Priority Issues--To What Areas (What Kind of Issues) Should ODA be Provided?

In response to the question of what kind of issues Japan should give priority to when providing ODA, the revised ODA Charter sets the four priority issues of poverty reduction, sustainable growth, addressing global issues, and peace-building. These four are not specific “sectors,” but they are positioned as cross-sector issues that straddle various sectors. In particular, the peace-building in Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and other countries in which Japan is already playing an active role is reaffirmed as a priority issue in the current ODA Charter revision. The following explains the concepts upon which Japan’s measures to deal with these priority issues are based.

(1) Poverty Reduction

As previously stated in Chapter 1, poverty reduction is an important development goal shared by the international community and it is the first priority issue advocated in the revised ODA Charter. As explained below, Japan intends support human and social development in the developing countries, placing importance on cooperation in the “education, health care and welfare, water and sanitation and agriculture” sectors; in other words, the Basic Human Needs (BHN) that form the foundation of the MDGs.

It is clear that support of the above mentioned BHN with a direct relationship to people’s lives is important when addressing the issue of poverty reduction, however, at the same time, in order to realize sustainable poverty reduction, the approach of poverty reduction through economic growth in light of the experience of economic development in East Asia is also needed. Based on this concept, Japan intends to contribute to the development goal of poverty reduction.

The importance that Japan is placing on poverty reduction is also discussed in the section about priority regions in the revised ODA Charter. There it is stated that “Japan will give due consideration to the large population of impoverished people” in South Asia, and Africa is mentioned second after Asia.

For poverty reduction, a priority issue, Japan is making efforts to formulate and to announce a variety of initiatives in sectors related to the MDGs such as education, health care and welfare, water and sanitation, and agriculture. Japan has been carrying out measures in a prioritized way. For example, in the education sector, Japan announced the “Basic Education for Growth Initiative” (BEGIN) in 2002, and has strengthened assistance for the education sector in low-income countries; in the health sector, Japan has announced the “Okinawa Infectious Diseases Initiative” in 2000 and has contributed to the “Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria;” in the environment and water sectors, Japan held the 3^rd World Water Forum in 2003 and has been promoting the Initiative for Japan’s ODA on Water; and in the agriculture sector, Japan has been providing assistance to agriculture in the form of food assistance and medium to long-term measures. As the 2005 interim review of progress toward the MDGs approaches, it is expected that poverty reduction will continue to be discussed as an important issue for discussion in the international community and Japan intends to continue to actively provide ODA in this sector in the future. (Refer to Part II of this white paper and Part III of the 2002 White Paper for the content of the various initiatives in the education and health sectors.)

(2) Sustainable Growth

The second priority issue is sustainable growth. Sustainable growth is an essential element for the stability and development of developing countries and because the approach of achieving poverty reduction through economic growth is important, Japan intends to actively assist the efforts of developing countries to pursue sustainable economic growth. For these reasons, as explained below, “in order to invigorate developing countries’ trade and investment, as well as people-to-people exchanges, and to support sustainable growth,” Japan will “place importance on providing assistance for the development of the socio-economic infrastructure—a key factor for economic activity, and also for policy-making, the development of institutions, and human resource development.”

And the revised ODA Charter states that “Japan will endeavor to ensure that its ODA, and its trade and investment, which exert a substantial influence on the development of recipient countries, are carried out in close coordination, so that they have the overall effect of promoting growth in developing countries.” Looking at the flow of funds to developing countries throughout the world, non-ODA funds account for about three-fourths of the total. In other words, ODA makes up no more than about 25% of funds flowing to developing countries. In order to advance effective development assistance, it is essential to study the other official flows (OOF) that make up the remaining 75% or so of fund flows to developing countries and to aim for division of roles and coordination based on the nature of each of these funds. Therefore, as stated in the revised ODA Charter, “Japan will make efforts to enhance coordination between Japan’s ODA and other official flows such as trade insurance²⁶ and import and export finance. At the same time, private sector economic cooperation will be promoted, making full use of private sector vitality and funds.”

