[/floatl]Yomiuri: Nonprofit kanji test foundation 'made 2 bil. yen'The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has made significant profits from its certification program over the past five years, contradicting its status as a nonprofit public interest corporation, it has been learned. According to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry, the foundation's test generated about 2 billion yen profit from fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2007. Public interest corporations are exempt from corporate taxes, but are not permitted to collect funds in excess of those needed to conduct public works. The ministry plans to inspect the foundation's premises in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, soon. Examination fees charged by the foundation, which vary according to the level of accreditation sought by the examinee, are higher than the amount necessary to cover operating expenses and in some cases are triple, according to sources. If the ministry concludes the foundation's profits are excessive, the foundation will have to change to a nonprofit business plan or lose its status as a public interest corporation under new accreditation criteria introduced in December. The main project of the foundation, which was established in 1992 with the endorsement of what was then the Education Ministry, is the kanji aptitude test, which offers 12 levels of certification. The test attracted 2.7 million applicants in fiscal 2007, including a high proportion of Japanese students. The announcement every December at Kiyomizudera temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, of a kanji character seen to symbolize the past year is also organized by the foundation. Since fiscal 2004 the ministry has repeatedly told the foundation its testing fees were inappropriately high and ordered that they be reduced.
