2. NGOs' Development Assistance

    An NGO (non governmental organization) is generally a private non-profit making organization which conducts "certain activities that contribute to the development of developing regions" in sectors such as funding assistance, provision of materials, dispatch of human resources, acceptance of trainees and the provision of development education.
    NGOs gradually began to be established in Japan in the 1960s, becoming active in Indochina refugee relief and Africa famine relief campaigns in the late 1970s. Because of their relatively short history, many Japanese NGOs are still struggling to consolidate their financial foundations to assure ongoing assistance activities.
    There are around 350 Japanese NGOs involved in overseas aid, 25 of which are non-profit foundations, while the remainder are voluntary organizations. These NGOs can be broadly categorized into the following four types: (i) those which primarily provide assistance to developing countries, (ii) those whose activities include the extension of assistance to developing countries, (iii) Japanese branches of international NGOs, and (iv) organizations with a domestic focus, primarily offering development education. The number of NGOs of type (i) above, that is, those chiefly providing assistance to developing countries, is about 160, slightly less than half of all NGOs in Japan. The number of full-time Japanese NGO staff stationed overseas is around 300, much fewer than the comparable figures for other donor countries.
    Statistics for 1996 indicate that the 221 leading voluntary organizations in Japan provided aid totaling some ¥15,378,570,000. Eighteen provided aid valued at more than ¥100 million, the combined figure accounting for 82.8% of the total aid provided by all NGOs. One hundred twenty eight organizations provided aid valued at less than ¥10 million each, accounting for 2.5% of the total NGO aid. (Findings of a study commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in FY1996.)
    The general public in Western countries displays intense interest in the sphere of international cooperation, and the establishment of some foreign NGOs dates as far back as the late 19th century. Many of today's leading NGOs commenced their activities around about the time of the Second World War. The vigorous activities of NGOs in Western countries can be partly explained by the tradition of charity and relief work based on Christianity, and partly by their long historical relationship with today's developing countries. Regardless of their historical or cultural background, however, the development assistance provided by NGOs plays an important role as it broadens the scope of international cooperation through aid activities undertaken at the individual citizen level.
    The advantages of NGO activities include the ability to (i) directly implement humanitarian development projects at the grass-roots level, (ii) provide a well-tailored response to small-scale projects, and (iii) implement projects at relatively low cost.

Japanese Government Support Measures for NGOs

    The development assistance provided by NGOs plays an important role in boosting the efficiency and effectiveness of Japanese ODA, and also in consolidating the national foundation for economic cooperation. ODA and NGO activities are not antithetical, but rather complement each other.
    Cooperation with NGOs was an important issue highlighted in the Fourth Medium-Term Targets for Japanese ODA promulgated in June 1988. A report compiled by JICA's Poverty Relief Study Group emphasizes the "Importance of strengthening cooperation with, and assistance for NGOs" in addressing the problem of poverty. Measures already implemented by the Japanese government to assist NGOs with ODA funds include the provision of subsidies for seven organizations providing overseas technical cooperation, grants to defray return airfares for Japan Silver Volunteers, the commissioning of JlCA to organize training courses for development project administrators, the provision of assistance for research into Japanese NGOs, and the furnishing of facilities for NGOs operating on foreign soil.
    Because of the recent steady growth in requests for cooperation from developing countries, Japanese NGOs undertaking development cooperation projects overseas are now increasingly seeking access to ODA funds. The use of ODA funds for NGO projects would not only offer the prospect of assistance that is closely tailored to the requirements of recipient countries, but would also expand and consolidate the development activities of Japanese NGOs. Such an arrangement would also make it possible to provide non-governmental assistance to countries for which the provision of ODA is not an option.
    Against this background, the measures employed by the Japanese government to support NGOs have both diversified and expanded. The most important of these are described below.

(a) NGO Project Subsidy Scheme
    The private-sector basis of the activities of NGOs in Japan is still frail. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the NGO Project Subsidy Scheme in FY1989 to provide financial assistance for NGOs struggling to maintain their funding commitment to development projects involving the dispatch of experts to developing countries. Projects eligible for subsidy under the scheme are small-scale arrangements which cannot be effectively assisted by government-level ODA, which are regarded as contributing to humanitarian objectives, economic and social development, or the stabilization of the standard of living in developing countries. As a general rule, voluntary NGOs in Japan are eligible for a subsidy of an amount between ¥500,000 and ¥15 million per project to defray up to 50% of the total project cost. The support scheme was further enhanced in fiscal 1994 by widening the eligibility for subsidies to include remuneration paid to overseas volunteers. A total of ¥82.58 million was paid to 15 NGOs for 23 projects in the first year of the scheme, which had risen to ¥809.1 million paid to 128 NGOs for 215 projects by FY1996. An amount of ¥1.2 billion was appropriated for the scheme in FY1997.
    Needless to say, the NGO project subsidy is granted for projects independently planned by NGOs which are deemed to be appropriate under the Scheme. The subsidy cannot be used to cover the administrative expenses of a recipient NGO, nor can it be used for planning new projects that seek to benefit from this subsidy. The scheme is designed to reinforce the work of NGOs so that they can enhance and expand the scope of their development assistance activities.
    NGO's Assistance Division established in the Economic Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for granting NGO project subsidies among other tasks, including the granting of subsidies for non-profit foundations, the supervision of non-profit foundations, and the establishment of non-profit trusts designed to assist development efforts in developing countries.
    The small-scale grant aid (later renamed grant assistance for grassroots projects) scheme has also operated since FY1989 to assist small-scale development projects implemented by NGOs of all types, Japanese, foreign, or developing country-based bodies. The scheme is described in more detail in the chapter on Grant Aid in this guide.