While poverty countermeasures and social development that have a direct impact on the poor have been focuses of the world of development assistance, Japan’s assistance is not limited to this kind. From the standpoint that sustainable growth is essential for poverty reduction, Japan is also placing importance on assistance in the socioeconomic infrastructure sector that forms the foundation of the development of developing countries, such as the development and construction of transportation and communications networks. Based on the experiences of economic development of Japan and the East Asian countries, development of infrastructure has a long-term effect on poverty reduction, as it promotes industrial development and trade, and expands employment and income opportunities. In addition, a direct effect on poverty reduction can also be expected through provision of basic services such as water, electricity, sanitation and roads, which are involved in the daily lives of people.

Because projects in the infrastructure sector usually require a large amount of funds, last many years and have no inconsiderable economic benefits in the long-term, the majority of them are funded through loan aid (yen loans). On the other hand, assistance for infrastructure development through grant aid is also provided to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), etc.

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Infrastructure Projects Contributing to Poverty Reduction—Greater Colombo Flood Control and Environment Improvement Project (Sri Lanka)

The “Greater Colombo Flood Control and Environment Improvement Project (Exchange of Notes/Loan Agreement: March 1992, approved value: approximately 11.2 billion yen, project completion: March 1998),” a ODA loan project implemented in Sri Lanka, was designed to control the flooding, which occurs annually in the region due to the decline in river drainage functions, by improving the river system in the low-lying Greater Colombo area (by rehabilitating rivers, building retarding basins, etc.), improving the living environment and watershed environment by promoting the relocation of residents of shanty communities (areas in publicly owned land such as the riversides, railroads, or marshy areas where the poor have illegally built homes), and the improvement of their housing areas in order to resolve major social problems such as the inundation of flood waters into the homes of the urban poor and the resulting spread of diseases. In particular, concerning the relocation of residents of shanty communities and the building of new residential areas, the people that were moved were provided with (1) land at the destination; (2) common infrastructure (water supply, toilets, drainage facilities, garbage collection boxes, community centers, street lighting, roads, etc.); (3) housing loans (grants for low-income households); (4) trucks for moving; (5) construction of house foundations, and (6) compensation for permanent houses.

According to the ex post evaluation implemented by JBIC in March 2001, the project has produced clear benefits for poverty reduction including (1) marked decreases in the frequency, depth, and duration of flooding; (2) reduced flood damage in the forms of damage to homes and possessions, (3) reduction in obstructions of road traffic, etc.; and (4) improved sanitation and reduced disease, by the effect of flood control, and the project can be said to have made a big contribution to improving the living environment of residents living in poor areas. And, in order to achieve more effective project implementation, the views and suggestions of the residents were reflected in the project plan, etc. through the holding of monthly meetings with the participation of a variety of actors from outside the implementing agency, such as residents’ organizations, NGOs, local authorities, assistance organizations, etc. (from Japan, members of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, JBIC employees, etc. participated), and independent community building was advanced through public participation. The fact that residents suffering from this kind of poverty can get a real sense of the possibility of achieving independence in their own lives by independently participating in infrastructure development projects shows that infrastructure development is not merely development of hardware; it can be closely involved in people’s lives and include aspects such as policy improvements, systems development, and human resources development. It can therefore be concluded that infrastructure development is one part of the solution of the poverty issue.

Before the implementation of flood control measures

Currently (drainage facilities established)

In order to meet assistance needs in software-orientated sectors such as policy formulation and institution building in developing countries, Japan is providing support that utilizes the dispatch of experts such as policy advisors, etc. and the acceptance of trainees and development surveys for the purpose of developing institutions.

Taking Indonesia as an example, the “Program for Economic Policy Support for the Republic of Indonesia” was launched based on an understanding reached at the Japan-Indonesia Summit Meeting in September 2001 and it supports the reform efforts of Indonesia through policy dialogues between six experts (university professors) on the Japanese side and leading cabinet ministers, etc. on the Indonesian side, concerning important policy issues in Indonesia (macroeconomic management, banking sector reform, expansion of private sector investment, small and medium-sized enterprise stimulus measures, decentralization, and democratization). Since March 2003, five meetings have been held (in addition to five general meetings, issue-specific meetings have been held as necessary) and the Japanese experts have made policy proposals to the Indonesian side, particularly with the issues of “fiscal sustainability” and “enhancing international competitiveness” as the common theme.

