States

4. The Art Institute of 

Chicago - for publication 

of a catalogue in 

conjunction with the 

exhibition "Japan 2000"

30,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (31 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

5 Hara Museum of 

Contemporary Art – for 

publication of a 

catalogue in conjunction 

with the exhibition 

"Shiro Kuramata 1934-

1991"

30,000

6. Japanese American 

Cultural & Community 

Center - for support of 

the project "Warabi-za 

Folk Dance and Music 

Company 1997 US 

Tour"

7,500

7. On The Boards - for 

support of a US tour by 

Sakiko Ohshima and 

the H Art Chaos 

Company

46,625

8. Smithsonian Institution, 

Arthur M. Sackler 

Gallery - for support of 

the exhibition "Paintings 

by Masami Teraoka" at 

the Asian Art Museum 

of San Francisco

10,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (32 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

9. Smithsonian Institution, 

National Museum of 

Natural History - for 

publication of a catalogue in conjunction 

with the exhibit "Kamuy: 

Spirit of the Ainu - Art, 

History, and Culture of 

Japan’s Northern 

People"

30,000

TOTAL FOR THE ARTS $218,928 ¥14,790,000

Commission Program Totals

Japanese Studies 

in the United States

$ 391,898 ¥ 70,450,000

The Study of the 

United States in 

Japan

44,531 5,972,860

Policy-Oriented 

Research

153,751 0

Public Affairs/

Education

530,079 9,780,000

The Arts 218,928 14,790,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (33 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

TOTAL FOR 

COMMISSION 

PROGRAMS

$1,339,187 ¥100,992,860

CULCON Activities Funded by Transfer from USIA

Undergraduate Educational 

Exchange

Oversight Committee

$ 7,380

Media Working Group 1,950

Information Access Working 

Group

4,055

CULCON XVIII Plenary 

Session

31,675

TOTAL FOR CULCON 

ACTIVITIES FUNDED BY 

TRANSFER FROM USIA

$45,060

Administrative Expenses of the Commission in FY 1997

Personnel $303,617

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (34 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

General Services Administration 

for Payroll,

Accounting and Other Services

34,026

Office Space 33,622

Travel 25,333

Communications 10,787

Printing, Supplies, Publications 10,520

Equipment 0

Other 12,509

TOTAL FOR COMMISSION 

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

$430,414

Administrative Expenses of CULCON in FY 1997

Personnel $78,204

Communications 350

Supplies 200

Other 275

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (35 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

TOTAL FOR CULCON 

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

$79,029

Appropriated Dollar Fund Income and Expense Statement 

Fiscal Year 1997

(10-1-96 through 9-30-97)

INCOME

Net Interest (Earned 

Basis)

$1,190,847

Refunds on Grants 48,290

Received from the 

Department of 

Education

50,000

Received from the 

National Endowment 

for

the Arts

75,000

Received from the US 

Information Agency

for CULCON support

122,525

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (36 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Transfer from Yen 

Account

220,000

TOTAL INCOME $1,706,662

EXPENSES

Commission Grants $1,339,187

Commission 

Administration

430,414

CULCON Activities 45,060

CULCON 

Administration

79,029

TOTAL EXPENSE 

(GROSS)

$1,893,690

Japanese 

Government Gift 

Fund (NonAppropriated)

(480,491)

TOTAL EXPENSE 

(NET)

$1,413,199

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (37 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

GAIN OR (LOSS) $293,463

Appropriated Dollar Fund Balance

Original 

Appropriation, 

1-1-76

$18,000,000

Fund Balance, 

9-30-96

14,966,000

Cash on hand, 

9-30-96

53,403

Income or (loss) 293,463

FUND 

BALANCE, 9-

30-97

$15,312,866

Japanese Government Gift Fund (non-appropriated)

Fiscal Year 1997

(10-1-96 through 9-30-97)

Balance, 9-30-96 $686,558

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (38 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants 480,491

Administrative 

Expenses

4,971

Interest Income 10,906

Refunds on Grants 41,156

BALANCE, 9-30-

97

$253,158

Appropriated Yen Fund Income and Expense Statement

Fiscal Year 1997

(10-1-96 through 9-30-97)

