Official Development Assistance (ODA)
3. Perspectives of Japan's ODA Towards the 21st Century
This section reviews Japan's current ODA policy and the current state of ODA implementation in light of its outlook to the 21st century, bearing in mind the previous sections that described the 40-year history of, and the accomplishments achieved by, Japan's ODA, the changes that have occurred in the environment surrounding it, and the role played by ODA in promoting Japan's foreign policy.
In order to strengthen and expand official development assistance as an important means of Japan's foreign policy and an important pillar of Japan's international contribution, it is essential to secure the understanding and support of the people who meet the cost of ODA. To do that, it is necessary for the government to endeavor to further improve the policy and implementation of its ODA. And the tasks facing it include (1) implementation of ODA in accordance with philosophies of Japan's official development assistance, (2) challenges to new frontiers of ODA, and (3) broader participation of the people in ODA and promotion of their understanding.
(1) Implementation of ODA in Accordance with Philosophies of Japan's Official Development Assistance
In order to implement the kind of ODA which the Japanese people approve and recipient countries appreciate, it is essential that such ODA is designed and executed in accordance with clearly-defined philosophies of official development assistance.
1) Emphasis on Poicy Dialgoue
By definition, economic cooperation with a developing country is a joint undertaking between the donor country and its recipient. Therefore, ODA projects must be worked out on the basis of common views and objectives shared by both sides. With this in mind, the Japanese government has long stressed the importance of policy dialogues with recipient countries. Exhaustive policy dialogues help Japan and the recipient country gain deeper understanding of the philosophies and principles of Japan's official development assistance set forth in its ODA Charter, the economic and social conditions of the recipient country, its long- and medium-term development programs, priority areas for Japan's ODA, and problems or challenges which both parties have to tackle in the course of the implementation of ODA. And through such close policy dialogues, successful implementation of ODA projects could be secured by conducting preliminary surveys and post evaluations and by taking follow-up measures. Such policy dialogues have been conducted at bilateral summit meetings or between the government of reciprent countries and the Japanese embassy or various missions Japan sent to recipient countries.
In addition to such bilateral policy dialogues, Japan as a top donor country has played the leadership role in policy dialgues conducted at the Consultative Group (CG) meetings held by the World Bank, Roundtable meetings by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aid policy consultations with other donor countries, and at meetings of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Japan continues to place emphasis on such policy dialogues, bilateral as well as multilateral, in coming years.
2) The Basic Policy of ODA of Japan
The basic characteristics of aid policy of Japan refined through such policy dialogues are as follows.
a. Application of the Principles of the ODA Charter
As noted earlier, the Japanese government, at a Cabinet meeting held in June 1992, adopted the ODA Charter setting forth basic philosophies of Japan's ODA, it's principles, priority areas and so on. The ODA Charter sets the following four points as principles to be taken into consideration in implementing ODA.
i) Environmental conservation and development should be pursued in tandem.
ii) Any use of ODA for military purposes or for aggravation of international conflicts should be avoided.
iii) Full attention should be paid to trends in recipient countries' military expenditures, their development and production of mass destruction weapons and missiles, their export and import of arms, etc., so as to maintain and strengthen international peace and stability, and from the viewpoint that developing countries should place appropriate priorities in the allocation of their resources on their own economic and social development.
iv) Full attention should be paid to efforts for promoting democratization and introduction of a market-oriented economy, and the situation regarding the securing of basic human rights and freedoms in the recipient country.
Japan has been trying to deepen the understanding of recipient countries about the principles of its official development assistance through policy dialgues. While Japan actively expands its ODA to recipient countries which show positive trends in light of these principles, it calls the attention of, or reviews the aid policy toward recipient countries that show negative trends, comprehensively taking into account their economic and social conditions, their relations with Japan, etc. For example, to countries or regions such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Palestine, and South Africa which are actively pursueing transition to a market economy or promotion of democratization, Japan has been lending active support. In the case of countries such as Sudan, Myanmar, Haiti, Nigeria, and Gambia, where human rights are seriously violated or democratic process is reversed, Japan has suspended its ODA except those of emergency and humanitarian nature.
b. Characteristics of Japan's Aid Policy: Three Approaches
With a view to ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of its official development assistance, Japan takes three distinct approaches. They are i) a differentiated approach, ii) a comprehensive approach, and iii) a balanced approach.
i) A Differentiated Approach: Under this approach, ODA projects are implemented according to each development stage and respective needs of the recipient country and Japan seeks to insure the effectiveness and efficiency of its ODA projects by selecting priority areas and by organically combining various aid schemes of ODA loans, grant aid, and technical assistance.
ii) A Comprehensive Approach: In order to support the economic development of the recipient country, it is important to take a comprehensive approach under which ODA is extended with a broad perspective that encompasses economic assistance, trade, direct investment, and debt relief strategies. Japan has been building economic relations with Asian countries along this approach. The economic infrastructure which was financed by Japan's ODA loans was instrumental in inviting foreign direct investment, which in turn boosted local production and export capacity and eventually helped the country to stage an economic takeoff.
iii) A Balanced Approach: Japan's official development assistance has been planned and executed in a way designed to achieve the followinmg three balances.