Recently, with the approach of the expiration date for the IMF financing program²⁷ for Indonesia at the end of 2003, the team on Japanese side provided advice on the formulation and implementation of the ““Economic Policy Package” Pre and Post IMF Program,” which could be described as Indonesia’s economic strategy, in cooperation with the country-based ODA task force led by the embassy, and in consultation with the Jakarta Japan Club (JJC), a local organization of Japanese companies. The package was issued in September 2003 by a Presidential Decision and its content has been, on the whole, favorably received by the international community. Japan plans to continue to make a variety of recommendations to the Indonesian side through the Program for Economic Policy Support to help achieve the policies contained in the Economic Policy Package.

The promotion of trade and investment brings about expansion of employment, revitalization of the private sector, and development and inflow of new technology and plays an important role in development of the economy. Thus cooperation for developing countries related to trade and investment contributes to sustainable economic growth. As support to the trade and investment promotion sector, besides providing support through infrastructure development, etc., Japan has been advancing development of systems that facilitate trade and investment such as appropriate protection of intellectual property rights, development of standardized certification systems, and more efficient distribution systems, and placing importance on human resources development and support for WTO accession, etc. (Details about Japan’s specific measures concerning promotion of trade and investment.)

ICT (hereafter to be referred to as “IT”) is mentioned in the revised ODA Charter as one of the areas significant for sustainable growth. In order to remedy the information disparity (digital divide) between the developed countries and the developing countries, Japan announced the “Comprehensive Co-operation Package to Address the International Digital Divide” ahead of the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in 2000 and the e-Japan Strategy II (e-Japan II) was formulated as the basic strategy of Japan in the IT sector by the IT Strategy Headquarters, which has the prime minister as its head and is composed of cabinet ministers and experts from all economic sectors. One fundamental principle of the e-Japan Strategy II is to develop new international relations based on IT, and Japan is advocating the advancement of international cooperation in the IT sector through promotion of the Asia Broadband Program (formulated March 2003) and the Asia IT Initiative (AITI) (A task force was established in the Cabinet secretariat in June 2003), etc. In fiscal year 2003, agreement was reached with the ASEAN countries and China, etc. to promote the Asia Broadband Program, and a variety of joint research projects, policy dialogues and ODA projects were implemented under the program. Through AITI, specific projects for fiscal year 2004 and beyond were promoted. For example, a government mission was dispatched to the Southeast Asian countries, policy dialogue was carried out, and a joint declaration was issued concerning promotion of comprehensive programs with three countries²⁸.

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in Geneva in December 2003 and Japan strongly advocated an emphasis on ICT and international contribution and stated that existing cooperation mechanisms should be utilized effectively. These views were reflected in the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action concerning building the information society adopted at the WSIS.

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Dispatch of the Japan Disaster Relief Rescue Team to the Earthquake Disaster in Algeria

At 7:43 in the evening of May 21, 2003 (3:43 in the morning of May 22 JST), Algeria was hit by an earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale, with its seismic center in Boumerdes Province, east of the capital, Algiers. There was immense human and material damage, centered in this province, including many collapsed buildings. (On the night of May 30, Mr. Noureddine Zerhouni, Interior Minister, announced that 2,266 people were dead and more than 10,000 people injured.)

Faced with such immense suffering and in response to a request for emergency assistance from the Government of Algeria, the Government of Japan decided on May 22 to dispatch the Japan Disaster Relief Rescue Team to the affected country. The team had 61 members drawn from MOFA, the National Police Agency, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, the Japan Coast Guard and JICA. The team left Narita Airport about 18 hours after the earthquake had occurred, arrived at the affected area about 39 hours after the earthquake had occurred, and commenced search and rescue activities. After arriving at the site, the team worked continuously for about 36 hours, without sleep or rest, and the results became apparent by May 23 local time (the morning of May 24 JST), 52 hours after the earthquake had occurred. The team successfully rescued one 21 year old man (a hotel employee). A member of the team (33 year old Teiji Hasegawa of the Japan Coast Guard) was conducting search and rescue operations when he found the man after hearing a voice coming from the debris. Working with a Turkish team, the rescue team succeeded in rescuing the man. In the event of large-scale disasters like this one, it is usual for most survivors to be rescued by local rescue teams and residents immediately after the disaster occurs. By the time foreign rescue teams arrive on the site, a certain amount of time has passed, any survivors are, in most cases, buried in places that are very hard to rescue them from, and so it is very rare for foreign rescue teams to rescue any survivors. For this reason, the rescue of a single survivor by the rescue team on this occasion can be said to be a great success.

