Report from the Japan-US Friendship Commission

 

Dear NCC Members:

Following is a brief outline of new items from the Commission since our last report was presented at NCC's January 7-8 meeting. In the interest of conservation, we have provided links and attachments to details on individual items. Please feel free to look up items of interest at your convenience.

The Commission's income will be reduced this coming fiscal year due to reinvestments at substantially lower rates of return. As a result it will be difficult to fund any new initiatives, and on-going projects will receive greater scrutiny as competition increases for scarce resources. Full funding priorities can be found on our website at:
http://office.jusfc.gov/commissn/BrochureJan03.htm

The Commission has new membership: Mr. Willard Clark, founder of the Center for Japanese Art and Culture; the Honorable Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, US Department of State; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, US Senate; the Honorable Dina Powell, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State. Private members Ms. Doris Matsui and Mr. Frank Sogi have rotated off the Commission. There is currently one vacancy on the Commission's board.

The most recent projects funded at the Commission's April 22, 2005 meeting can be found at:
http://office.jusfc.gov/commissn/grants05.htm

CULCON

CULCON launched a new effort at its plenary session in November, 2003 on developing the future generation of leaders in the US-Japan relationship in the age of globalization. The new CULCON Global Leaders Working Group has subsequently met twice to discuss what concrete measures it might take to address this issue. Attached is the prospectus developed by the Working Group. The Working Group's activities will result from further analysis and investigation of the ideas outlined therein. Attached also are results from the most recent working group meeting in Juneau, AK.

Best wishes for a successful meeting,
Eric Gangloff
Executive Director

Margaret Mihori
Assistant Executive Director

Pamela Fields,
Assistant Executive Director, CULCON