INCOME

Interest on 

Japanese 

Government 

Bonds

50,889,988

Refunds on Grants 912,889

NEA Transfer 8,894,250

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (39 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Other Income 

(Discounts, 

Unrealized Profits)

¥ 2,895,529

TOTAL INCOME ¥63,592,656

EXPENSES

Grants ¥100,992,860

Administration 3,308,187

Transfer to Dollar 

Account

24,571,800

Fees 2,231,334

TOTAL EXPENSE ¥131,104,181

GAIN OR (LOSS) (¥67,511,525)

Appropriated Yen Fund Balance 

Original 

Appropriation 

Received, 11-1-

76

¥3,615,429,455

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (40 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Balance 

Received, 10-

22-79

325,683,316

Fund Balance, 

9-30-96

3,538,346,724

Cash on hand, 

9-30-96

1,241,385

Income or (loss) (67,511,525)

FUND 

BALANCE, 9-

30-97

¥3,472,076,584

NOTE: In the listings below, in many cases Commission support met only partial costs of the total project.

Grants Awarded in Fiscal Year 1998

October 1, 1997 - September 30, 1998

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (41 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

A. JAPANESE STUDIES IN 

AMERICAN 

EDUCATION

Faculty and Curriculum 

Development

1. Association 

of American 

Colleges & 

Universities - 

for support of 

the project 

"1999 

Faculty and 

Curriculum 

Development 

Seminar on 

Japan

108,650

Language

2. Stanford University, for the 

Inter-University Center for 

Japanese Language Studies 

in Yokohama - for advanced 

Japanese language training 

for American graduate 

students

40,400,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (42 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Libraries

3. National Coordinating 

Committee on Japanese 

Library Resources - for 

continuation and expansion 

of activities, and support of 

the National Program for 

Coordinated Japanese 

Library Acquisitions of MultiVolume Sets and External 

User Services for 1998-1999

16,899,200

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

Professional 

Studies

4. Committee on 

Japanese 

Economic Studies -

for support of a 

program to train 

specialists on the 

Japanese economy

22,050 3,750,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (43 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Research

5. Association for 

Asian Studies, 

Northeast Asia 

Council - for the 

various programs 

the Council 

undertakes to 

promote the 

teaching and study 

of Japan in the 

United States

52,440 3,600,000

6. Social Science 

Research Council - 

for fellowship and 

administrative 

support for 

advanced research 

on Japan by 

American scholars

80,000 6,000,000

7. University of 

California, San 

Diego – for the 

participation of 

Andrew Dewit, 

Yumiko Iida, 

Yumiko Mikanagi, 

and Katsuo Seiki in 

the project entitled 

"Competing 

Modernities in 20th

Century Japan Part 

II: Empires, 

Cultures, Identities, 

1930-1960"

8,927

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (44 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Other

8. Columbia 

University, The 

Donald Keene 

Center of Japanese 

Culture – for 

support of the 

project "The JapanUS Friendship 

Commission Prize 

for the Translation 

of Japanese 

Literature"

2,359,000

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

9. Association of 

Teachers of 

Japanese – for 

Year Two of the 

project 

"Development of 

the Bridging Project 

Clearinghouse to 

Encourage Study 

Abroad in Japan by 

American 

Undergraduate 

Students"

10,875,900

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (45 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

TOTAL FOR JAPANESE 

STUDIES

$272,067 ¥83,884,100

Grants Awarded

 

Japanese Yen Grants

B. THE STUDY OF THE 

UNITED STATES IN 

JAPANESE 

EDUCATION

Faculty and 

Curriculum 

Development

1. American 

Studies 

Association – 

for support of 

a third and 

final year of 

the project 

"JapanUnited States 

Dialogues 

Across the 

Pacific: 

Curriculum, 

Program, and 

Faculty 

7,000 1,112,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (46 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Development 

for an 

International 

American 

Studies"

2. Organization 

of American 

Historians – 

for a second 

year of the 

project "Shortterm 

Residencies 

in Japan for 

US Historians"

7,225 1,465,500

Other

3. American 

Studies 

Society of the 

University of 

the Ryukyus

– for the 

participation 

of Drs. 