At a later date, the team leader Toshimitsu Ishigure and team members Hasegawa and Fukushima (a doctor) visited the rescued man in hospital. The rescued man and his mother thanked the rescue team over and over and the owner of the collapsed hotel handed a letter of appreciation to the Japanese team leader, which paid homage to the sincere search-and-rescue efforts and professionalism of the Japan Rescue Team. And the search-and-rescue efforts of the team were widely appreciated by the local Algerian people who gave the team members presents several times. In the end, in addition to the one survivor rescued, the team recovered five bodies and then returned to Japan on May 29.

Following on from the Japan Rescue Team, Japan dispatched the Japan Disaster Relief Medical Team and then the Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team to Algeria and these teams carried out ongoing assistance activities such as medical care for the many victims of the earthquake, evaluations of the earthquake resistance of buildings, etc. These teams were of enormous help to the people there.

Desperate search and rescue operations by the Japan Disaster Relief Rescue Team

Medical care being provided to victims of the disaster

(3) Addressing Global Issues

Addressing global issues is also positioned as one of the priority issues in the revised ODA Charter. Issues that cross national borders are becoming more serious. These issues include global environmental issues such global warming and ozone depletion caused by sophistication and expansion of human economic activities in the second half of the 20^th century, population growth in developing countries, transnational organized crime such as smuggling of weapons and drugs resulting from the advance of globalization, terrorism, and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Under these circumstances, the international community has become aware of the importance of strengthening measures to deal with global issues that individual countries cannot handle alone. In the revised ODA Charter, it is stated that further efforts must be made immediately and in a coordinated manner by the international community to deal with these global issues and that “Japan will address these issues through ODA.” Below is an explanation of measures taken by Japan through ODA to address global issues.

The environmental problems, which are the most outstanding global issues, have been discussed in the international community since the 1970s. Through discussions during the ten-year period from the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) to the 2002 WSSD, the concept of sustainable development composed of the three elements of environment, economy and society became widely accepted. Japan has positioned the environmental problems as issues faced by the entire human race and has been focusing on these issues. Japan formulated the “Environmental Conservation Initiative for Sustainable Development (EcoISD),” tailored to the 2002 WSSD, and has provided support for measures to combat environmental pollution resulting from economic development, to tackle poverty, which is the root cause of environmental problems, and measures to respond to global environmental issues.

Global issues such as the population issue, etc. were already advocated as priority issues in the original ODA Charter and they continue to be positioned as priority areas in the revised ODA Charter. The world population, which continues to increase, reached 6 billion in 1999 and according to a UN estimate, it will reach about 8.9 billion people by 2050²⁹. This population increase is a major impediment to economic development as it leads to destruction of the global environment, as noted above, exacerbation of food shortages—there are about 800 million people in the world suffering from chronic malnutrition—and pressure on energy resources. Japan is taking comprehensive measures such as support for both the population sector and at the same time for basic health and medical care, and the empowerment of women, as well as promoting cooperation for the efforts of developing countries themselves to increase their food production capacity. As for cooperation in the energy sector, there is an increasing number of projects for regional electrification and development of facilities for transmission and supply of electricity implemented in order to increase public welfare and tackle poverty. Because they are relatively large-scale and have large economic effects, support is primarily in the form of loan aid (yen loans). Moreover, Japan contributes to reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and preventing global warming by using energy conservation technology developed in Japan to improve energy efficiency in the electricity generation and electricity distribution stages.

In recent years, natural disasters have been occurring frequently due to abnormal world weather conditions and other factors and as a result the damage is becoming larger-scale. Japan has experienced many natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, floods, and volcanic eruptions. Japan is realizing high quality cooperation for both disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction and is actively contributing to the international community by utilizing a variety of the lessons learned, knowledge, technology and human resources developed through these experiences.