(b) Fact-Finding Surveys and Assistance for NGOs
A series of measures have been implemented to further promote the future overseas cooperation activities of NGOs. These include a fact-finding survey on NGO activities and the hosting of the Asia-Africa Development Forum of experts in relevant fields to strengthen communication between domestic NGOs and provide a venue for exchange between NGOs in Japan and those in developing countries. In FY1996, the budget allocation for these measures was approximately ¥29.95 million.

(c) Subsidy for Organizations Promoting Technical Cooperation Overseas
The government provides subsidies to partially defray the operating expenditure of seven organizations promoting technical cooperation overseas. Subsidies paid in FY1996 totaled approximately ¥952.68 million.

(d) Regular Conferences between NGOs and MoFA
In April 1996, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated regular conferences between representatives of development assistance-oriented NGOs and staff of the Economic Cooperation Bureau, where both sides are able to exchange opinions on an equal footing and discuss strategies for providing information about ODA and for improving the assistance offered to NGOs.

(e) NGO Support Seminars
With the aim of raising awareness of Japan's NGO support system, the government holds seminars designed to brief NGOs on the availability of project subsidies and grant assistance for grassroots projects, and to provide a forum for the exchange of views and access to useful information. Seminars were held at seven locations across Japan in FY1996, and at four locations in FY1997.

(f) The Postal Savings for International Voluntary Aid
In a bid to promote public participation in international cooperation activities, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications launched the The Postal Savings for International Voluntary Aid on January 4, 1991. Under the scheme, holders of ordinary post office savings accounts can declare their intention to donate 20%1 of their interest accrued on savings for international cooperation purposes. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications collects the donations for distribution to NGOs to assist in their efforts to improve the welfare of people living in developing countries and regions. The legislative basis for the arrangement is the Law on Commissioning of Donations from Interest on Post Office Savings Accounts to Overseas Assistance Projects (Law No. 72 of 1990).
Note 1: If they so wish, account holders can donate any proportion of their interest from 30% to 100%, in 10% increments.

Mechanism of the Postal Savings for International Voluntary Aid

(1) Outline of the Scheme
    Once a year, organizations wishing to receive a subsidy from the donated funds are invited to submit applications. After reviewing the qualifications of the applicants, the details of the projects, and the relevant project implementation methods and systems, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications consults with other interested ministries and agencies, then seeks a report from the Postal Services Council before making a decision on the successful applicants, the values of subsidies to be provided, and the projects to be subsidized.
    The subsidy is granted in installments to each successful organization for its approved project, in accordance with the progress of the project. NGOs receiving the subsidy are required to submit a project completion report so that the status of the project and the uses of the funds can be monitored.

(2) Distribution of Donations
    By the end of March 1998, The Postal Savings for International Voluntary Aid Accounts totaled 24.82 million. In its initial year, FY1991, distributions totaling ¥913.58 million were made from the International Volunteer Savings Scheme for 148 projects undertaken by 102 NGOs. By FY1997, this had grown to ¥1,061.91 million for 239 projects undertaken by 209 NGOs. Hence, in the seven years of its operation, donations to the Scheme totaling some ¥13.8 billion have contributed to improving the welfare of people in 84 countries and regions.
    Organizations that are seeking distributions of donations accumulated through the Scheme must meet the following qualifications. They must have an office in Japan, they must have nominated representatives, and the locus of responsibility for decision-making and the group's activities must be clearly defined. Only non-profit private-sector organizations undertaking overseas aid projects are eligible to receive distributions.
    Projects that are eligible for grants under the scheme must be aid initiatives conceived by the private sector that aim to contribute to the improvement of public welfare in developing regions overseas. Aid projects that aim to meet emergency demand in overseas disaster areas, for example, regions struck by natural disaster or other catastrophic event, are also eligible. Other preconditions for receipt of distribution of funds include the following: (i) the aid project for which donations are sought presupposes and reflects a full understanding of the circumstances in the target region and of the local people's needs, (ii) the staff of private-sector overseas aid groups which are seeking funds under the Scheme must directly supervise local people in the implementation of the project, such as by secondment to the region in which the project is to be undertaken, and (iii) the intended aid project should support the independence of the people in the region concerned; for example, by teaching certain techniques to the local inhabitants.

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