II. Technical Cooperation

1. Introduction

What is Technical Cooperation?

    Cooperation across diverse sectors and at a range of different levels, tailored to the conditions in each country, is essential to enable developing countries to achieve economic, social, and national advancement. The task of technical cooperation is to cultivate the human resources who will shoulder the burden of nation-building activities in developing countries; in other words, it is a form of aid that is primarily information and services oriented.
    The sectors in which technical cooperation is provided are indeed diverse, ranging from basic human needs such as public health and medical care, to computing and other sophisticated, leading-edge technological fields. Japan's technology and expertise in such disparate sectors are passed on to the core members of society and others upon whom the mantle of leadership falls (known as the "counterparts" of technical cooperation). These counterparts are then responsible for widely disseminating these skills among the people of the developing country, thus contributing to national development.
    Technical cooperation is typically provided to countries for which grant aid or loan aid is not an option, due to their relatively high per capita income levels, or to those with high levels of accumulated debt and thereby facing limits on their eligibility for loan aid. It is an effective means of providing aid to Least Less Developed Countries (LLDCs) and small island nations in which large-scale aid programs are difficult to implement.
    Further, since technical cooperation is a form of aid which maintains person-to-person contact and human interchange at its core, it plays a major role in achieving mutual understanding at the individual citizen level in both countries.

Forms of Technical Cooperation

    Technical cooperation in the sense described above comprises a wide variety of activities, ranging from the acceptance in Japan of overseas students, to the publication and export of technical documentation and other materials in local languages. The organizations implementing technical cooperation programs are also extremely diverse; some initiatives are sponsored by government bodies, some by private companies which are active in developing countries, and others by religious institutions as part of their missionary activities.
    Technical cooperation programs implemented by the Japanese government range from project-type technical cooperation schemes which comprise three elements -the acceptance of trainees in Japan, dispatch of Japanese experts to recipient countries, and the provision of equipment and materials- to development surveys and the dispatch of volunteers from the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV). The government body solely responsible for the implementation of these technical cooperation programs is the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA has also recently extended its activities into the field of international disaster relief, dispatching International Disaster Relief Teams when disaster strikes overseas.
    Other technical cooperation initiatives implemented with public funds include the acceptance of students from developing countries at the government's expense, and survey and research projects conducted in tandem by various government-affiliated institutions and government bodies in developing countries.
    Technical cooperation programs carried out by the private sector include those sponsored independently by private-sector aid agencies and companies or corporate groups, and those implemented by non-profit corporations with the assistance of government subsidies or as part of a contractual relationship with government bodies.
    Another form of technical cooperation also deserves special mention: technical trainee acceptance programs implemented by local government authorities with subsidies provided by the national government. These programs are particularly significant because they are oriented toward technical cooperation on a broader national level. Trainees from developing countries are sent to various parts of Japan, where they have the opportunity not only to receive technical training, but also to have direct contact with Japanese people. This deepening of mutual understanding via contact between the peoples of the world will lead to the achievement of the ultimate goal of international cooperation.

The Scale of Technical Cooperation Extended by Japan

In this section we will analyze the scale of Japan's overall technical cooperation program in terms of expenditure directed toward such initiatives (including administrative expenses). Expenditure on technical cooperation amounted to $3,461.55 million in 1995, and $3,180.92 million in 1996, the latter figure accounting for 33.1% of total ODA (38.1% of bilateral ODA) in that year. Analyzed by region, Asia accounts for 38.0% of technical cooperation spending, Africa 7.0%, Latin America 10.2%, the Middle East 5.0%, Oceania 1.7%, and Europe 1.4%.
An international comparison of technical cooperation in money terms reveals that Japan ranked fourth among DAC members in 1996. In terms of technical cooperation as a percentage of overall ODA, the relevant figure for Japan was 23.1%, coming in below the DAC average of 25.5% and placing it 13th among its peers.

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