For example, when a natural disaster occurs, Japan provides prompt and flexible support utilizing its own experiences by dispatching the Japan Disaster Relief Rescue Team to the afflicted country and providing emergency assistance materials and emergency grant aid.

A decision was made within Japan through a Cabinet agreement to invite the UN to hold a World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Japan in January 2005, exactly ten years after the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake and as a result of diplomatic efforts in UN forums to obtain the support of concerned countries, in the 58^th UN General Assembly in December 2003, the UN formally decided to hold the conference in Japan.

Infectious diseases, most notably HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis are currently a major impediment to economic and social development as they destroy the human resources that bear the future nation-building in developing countries. Thus, measures to fight these diseases have become increasingly important from the perspective of poverty reduction as well. Accordingly, Japan has been promoting the “Okinawa Infectious Diseases Initiative” since 2000 and has already provided support of over $2 billion and is also actively contributing to the “Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria,” the major initiative of the international community. ( Details concerning the Global Fund.) With the advance of globalization, it has become easier for people to move from one country to another and so it is possible that infectious diseases, etc. will easily cross national borders and spread to developed countries as well and thus it is necessary for the international community to cooperate to deal with infectious diseases as a global issue. For this reason, Japan is taking countermeasures against infectious diseases in cooperation with UN agencies including UNICEF, WHO, and UNAIDS, and other donor countries such as the US. For example, at the time of the SARS outbreak centered in Asia in 2003, Japan provided support through international organizations such as WHO etc., and took active bilateral measures to control the outbreak by dispatching the Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team to Viet Nam and China and by providing emergency grant aid as well.

As terrorism is carried out across national borders, it is a serious global issue that has a direct impact on the entire international community including developed countries, as well as developing countries. Among the developing countries, some do not necessarily have sufficient capacities to control terrorism, such as immigration controls and measures to address the problem of terrorist funding. From the perspective of not providing terrorists with a safe haven, Japan is placing importance on improving the capacity of these countries to combat terrorism. Japan has already provided support for improvements of terrorism control capacities, mainly through training and seminars primarily to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Japan plans to maintain active cooperation in this sector, including the provision of equipment related to controlling terrorism.

The drug problem, including illegal narcotics, is a serious global issue that the international community must cooperate to strengthen measures for a solution. Previously, Japan has carried out active measures to control drugs through bilateral assistance and through contributions to international organizations, etc.

Through bilateral assistance, Japan has provided support for the prevention of drugs-related crimes and improvement of policing capacity. Taking into account the fact that poverty lies behind the drug problem, Japan has provided assistance for the cultivation of alternative crops through NGOs, so that residents can live without relying on the cultivation of drugs. Japan also provides assistance through NGOs.

Concerning the most serious form of transnational organized crime such as human trafficking and alien smuggling, etc., Japan is holding seminars, etc., to strengthen measures to combat these crimes and supporting the efforts made by international organizations.

As can be seen from the efforts to contribute to formulation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol to the convention, and to further develop the rules for bringing the protocol into effect, Japan intends to utilize its expertise and experience to promote the creation of international norms advanced by the international community in order to resolve these issues, and to actively contribute to the process of formulating and implementing these norms. Japan believes that these efforts, in combination with cooperation through ODA, will make measures to deal with global issues more effective.

(4) Peace-building

In the post-Cold War, ethnic, religious and historical disputes become obvious in the international community, and through political or economic will of the parties concerned, regional and civil conflicts began to occur frequently. In these conflicts, 80% of the victims are non-combatants—general citizens and children—and they usually result in a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons and bring about humanitarian issues and human rights infringement issues. Conflicts also instantly wipe out the results of development efforts made over many years and result in enormous economic losses. As the causes and forms of conflict changed in recent years, the international community, including Japan, began to be aware that not only Peace Keeping Operations (PKO), the dispatch of multinational forces, and political methods such as preventative diplomacy and mediation, but also more comprehensive measures including post-conflict nation-building are required as conflict prevention and conflict resolution methods, and therefore, the role of development assistance in peace-building began to be weighted. In particular, ODA can play a large role in peace-building in countries and regions where state regime collapsed due to civil disturbances and conflict, such as East Timor and Afghanistan. For example, ODA can provide emergency humanitarian assistance, reconstruction assistance and support for nation-building. The “consolidation of peace”—which brings the benefits of movements for peace at the political level to the grassroots level and makes these movements irreversible ones—is an important issue in which ODA has a role to play.