Barbara J. 

Fields and 

Winston 

James in the 

19th annual 

meeting in 

Naha

6,500

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (47 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

TOTAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE 

UNITED STATES IN JAPANESE 

EDUCATION

$20,725 ¥2,577,500

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

C. POLICYORIENTED 

RESEARCH

1. Council on Foreign 

Relations – for support 

of the project "A Study 

Group on the US-Japan 

Trade Relationship"

50,000

2. Japan Information 

Access Project – for 

support of the project 

"Intellectual Property: 

Japan and the New 

Asia, A Dissemination 

Strategy"

39,447

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (48 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

3. National Bureau of 

Asian Research – for 

support of the project 

"The Development of 

Government Disclosure 

Systems in Japan"

6,225,080

4. Pacific Forum CSIS – 

for support of the third 

year of a three-year 

project "Coop-eration 

Among Japan, China, 

and the US on Security 

in East Asia"

15,000

5. Purdue University – for 

support of the project 

"Japanese Competition 

Policy and Market 

Access, In Comparison 

with Germany and the 

United States"

69,800

6. Research Institute for 

Peace and Security – 

For support of the 

project "Strategic 

Studies Fellowship 

Program"

1,242,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (49 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

7. The East-West Center

– for support of the 

project "Power and 

Prosperity: The 

Security-Economics 

Nexus in US-Japanese 

Relations Since 1960"

53,493

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

8. University of 

Georgia Research 

Foundation – for 

the project 

"NonproliferaTion Export 

Controls: Japan, 

China, and the 

United States

3,100,000

TOTAL FOR POLICYORIENTED

RESEARCH 

$227,740 ¥10,567,080

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (50 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

D. PUBLIC AFFAIRS/

EDUCATION

Outreach 

Programs

1. Japan America Society 

of Central Ohio – for the 

first year of 

administrative support

27,750

2. Japan America Society 

of Greater Philadelphia

– for the third and final 

year of administrative 

support

30,000

3. Japan America Society 

of Nevada – for the third 

and final year of 

administrative support

30,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (51 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

4. Japan America Society 

of New Mexico – for the 

second year of 

administrative support

30,000

5. Japan America Society 

of San Diego - for the 

second year of 

administrative support

30,000

6. Japan America Society, 

Ithaca Area - for the 

third and final year of 

administrative support

15,000

7. Japan America Society 

of the State of 

Washington - for the 

third and final year of 

support for the project 

"US-Japan Links"

30,000

8. Japan America Society 

of the State of 

Washington – for 

support of an electronic 

version of "On The 

Record," the CULCON 

media directory of 

Japan specialists on the 

US-Japan Links site.

4,475

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (52 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

9. Japan America Society 

of Washington, 

DC - for support of the 

project "Civil Society in 

Japan: Coping with 

Change"

15,500

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

10. National 

Association of 

Japan America 

Societies, Inc. - for 

support of the 

project 

"Transforming the 

National 

Association into a 

Proactive 

Educational 

Network"

37,700

11. National 

Association of 

Japan America 

Societies, Inc. - for 

support of the 

project "Designing 

an Integrative 

Framework to 

Support the Work 

16,500

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (53 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

of Japan America 

Societies in the 

US" 

Counterpart 

Exchanges

12. American 

Association for the 

Advancement of 

Science - for 

support of the 

project "DietCongress Program 

of Legislative 

Exchange on 

Science and 

Technology"

11,742,200

13. Congressional 

Economic 

Leadership 

Institute - for 

support of the 

1997 US-Japan 

Educational 

Exchange Program

97,800 8,510,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (54 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

14. The George 

Washington 

University - for 

support of the 

project "GWU USJapan Economic 

Agenda 1998 

Legislative 

Exchange 

Program"

