Foreign aid institutions of Japan

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Japan has been establishing its foreign aid contributors since the 1990s. The three government institutions involved in disbursing this are: the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC). This is now the nodal agency for all Japanese concessional loans, and replaced Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) in 1999.

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While earlier attempts were criticised, more recently a concerted effort has since been made to increase spending and target specific areas of need. In the 2000s, the goals of national security were included for the first time.

JICA

Since joining the Colombo Plan in 1954, Japan has been providing financial and technical assistance to developing countries through ODA, aiming to contribute more proactively to the peace, Stability and prosperity of the international community. JICA is in charge of administering all ODA such as technical cooperation, Finance and Investment Cooperation and Grants in an integrated manner, except for contributions to international organisations. JICA, the world's largest bilateral aid agency, works in over 150 countries and regions and has some 90 overseas offices. Founded in October in 2003 Japan International Cooperation Agency facilitates official development assistance for Japanese government. Among its main goals are economic growth assistance and international cooperation promotion. JICA continued its predecessor's purpose of providing ODA to developing counties. [1]

JICA's Initiatives

[2]

JICA's Cooperation with Asia

Southeast Asia

South Asia

Furthering Cooperation within Central Asia

[3]

JICA's Partnership

Partnerships in Japan: JICA is coordinating and facilitating partnerships with stakeholders in Japan through a wide range of support schemes. For example, there are financing schemes for private sector investment, preparatory surveys for infrastructure and BOP projects, and capacity development projects run by NGOs, local government entities and universities. JICA also promotes science and technology research partnerships between research institutions in developing countries and in Japan. Donor Coordination for Development Cooperation: JICA has established partnerships with various development partners, such as:

National governments, including in Europe and the United States. JICA also cooperates at a higher level through enhanced collaboration with nonconventional providers, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Aga Khan Foundation, as well as the Arab Coordination Group. Partnerships enable not only to improve the quality of international initiatives but also to raise the profile of Japan's ODA-related experience, approaches and principles. Moreover, collaboration can be a solution to the support of large-scale development projects in cases where a single organization cannot meet the requirements. Also, JICA has enhanced relationships with think tanks and the United Nations for the conducting of joint research and the publishing of reports on the results of such research. [4]

The 1970s and 1980s

In the decades following World War II, Japan's official aid agency (the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund) had significant overlap with the business of the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and was initially part of JEXIM. [5] : 141 

Historically, Japan's foreign aid policies were widely criticized by many countries within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC). While there has been a general increase in spending, much of the criticism is in regards to the quality of the aid. [6] Much of the money went to corrupt government officials in Asia and projects that caused serious damage to the environment.

It is important to understand the structure of Japan's government and how that affects foreign aid. The largest problem is that there is no political center for foreign aid policies. Alan Rix, a political analyst who specializes in Japan, notes “due largely to historical factors and entrenched bureaucratic interests, foreign aid is seriously underrepresented in the Japanese political system”. [7] Reports from the OECD from the 1980s show a dismal trend for Japanese foreign aid. Of the 18 DAC members, Japan ranked 12th overall. Japan ranked 12th in money spent per capita, 18th in share of grants, and ranked 14th in technical cooperation. [8]

In the 1980s, the government introduced the New Aid Plan which sought to integrate aid with trade and investment. [5] : 141  The plan's rationale was that through providing aid that would increase industrial development in host countries, particularly in southeast Asia, the state could help develop overseas markets for the expansion of Japanese business. [5] : 141 

Also during the 1980s, Japanese contractors for foreign development assistance projects became implicated in a major corruption issues that embarrassed the country's approach to providing aid. [9] : 58 

The 1990s

In the 1990s, Japan's position switched. It revised its foreign aid position and released an Official Development Assistance (ODA) Charter in 1992. During the 1990s Japan became the world's top aid donor. The goals of the charter were “human security, poverty alleviation, health, and women's welfare”. [10]

The 2000s

While Japan isn't the top donor in the world, it is still at number four overall. It updated the charter in 2003 and again in 2015. [10] While previous governments kept military and defense-related activities out of aid services, new geopolitical concerns have altered the function of aid. As China continues to rise, it threatens Japan's hegemony in the region. Escalating tensions in the South China Sea have caused Japan to switch its foreign aid packages. It provided surveillance ships to the Vietnamese and the Filipino coast guards. Japan has also started promoting cybersecurity and maritime security in the region. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzō Abe called these approaches ‘pro-active pacifism’. [11] While Japan has redefined its goals, it still has a commitment to traditional aid philosophies. It spends large amounts of financial and human capital to confront humanitarian issues in the developing world.

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References

  1. ↑ Japan International Cooperation Agency (March 2020). "JICA Profile" (PDF). JICA Profile. 20 (Introduction of JICA): 6. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ↑ Japan International Cooperation Agency (March 2020). "JICA Profile" (PDF). JICA Profile. 20: 8. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Japan International Cooperation Agency (March 2020). "JICA Profile" (PDF). JICA Profile. 20 (Cooperation with different regions): 10-11. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Japan International Cooperation Agency (March 2020). "JICA" (PDF). JICA Profile. 20 (JICA's Partnership): 16. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Chen, Muyang (2024). The Latecomer's Rise: Policy Banks and the Globalization of China's Development Finance. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN   9781501775857. JSTOR   10.7591/jj.6230186.
  6. ↑ Rix, A 1990, ‘Japan's Foreign Aid Policy: A Capacity for Leadership?’, Pacific Affairs vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 461-475. Page 461.
  7. ↑ Rix, A 1990, ‘Japan's Foreign Aid Policy: A Capacity for Leadership?’, Pacific Affairs vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 461-475. Page 462.
  8. ↑ Kyoryoku, K & Kyokai, S 1988, Development Assistance Committee, Aid Review 1988/89, Memorandum of Japan, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  9. ↑ Strange, Austin (2023-12-21). Chinese Global Infrastructure (EPUB). Elements in Global China. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781009090902. ISBN   978-1-009-09090-2.
  10. 1 2 Jain, P 2016, Japanese foreign aid: what's in it for Japan?, East Asia Forum, viewed 8 March 2020, <https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2016/07/21/japanese-foreign-aid-whats-in-it-for-japan/>.
  11. ↑ The Brookings Institution, Revising Japan's ODA charter: Aiding national security?, The Brookings Institution, viewed 8 March 2020, <https://www.brookings.edu/events/revising-japans-oda-charter-aiding-national-security/>.
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