Japan has been taking specific measures to build peace in Cambodia, Kosovo, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, etc. Taking these experiences into account, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stated in a policy speech in Sydney in May 2002 that “(Japan intended to) strengthen cooperation for the consolidation of peace and nation building in countries suffering from conflict” and that “This policy has become a new pillar of Japan’s international cooperation” and expressed a determination to carry out more active measures in the peace-building sector, including ODA. In the current ODA Charter revision, peace-building is included once again as a priority issue. Japan intends to continue to actively contribute to the consolidation of peace and nation-building in post-conflict countries and regions, in particular Afghanistan, Iraq and Angola and furthermore, to study and implement measures utilizing Japan’s ODA to promote peace in Sri Lanka, Aceh in Indonesia, Mindanao in the Philippines, the Great Lakes region of Africa, etc. Below, explanations of support for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka are provided as specific examples.

A. Reconstruction Assistance to Iraq
The reconstruction of Iraq is an extremely important issue facing the international community today. Iraq is impoverished after the quarter-century long rule of Saddam Hussein. It is extremely important for the people of Iraq and for the peace and stability of the Middle East region and the international community that Iraq be reconstructed as a peaceful democratic state and also that its sovereignty and territorial integrity be ensured. This issue is also of direct relevance to the national interest of Japan, which depends on the Middle East region for nearly 90% of its oil supplies.

From this perspective, Japan first of all announced “Japan’s Assistance Plan for Iraq’s Reconstruction” in April 2003. And based on the concepts, etc. contained in this assistance package, it announced “Japan’s Assistance Package for Iraq” in May. This package advances support for Iraq, giving priority to the reconstruction of the basic foundations of daily life such as health care, education, electricity, etc. and sufficiently takes into account restoration of the projects that Japan was formerly implementing, and cooperation with the Arab countries.

A vocational school for female victims of war (Republic of Sierra Leone: grant aid for peace-building)

Japan is implementing humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Iraq through international organizations and NGOs. In response to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq, the Government of Japan is providing approximately $5.03 million through such international organizations as the UNHCR for the purchase of supplies for refugees and the establishment and operation of refugee camps; the WFP for food aid operations; and UNICEF for projects relating to water and sanitation, education, and child protection. In addition, Japan responded in April 2003 to a unified appeal from the United Nations for emergency assistance to Iraq by providing approximately $24.5 million to pay for food provided through the WFP; for equipment for perinatal care, water and care for children suffering psychological damage provided through UNICEF; and for the distribution of foodstuffs and other daily necessities, water supply facilities, and medical support offered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Japan is providing various kinds of support to Iraq through the UNDP. For example, the Government of Japan provided emergency grant aid of $2.5 million to the UNDP for carrying out an emergency dredging project for Umm Qasr Port, a gateway for shipments of humanitarian aid to Iraq. As a result of dredging work carried out by Japan, large vessels are now able to berth at the port. This has accelerated the shipment of humanitarian supplies into Iraq. In addition, the Government of Japan contributed approximately $6 million to the IREP, which aims to provide employment for the people of Iraq and to repair basic social infrastructure through UNDP initiatives to organize projects in Baghdad, including the removal of debris, the provision of urban sanitation services, and the repair of buildings.

In primary schools in Baghdad and Basrah, educational equipment was lost and facilities were destroyed due to looting and other factors. The Government of Japan responded to this situation by contributing $10.28 million to UNICEF for the Project for Reactivation of Primary Education in Iraq, under which school buildings will be repaired, educational equipment provided, and teachers trained. Japan decided to provide up to $1 million to the “Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Capacity-Building of Human Resources” established within UNESCO. An assessment was carried out concerning the needs of secondary and higher education in Iraq and staff training of the Ministry of Education, etc. was carried out. And as support in the cultural sphere, Japan donated about $1 million to support the reconstruction of the Baghdad Museum which possesses many ancient and valuable cultural artifacts.

