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How is ODA important for Japan’s diplomacy?
The public opinion survey on diplomacy conducted by the Cabinet Office contains ideal perspective of development cooperation. According to the survey conducted in October 2018, primary responses for why Japan should provide ODA included the following; to secure energy resources, to increase trust in Japan in international society, to strategically use it as a diplomatic tool, and to foster the Japanese economy.
Past ODA evaluations focused on assessing the development effects and how much ODA contributed to the development of recipient countries. However, MOFA now also assesses how ODA is important for Japan’s diplomacy, reflecting public opinion and Japan’s economic situation.
The Cooperation Charter (2015) defines development policy as one of the most important tools for pursuing diplomacy proactively. Since then, all MOFA’s ODA evaluations have been conducted from diplomatic viewpoints that measure the impact on Japan’s national interests. In FY2017, MOFA held discussions at an early stage with the evaluation teams to enhance the quality of evaluations.
The diplomatic importance and effects of ODA were clearly explained in Country Assistance Evaluation of Uganda. According to the evaluation report, Uganda is located on an important route between neighboring countries with natural resources and the Port of Mombasa in Kenya. It is also a PKO base to provide troops to countries such as South Sudan. As Uganda intends to develop its economy by promoting regional integration, Japan’s ODA to Uganda is also important in promoting stability and development of the surrounding area.” In addition, specific diplomatic effects by ODA have been confirmed based on the expanded interaction between both countries’ local governments and private companies, improved reputation of Japan through increased number of local media reports about Japan, and business expansion of Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises.
There are some other countries started evaluating from diplomatic viewpoints, but its evaluation method has not yet established in the international community. It is no easy task to identify the diplomatic effects by Japan’s ODA because there are a lot of closed information related to counterparts. MOFA continues to make efforts to further improve evaluations so as to obtain the public’s understanding of ODA through a trial and error process.
