Following the issuance of an order by the metro government in May 2004, Lycee franco-japonais de Tokyo, based in Chiyoda Ward, had agreed to pay the amount, which was levied as a fixed-asset tax and urban planning tax for the 2000-2004 period, the officials said.

The school has yet to obtain the status of a legally incorporated educational institution, a condition for receiving tax incentives from the metro government, they said.

"France does not have 'incorporated educational institutions,' " said Takehiko Anan of the metro government's bureau of taxation.

Anan said that was the reason it took several years before the French side agreed to apply to be recognized as an incorporated educational institution and to pay the taxes for the school to be granted its authorization.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 30, 2005
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