The Government of Japan has also contributed approximately ¥1 billion through the Japan Platform to support the medical assistance activities, distribution of daily supplies activities, school repair activities and other assistance activities of Japanese NGOs carried out under the umbrella of the platform. Benefits from this initiative include the provision of medical services to approximately 5,000 Iraqi refugees along the Iraq-Jordan border through the medical assistance activities of joint teams of Japanese NGOs.

The Government of Japan has donated approximately $150,000 to support the “Project for providing medicine and humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people,” which is being implemented by the Hashemite Charity Organization, an NGO based in Jordan. The purpose of the project is to transport and distribute antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals, as well as gauze, sutures and other medical supplies in Iraq. The medical supplies are being used to help the people of Iraq at the Al-Kadhimiya Teaching Hospital in Baghdad.

The Government of Japan is cooperating with Egypt to restore medical services in Iraq. Activities include the dispatch of a Japan-Egypt joint medical survey team to Baghdad and the hosting of workshops for Japanese, Egyptian, and Iraqi medical personnel in Cairo and Tokyo. Priority will be given to human resources development in high-need fields, such as pediatric medicine. Activities will include the training of Iraqi personnel at medical institutions in Egypt, especially Cairo University, and in Japan and the dispatch of medical specialists to Iraq.

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Japan-Egypt Joint Medical Cooperation for Iraq

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Egypt in May 2003 and reached agreement with President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak of the Arab Republic of Egypt on Japan-Arab cooperation for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance to Iraq. This project aims to carry out effective and truly necessary support for Iraq and to promote closer relations between Japan and the Arab countries through cooperation with the Arab countries in the region that know Iraq better than Japan does. The first specific measure in this initiative by the two leaders is to give joint medical assistance to Iraq. This assistance is not merely emergency assistance; its primary objective is the transfer of the medical technology necessary for the reconstruction of health and medical care and the future development of an impoverished Iraq. The Iraqi side also has high expectations. In preparation for the implementation of this cooperation, the Japan-Egypt Joint Medical Survey Team was dispatched to Iraq in July 2003. The team inspected medical institutions and exchanged views with doctors and nurses actually participating in health care activities on the ground in Iraq, and through this investigation established specific assistance needs. Moreover, workshops were held in Cairo and Tokyo in October 2003, attended by people involved in medicine from Japan, Egypt and Iraq to consult specifically on how to proceed with training.

In this workshop, as a result of consultations by people involved in medicine in the three countries, under a basic policy of cooperation focusing on human resources development at the university hospital level, it was decided to carry out cooperation with priority on training of Iraqi medical professionals in the fields of “endoscopic surgery”, “pediatrics”, “nursing”, and “ICU,” to be carried out at Cairo University and other medical institutions in Egypt. Japan has already provided support to Cairo University in the fields of pediatrics, nursing, etc. for 25 years. The practice of utilizing the results of these many years of cooperation as a base for cooperation with other countries has been highly praised.

Japan-Egypt Joint Medical Cooperation for Iraq is currently attracting attention throughout the world as a pioneering project for support for Iraq. Moreover, Japan is studying further cooperation for the future, such as the training of Iraqi medical professionals in Japan and the dispatch of Japanese and Egyptian medical experts to Iraq, and so on.

Opening Session of the Cairo Workshop

Inspection of the Cairo University Hospital

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The Legacy of Ambassador Oku and First Secretary Inoue

On November 29, 2003, a deplorable incident occurred. Then Counsellor of the Embassy of Japan in the UK Katsuhiko Oku, then Third Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Iraq Masamori Inoue, and a local staff member (driver) of the Japanese Embassy in Iraq Jerjees Sulaiman Zura (who had worked for the embassy for 20 years) were ambushed by unknown assailants and killed in the midst of their duties.

