Dear Member
Societies:
In this
issue
From the desk of Sam Shepherd
In a trip to Japan in late June early July, I had the
opportunity to spend some time with the 10 educators who participated in the
Keizai Koho Center Teacher Fellowship program for 2006. All 10 were from
the
I was able to enjoy three visits with the KKC Fellowship
participants, one to a Honda Automobile manufacturing plant, the second to a
Honda affiliated technical college, and the third to a public high school.
All three were exceptionally interesting. The Honda plant was, as you
would expect, impressive with its attention to detail and timed assembly
line. The technical college, which included two, three and four year
programs of instruction, provided auto-industry related engineering, management
and sales training programs that were marked by their rigor and designed to
produce graduates who could pass the various tests required to be certified in
their respective areas of concentration.
The choice for the high school visit was superb.
In many ways it was very representative of a rigorous, competitive, “academic”
high school. At the same time, the particular class that our group spent
the most time with had an instructor that received national recognition for his
innovative approach to teaching business and economics. He used creative
techniques to engage his students in a range of economic issues that were at the
same time current and timeless. He got the students to respond and got
them to interact with each other.
On the same trip, I was able to meet with a number of
leading businessmen and representative from the media. There was a strong
consensus that the economy was now definitely moving in a positive
direction. The taxi cab drivers, however, were not quite so sure.
I have found remarkably wide spread consensus, however,
on the Yasukuni question: visiting the shrine is not, in the long run,
strategically in the best interest of
ANA
Tickets
We have notified those societies awarded barter tickets
of their status. There remain 4 gratis economy class tickets and 1 $1,000
discounted business class ticket; if any societies would like to receive the
tickets, please send in an application as soon as possible. We are giving
the tickets away on a rolling basis, and societies who have sent multiple
applications which have been denied to not need to resend their application to
be reconsidered. Priority will be given to societies who have not been
awarded tickets until August 7th, at which time previously denied
requests will be reconsidered.
Speaker Program- Series 3 in
2006
The dates for the 3rd installment of the
Speaker Program have been set for October 10-12 and the Caravan will be
traveling to three cities:
We are pleased to announce the speakers of the Caravan:
Minister Ihara from the Embassy of Japan, Dr. Cronin of the Stimson Center,
Mr. Yamakoshi of Keidanren, and Ms. Ploumpis of Keidanren, who will serve
as moderator.
Recent Changes and comments on various law and
regulations affecting Non-Profit
Organizations
-from the
American Association of
Association Executives
·
FORMS 990 AND 990-T
SHOULD BE MAILED SEPARATELY, IRS SAYS: The IRS is reminding
tax-exempt organizations that their completed Form 990 returns should be mailed
separately from their Form 990-T disclosures for unrelated business income,
Tax Analysts reported this
week.
In its EO Update newsletter, the IRS said
separate mailings for these forms will help to reduce errors and expedite
processing of these returns. For more information, visit www.irs.gov.
·
NEW FAX REGULATIONS
TO TAKE EFFECT AUGUST 1ST: Non-profit
organizations must comply with the FCC’s latest round of fax regulations, which
include limiting the ability to send faxes to individuals without an existing
business relationship (EBR), beginning August 1st.
The new regulations,
which the FCC released in April 2006, would require senders of commercial faxes
that utilize the EBR provision, including nonprofits, to have an “opt-out”
mechanism to allow recipients to decline future faxes. Among other things, the
opt-out notice must be listed on the front page of the fax, and must include a
toll-free telephone number, fax number, email address or website that would
allow the recipient a cost-free mechanism to opt out of future faxes. If the
recipient requests to opt out of future faxes, the sender must accommodate the
request within 30 days and may no longer send unsolicited fax messages unless
the recipient directly requests to receive them.
The regulations
implement the fax legislation that passed Congress and was signed into law in
June 2005. The legislation did not alter the previously existing provision that
allows for a private right of action by a recipient to file civil lawsuits in
state court against the party that sends illegal faxes, with penalties of up to
$1500 for each violation.
·
IRS STOPS EXCISES
TAXES FOR LONG DISTANCE CALLS:
As of August 1st, the
IRS has announced that it will no longer collect federal excise tax on long
distance phone calls, and that individuals, businesses, and tax-exempt
organizations may claim a refund on their 2006 tax returns.
You can find more
information on the announcement here.
Specific instructions
for a tax-exempt organization to obtain a refund (which can be done only on its
2006 Form 990T) is on page 11 of here (pdf
file).
The existing
moratorium on Internet access taxes expires in November 2007. The provision to
make the moratorium permanent was offered by Sen. George Allen (R-VA), who said
allowing taxes on Internet access would limit opportunities for many citizens,
creating a “digital divide,” according to Bureau of National Affairs (BNA).