First, a balance between conventional areas (development of economic infrastructure and providing basic human needs) and new areas of assistance (global issues such as environment and population).
Second, a balance between large aid projects (development of economic infrastructure) and small ones (projects at grass-roots level).
Third, a balance between "hardware" type of assistance aimed at developing physical capital and "software" type of assistance aimed at human resources development and institutional building.
3) Carefully Tailored ODA Implementation
With a view to ensuring effective and efficient implementation of ODA projects, their planning and execution have been preceded by thoroughgoing surveys. As the expertise or capabilities of recipient countries for exploring and formulating good development projects for themselves are often limited, or as they tend to priortize development projects over environment protection projects, Japan helps them find and formulate projects that are necessary and suitable for them. As a matter of principle, Japan does not automatically approve whatever projects a recipient may come up with but selects projects that are considered suitable to the recipient country after extensive surveys and examinations, and through repeated dialogues with the recipient country.
Also, in an effort for carefully tailored implementation of its ODA projects, due care is exercised to prevent adverse effects on environment, encourage the participation of women in development (WID), conduct international competitive bidding, coordinate assistance efforts with other donors, and strive to enhance implementation of quick and flexible aid such as emergency disaster relief operations. Moreover, emphasis is placed on post evaluations and follow-up measures. In addition to evaluations conducted by the Japanese government or its aid implementation agencies on its own, projects are evaluated by third-party teams composed of knowledgeable persons and experts, Japanese as well as foreigners or by joint teams composed of evaluators from Japan and other donor countries or recipient countries -- to insure the fairness and objectivity of evaluations.
(2) Challenges to New Frontiers of ODA
1) Tackling Various Global Issues
Global issues such as environment, population and AIDS are urgent tasks that should be tackled jointly by the community of nations, and it is necessary for Japan to make positive contribution through its official development assistance. Aware of its responsibility, Japan announced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 1992 that it will extend \u900 billion to \u1 trillion ($7 to 7.7 billion at exchange rate of that time) in ODA for environment-related projects over the five-year period from fiscal 1992 to fiscal 1996. In 1994, Japan also announced a program called "Global Issues Initiative on Population and AIDS (GII)" and decided to contribute around $3 billion in official development assistance aimed at population and HIV/AIDS problems. Meanwhile, ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia and Ruwanda have produced a large number of refugees. Concerned about their sufferings, and aware of the threat they pose to the peace and stability of the world, Japan is placing a particular emphasis on aid to these refugees.
2) Support for Democratization and the Introduction of Market Economy
It is important to lend active support to the trends towards democratization and market economy sweeping through the world after the end of the cold war. At present, many countries and regions -- those in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mongolia, Palestine, and South Africa -- are actively involved in pushing reform efforts. For its part, Japan is extending active support to such efforts of these countries.
3) Women in Development (WID)
In order to realize the comprehensive development of society as a whole in developing countries, efforts should be made to insure that women also share in the benefits of development and that they are given the opportunity to display their ability and make contribution to the development as members of the society.
With these in mind, Japan has been carrying out many aid projects aimed at constructing vocational training facilities for women, promoting health care for mothers and children and family planning, and drilling wells designed to lessen women's work. During the planning stage of aid projects, also, due care is exercised to include in prior survey missions experts on gender analysis, conduct hearings from local women of target areas, and have local female experts participate in the planning sessions of aid projects.
4) Support of the South-South Cooperation
Of late, there has developed a new phenomenon of South-South cooperation - one developing country (which is graduating from foreign aid) helping other less developed countries. And active support of such cooperative relationship has taken on a growing importance. For example, Japan has provided a technical cooperation project under which experts from ASEAN countries and those from Japan and members of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) are working together to promote settlement of Cambodian refugees. In addition, Japan extended official development assistance -- supply of funds and equipment and dispatch of specialists -- in support of "third-country training programs," an arrangement under which one developing country which attained a certain level of technological capabilities by virtue of technical assistance given to it by Japan invites traininees from other less developed countries. Countries to which Japan has extended ODA for their third-country training programs include Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Peru, and Egypt.
(3) Broader Participation of the People, and Promotion of Their Understanding
Of late, interest of the Japanese people in international cooperation has mounted rapidly, and particularly, the number of non-governmental organizations (NGO) of Japan operating in developing countries has increased sharply, and the area in which they are involved has diversified. In addition, the involvement of Japan's local public bodies in official development assistance also has become active and broad-based. For its part, the government has been supporting the activities of NGOs and local public bodies by extending Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Projects or subsidies for their activities. Enhancement of these support for people's participation in aid activities contributes to deepening their understanding on ODA efforts of the government and at the same time helps improve the responsiveness of ODA projects to the needs of recipient countries.
Moreover, wider dissemination of information and active promotion of public relations concerning Japan's ODA program are essential to secure objective and fair evaluation, and elicit constructive advice for further improvement, of Japan's foreign aid efforts.
In the area of public relations, Japan has been conducting various activities not only for domestic audiences but also for audiences of recipient countries and other donor countries, because it is of critical importance to secure other countries' recognition and appreciation of how the Japanese government has been using the tax money of its people for promoting its ODA projects and building friendly relations with developing countries. This is why it is necessary to make active efforts to enhance the visibility of Japan's official development assistance.