2. State of Implementation of Technical Cooperation

Developing countries' requirements are increasingly diversifying, and expectations of aid from Japan are growing, at a time when "aid fatigue" is taking a toll on aid from other advanced countries. This is the context in which technical cooperation in FY1998 reached ¥362.7 billion, of which JICA channeled ¥155.8 billion to technical cooperation aid.

JICA's technical cooperation in FY1998 analyzed by region is as follows: Asia accounted for 43.2 percent, Latin America for 20.7 percent, Africa for 14.4 percent, the Middle East for 8.0 percent, Oceania for 2.7 percent, and Europe, etc., for 5.2 percent, while international agencies received 0.7 percent. Asia's share of technical cooperation was the largest (the calculation excludes regionally unclassifiable spending), the same scale as Japan's ODA as a whole.

In Asia, East and Southeast Asia suffered from the economic crisis triggered by the collapse of the Thai baht; Southwest Asia is beginning to introduce market principles and is actively promoting development policies that emphasize keeping a macroeconomic balance. JICA's technical cooperation in Asia was composed of accepting 14,143 trainees (68.1 percent of all trainees coming to Japan from all parts of the world, 7,929 more than in the previous year. Large scale in-country training was implemented in response to the Asian economic crisis.), dispatching 2,856 experts (53.8 percent of the total, up 104 from the previous year), sending 4,167 officials and consultants on study missions (47.6 percent, down 174), and assigning 913 JOCV team members (26.2 percent of the world total, down 40).

In the Middle East, Japan's cooperation has two priorities in common throughout the region, due to the political, economic, and social diversity: concern for the environment and effective use of resources (water, tourism, etc.). JICA's technical cooperation in this region was composed of 1,119 trainees taught in training programs (5.4 percent, 73 more than in the previous year), 410 experts sent overseas (7.7 percent, down 1), 762 officials and consultants sent on study missions (8.7 percent, down 191), and 185 JOCV team members on overseas assignments (5.3 percent, up 11).

Cooperation extended to Africa through JICA varies, given the continent's individuality and diversity, but all cooperation addresses common priorities like basic education, health and medical care, water resource development, agricultural development, living standard improvement, economic infrastructure construction, and environmental protection. JICA has enrolled 1,822 Africans in training programs (8.8 percent, up 222), sent 422 experts to Africa on missions (8.3 percent, down 26), sent 1,246 officials and representatives there on study missions (14.2 percent, down 276), and stationed 870 JOCV team members (25.0 percent, down 81).

Development studies were carried out on 296 cooperation projects, compared to 312 in FY1997.

Furthermore, in the interest of improving aid efficiency, project confirmation missions were sent to about 30 countries and 50 project formulation missions were sent. About 60 project planning advisors were dispatched.

Development-related fiscal investment and lending totaled ¥354.4 million in loan commitments to development cooperation projects, through which the Pilot Project for Cultivation of hime-matsutake mushrooms in Paraguay and the Experimental Project for the Cultivation of Sugarcane in the Philippines were financed.

3. State of Implementation of International Disaster Relief

In the period from April 1998 to September 1999, Japan has provided disaster relief of the following types (financial aid is covered in Emergency Grant Aid (1. (4) above).

(1) Dispatch of Japan Disaster Relief Teams

A string of major natural disasters occurred around the world over 1998-99, including floods in China and Bangladesh, two hurricanes in the Caribbean and Central America, and earthquakes in Colombia, Turkey, and Taiwan. The earthquakes in Turkey in August and in Taiwan in September were particularly severe, leaving even more victims than Japan's Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

Japan responded to these disasters by dispatching 15 disaster relief teams (a total of 514 personnel) over the last year (April 1998-September 1999). These comprised three rescue teams (186 personnel), seven medical teams (91 personnel), four teams of experts (32 personnel), and one Self Defense Forces (SDF) unit (205 personnel).

The three rescue teams were deployed to Colombia (January 1999) and Turkey (August 1999), and Taiwan (September 1999) in response to the large-scale earthquakes which struck these countries. These were extremely quick responses, with teams arriving at the site of the disasters within 48 hours after they struck. In Turkey the rescue team achieved its first success at rescuing a survivor since the inception of Japan Disaster Relief Team.

Medical teams also attended these disasters in Colombia, Turkey and Taiwan), as well as flying into Papua New Guinea (July 1998), where an earthquake-induced tsunami caused numerous fatalities. They were also on the scene in the Dominican Republic in October and in Nicaragua in November, dealing with the massive hurricane damage sustained in these areas. The medical teams operated with great flexibility, not only treating external wounds in the wake of disaster, but also responding sensitively to the way in which medical needs changed as time went on, providing internal and pediatric care and handling infectious diseases.

The expert team of public health deployed after the floods in Bangladesh in October 1998, as well as the team of earthquake-proofing experts sent out after the earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan, provided advice and guidance in emergency post-disaster restoration in line with their particular areas of knowledge, earning the high commendation of the recipient governments.

When Honduras was struck by a hurricane of historical scale in November 1998, its government's appeal for assistance resulted in the first ever deployment of an SDF unit in accordance with the Law Concerning the Dispatch of Japan Disaster Relief Teams. The SDF unit and additional personnel made up a 205-member disaster relief team which worked successfully to provide medical care and epidemic control in Honduras. Moreover, after the earthquake in Turkey , three Maritime Self Defense Force vessels, including the "Bungo", were dispatched under the same law to transport 500 prefab houses donated by Hyogo Prefecture to victims of the disaster who had lost their homes.

(2) Provision of emergency supplies

The provision of emergency supplies was carried out 30 times in FY1998, a record level on an annual base (in FY1999, as of September, such provisions have been made nine times). In one of these cases, after heavy rain around China from the middle of June 1998 caused the most devastating floods the country had ever experienced, Japan made three deliveries of emergency supplies. The third instance saw collaboration between the government and the people of Japan, with local communities, NGOs and other groups donating around 10,000 blankets and the government shouldering the freight costs for these private relief supplies.

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