69,725 1,280,000

15. International 

House of Japan, 

Inc - for services 

for American 

educational, 

cultural and 

professional 

institutions

8,500,000

16. US Association of 

Former Members 

of Congress – for 

support of the 

project 

"Congressional 

Study Group on 

Japan"

30,015

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (55 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen 

Grants

Media and 

Dissemination

17. Film Arts Foundation - for 

post-production costs of 

the film "Masami 

Teraoka: Between East 

and West"

15,000

18. Japan Society, Inc. - for 

support of the project 

"ANIME: The World of 

Japanese Animation"

10,000

19. KCTS Television - for the 

second year of support of 

the project "Japan 

Connection: A Multimedia Production Center"

9,600,000

20. The Roper Center for 

Public Opinion Research

- for the second year of 

support of the project 

"Building an On-line 

Public Opinion 

Information System for 

Survey Data from Japan"

69,928

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (56 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

TOTAL FOR PUBLIC 

AFFAIRS/

EDUCATION

$559,393 ¥39,632,200

Grants Awarded U.S. 

Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen Grants

E. THE ARTS

1. Exchange 

Fellowships for 

Creative Artists - 

Jointly sponsored 

program funded by 

the Japan-United 

States Friendship 

Commission

and the US National 

Endowment for the 

Arts. The funds 

devoted to this 

program include 

$75,000 received 

from the National 

Endow- ment for 

the Arts. Grant 

funds for the artists 

in FY 1998 are 

administered in 

Japan for the 

Commission by the 

International House 

10,795 21,090,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (57 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

of Japan, Inc. Yen 

funds are provided 

for the 

ensuing program 

year.

Artists sponsored 

under the exchange 

fellowships:

David Stuempfle

Sally Gross

Pamela Z

Beliz Brother*

*This artist, 

selected for the 

1997 program, 

received the 

majority of funding 

in the 1997 year. A 

small grant was 

made to her in 1998 

for the purchase of 

Japanese language 

texts.

American 

Performances/

Exhibitions in Japan

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (58 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

2. AN Creative, Inc. – 

for the project "USJapanese Dance 

Collaboration" 

4,000,000

3. Institute of Dramatic 

Arts (DARTS) – for 

the project "1998 

SILENCE Japan 

Tour"

30,000

Grants Awarded U.S. Dollar 

Grants

Japanese Yen Grants

4. Japanese 

American 

Cultural & 

Community 

Center – for 

the first year of 

support of the 

project "US 

Arts Export to 

Japan"

5,120,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (59 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

5. Museum of 

Contemporary 

Art – for 

support of a 

Japan tour of 

the exhibition 

"Out of 

Actions: 

Between 

Performance 

and the Object 

1949-1979"

30,000

6. Ping Chong 

and Company

– for support 

of a threeweek 

residency and 

presentation of 

"KWAIDAN" in 

Fukuno

49,400

Other

7. Atlantic Center for 

the Arts, Inc. – for 

support of the 

project "Japan/US 

International 

Residency 

Exchange" at 

Akiyoshidai

1,280,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (60 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

8. CEC International 

Partners, Inc. - for 

the screening and 

review of 1998 

applications to the 

US/Japan 

Creatiave Artists 

Fellowship 

Program

2,182

9. World Shakuhachi 

Festival 1998 – for 

support of the 

World Shakuhachi 

Festival 1998 

Japanese 

Scholars Program

546,750

TOTAL FOR THE ARTS $122,377 ¥32,036,750

Commission Program Totals U.S. 

Dollar 

Expenses

Japanese Yen Expenses

Japanese 

Studies in the 

United States

$272,067 ¥83,884,100

The Study of 

the United 

States in Japan

20,725 2,577,500

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (61 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Policy-Oriented 

Research

227,740 10,567,080

Public Affairs/

Education

559,393 39,632,200

The Arts 122,377 32,036,750

TOTAL $1,202,302 ¥168,697,630

CULCON Activities 

Funded by Transfer from 

USIA U.S. Dollar 

Expenses

1. Undergraduate 

Educational 

Exchange Oversight 

Committee

250

2. Media Working 

Group

2,000

3. Information Access 

Working Group

7,820

4. Fundraising 40,000

TOTAL FOR CULCON 

ACTIVITIES FUNDED BY 

TRANSFER FROM USIA

$50,070

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (62 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Administrative Expenses of the Commission in FY 1998