The so-called “network
neutrality” amendment was also considered as part of the telecommunications
overhaul bill that cleared Senate Commerce June 28. The provision would stop
telephone and cable companies from charging major Internet providers a premium
for faster Internet service and other offerings, such as video, that can be seen
as competing with telephone and cable. The amendment was defeated on an 11-11
vote, but was exhaustively debated, especially after the House passed a
telecommunications overhaul bill earlier this month with no network neutrality
provision. Internet giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon.com feel a network
neutrality provision would ensure competition while retaining incentives to
build high-speed networks.
·
NTIA SEEKS COMMENTS
ON FUTURE MANAGEMENT OF INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES: The Commerce
Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
has announced it is seeking public comment on the continued transition of the
Internet domain name and addressing system (Internet DNS) to the private sector.
In the fall of 1998, the
Commerce Department entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a
nonprofit organization comprised of private sector Internet stakeholders called
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The purpose of
the MoU was to gradually transition technical coordination and management of the
Internet domain name and addressing system to the private sector. That MoU will
expire on September 30, 2006.
The Commerce Department
seeks comments on the progress of this transition, due on or before July 7.
Comments may be submitted electronically to DNSTransition@ntia.doc.gov. There
will also be a public meeting July 26 from 2 PM to 5 PM at the Commerce
Department,
·
GRASSLEY REITERATES
NEED FOR GREATER ENFORCEMENT OF TAX-EXEMPTS: Senate Finance Chairman
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) continued his broad assailment of tax-exempt organization
practices this week by expressing his disappointment with actions taken by the
board of trustees of
Specifically, Grassley
questioned the AU board’s commitment to meaningful reform after the personal
spending scandal last year that led to the ouster of its president, Dr. Benjamin
Ladner. While acknowledging the board “has taken some steps in the right
direction,” Grassley said this week that the board is still making “excuses” for
Dr. Ladner’s compensation package, among other actions. “I fear some board
members are still wearing rose-colored glasses,” Grassley said.
Grassley encouraged the
DC City Council to “give real teeth” to the city’s oversight of nonprofits and
reiterated his plans to pass broad-based legislative reforms for charitable
governance.
Grassley also recently
sent a letter to the IRS encouraging the agency to step up its enforcement of
existing laws governing tax-exempt groups, particularly those applying to
nonprofit hospitals, charities used for political purposes, and nonprofits that
“appear to function like for-profit businesses and undercut their business
competitors.”
·
HOUSE JUDICIARY
STUDIES WHTI IMPLEMENTATION:
The House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims held a hearing today on
the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and potential security risks at
The WHTI will require
all travelers entering the
Among those testifying
at today’s hearing was Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry
Association of America (TIA), who encouraged Congress to strike “the right
balance between homeland security and facilitation of legitimate travel and
trade.”
The travel industry has recommended establishing a
single, unified deadline for WHTI of January 1, 2008, and exercising “broad
discretion” in determining which documents other than passports will be
accepted” at the U.S. borders. To read more, click here.
Announcement
The
Japan-America Society of Greater Cincinnati is bidding farewell to their
Executive Director, Joshua D’Andrea, who is leaving the Society to pursue other
opportunities. We wish him the best and thank him for all his work on
behalf of JASGC.
If
there is anyone who may be in interested in the Executive Director post in
Misc. –
The Japan Foreign Trade Council is sponsoring the JFTC
Essay Competition 2006 to encourage students, younger researchers and business
people to express their opinions on matters of national and international
importance. One Grand Prize of 1 million yen and three Second Prizes of 200,000
yen will be awarded to the best four submissions, as selected by the
distinguished judges. In addition, the Grand Prize Winner will be provided with
an air-ticket to
Misc. – PBS Documentary “Japanland”
and book
Filmed with intimacy and humor, JAPANLAND is the story of Karin Muller’s
extended immersion into Japanese culture. As she seeks out the many unique
and sometimes obscure subcultures of Japan—including sumo wrestlers,
swordmakers, geishas, Buddhist monks, and even the now-iconic workaholic,
career-track salary-man—she experiences the great diversity and proud humanity
of a nation rooted in the past but looking toward the future. The
documentary aired this past winter and DVD copies have been made available
online.
JAPANLAND: A Year in Search of
Wa
By Karin Muller
Rodale / October 2005
Hardcover / 320 pages / $23.95
ISBN: 1-59486-223-6
Available in bookstores or contact Karin Muller
at:
JAPANLAND: 4-Hour PBS
Series
Available as a 2-DVD set with slide-show and
never-before-seen footage.
$29.95
Contact Karin Muller at:
Or go to www.japanlandonline.com
You can find more information at www.japanlandjourney.com