Personnel 317,954

General Services 

Administration for 

Payroll, Accounting 

and Other Services

33,839

Office Space 33,557

Travel 20,428

Communications 12,228

Printing, Supplies, 

Publications

7,474

Equipment 5,767

Other 32,488

TOTAL FOR 

COMMISSION 

ADMINISTRATIVE 

COSTS

$463,735

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (63 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Fundraising Expenses of the Commission in FY 1998

Travel 2,270

Communications 1,641

Consulatant’s Fee 35,000

TOTAL FOR 

COMMISSION 

ADMINISTRATIVE 

COSTS

$38,911

Administrative Expenses of CULCON in FY 1998

Personnel 87,429

Communications 275

Supplies 200

Other 250

TOTAL FOR CULCON 

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

88,154

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (64 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Appropriated Dollar Fund Income and Expense Statement 

Fiscal Year 1998

(10-1-97 through 9-30-98)

INCOME

Net Interest (Earned 

Basis)

$1,077,902

Refunds on Grants 112,210

Received from the 

Department of 

Education

50,000

Received from the 

National Endowment 

for the Arts

75,000

Received from the US 

Information Agency for 

CULCON support

138,719

Transfer from 

Yen Account

320,000

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (65 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

TOTAL INCOME 1,773,831

EXPENSES

Commission Grants 1,202,302

Commission 

Administration and 

Fundraising Activities

502,646

CULCON Activities 10,070

CULCON 

Administration

88,154

TOTAL EXPENSE 

(GROSS)

1,803,172

Japanese Government 

Gift Fund (NonAppropriated)

(253,750)

TOTAL EXPENSE 

(NET)

1,549,422

GAIN OR (LOSS) 224,409

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (66 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Appropriated Dollar Fund Balance

Original 

Appropriation, 

1-1-76

$18,000,000

Fund Balance, 

9-30-97

15,312,866

Income or (loss) 224,409

FUND 

BALANCE, 9-

30-98

$15,537,275

Japanese Government Gift Fund (non-appropriated)

Fiscal Year 1998

(10-1-97 through 9-30-98)

Balance, 9-30-97 $253,158

Grants 253,750

Administrative 

Expenses

1,144

Refunds on Grants 1,739

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (67 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

BALANCE, 9-30-

98

$3

Bridging Project Gift Fund (non-appropriated)

Fiscal Year 1998

(10-1-97 through 9-30-98)

Balance, 9-30-97 $0

Contributions* $112,600

Grants $0

Administrative 

Expenses

$0

Interest $14

BALANCE, 9-30-

98

$112,614

* includes $100,000 worth of stocks

Appropriated Yen Fund Income and Expense Statement

Fiscal Year 1998

(10-1-97 through 9-30-98)

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (68 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

INCOME

Interest on Trust Fund ¥44,336,845

Refunds on Grants 612,106

Discounts and 

Unrealized Profits

92,991

TOTAL INCOME ¥45,041,942

EXPENSES

Grants ¥168,697,630

Administration 4,549,994

Transfer to Dollar 

Account

41,420,800

Fees 6,581,268

TOTAL EXPENSE ¥221,249,692

GAIN OR (LOSS) (¥176,207,750)

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (69 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM
Japan-United States Friendship Commission 1997-1998 Biennial Report

Appropriated Yen Fund Balance

Original 

Appropriation 

Received, 11-1-

76

¥3,615,429,455

Balance 

Received, 10-

22-79

325,683,316

Fund Balance, 

9-30-97

¥3,472,076,584

Income or (loss) (¥176,207,750)

FUND 

BALANCE, 9-

30-98

¥3,295,868,834

Japan-US Friendship Commission, Copyright 2007-2012 

Last Updated January 4, 2012, Contact jusfc@jusfc.gov

http://www.jusfc.gov/biennialreport1997-1998.asp (70 of 70)01/10/12 01:37:18 PM