Ambassador Oku and First Secretary Inoue continued to travel around Iraq, even on the summer days when the temperature exceeded 50 degrees, listened to the honest opinions of the local people who needed Japan’s assistance and created many projects. The work of the two men has left a big imprint on Japan’s reconstruction assistance to Iraq. The Iraqi people have said the following things about the two men.

(1)	Japan provided grassroots human security grant aid totaling about ¥39 million, intended for Baghdad in the fall of 2003, with help from Ambassador Oku and First Secretary Inoue. Specifically, desks, chairs, business equipment, and other equipment were provided to the office of the Rashid RF Community Council in Baghdad (about ¥8.9 million), eight primary schools and one engineering school in Rashid District were constructed (about ¥25 million), and equipment, (mainly for homemaking classes such as pressing irons and other items) necessary for the education of physically and mentally handicapped children was presented to Hibatoallah Institute for Down Syndrome (about ¥5.1 million). In response to this assistance by Japan, Vice-Chairman of the Baghdad City Advisory Council Ali Radhi Al-Haydary and employees of the council led a delegation to the Japanese Embassy, delivered Ambassador Oku a letter of appreciation and expressed his gratitude as follows: “We are deeply grateful to Japan for its donation of business equipment and other equipment to Rashid RF Community Council, restoration of eight elementary schools in the Mansour district, and reconstruction of technical schools. We also understand that in the Mansour district, assistance is extended from Japan for improving Hibatoallah Institute for Down Syndrome. The City Advisory Council acknowledges that Japan is not just talking, but actually helping the people of Iraq and we humbly came here today to bring this letter of gratitude. We earnestly wanted to communicate this feeling of appreciation to Japan.”

(2)	After the incident on November 29, many people in Iraq expressed their condolences for the deaths of the two diplomats. Members of the Baghdad City Council paid a visit to the Japanese Embassy in Iraq and expressed their condolences as follows: “As representatives of the city of Baghdad, we would like to express our deepest condolences for the loss of the two diplomats, whose lives were ended by a heinous act, with their life’s work still uncompleted, and would like to communicate our deepest sympathies to the family members of the deceased. They were true friends to the people of Iraq. The ordinary people of Iraq all respect the spirit and history of Japan and its post-war reconstruction and feel closer to the people of Japan, a country which is showing strong support for the present reconstruction of Iraq, than the people of any other country. They are grateful to Japan. The two diplomats who were lost actually went into the poor areas within the city and looked at the situation through the eyes of the people living there. Few people from other countries have done this. I strongly remember and feel impressed that Ambassador Oku and First Secretary Inoue said “We feel safest when we are with the Iraqi people” and I know that if they were to honor our district with a visit again, the people of our city would be willing to become human shields to protect them. I would like the people of Japan to know that this is how we feel.”

These words reflect the fact that Ambassador Oku and First Secretary Inoue worked as hard as they could, day and night, as a driving force behind Japan’s reconstruction assistance for Iraq. At the same time, these words communicate how Japan is perceived by the people of Iraq as a result of the efforts of the two diplomats. It can surely be said that the true legacy of these two men to the people of Japan is this feeling of closeness held by the people of Iraq for Japan that was created through their efforts.

Ambassador Oku (Front row, second from right)

First Secretary Inoue

In reconstructing Iraq, it is necessary to have a concrete vision of Iraq’s future and to give the Iraqi people hope for that future. For this reason, it is important for the international community to come together to work for the reconstruction of Iraq. Japan has been widely emphasizing the importance of this from the beginning to the international community, and in the UN Security Council meeting in October 2003, a new resolution concerning Iraq was unanimously adopted. Under this resolution, the international community reaffirmed that it would unite to work toward the reconstruction and stability of Iraq with the involvement of the UN. And in the same month, the International Conference on Reconstruction in Iraq was held in Madrid.

Based on the results of the reconstruction needs survey carried out by the World Bank, the UN, and others, Japan decided in October 2003 to provide grant aid totaling $1.5 billion that places priority on reconstructing basic infrastructure required for daily life in Iraq, areas such as power generation, education, water and sanitation, health and employment and on improving public security as assistance for the immediate reconstruction needs of Iraq. Furthermore, Japan decided to provide support of up to $3.5 billion, mainly through yen loans, to meet medium-term reconstruction needs such as infrastructure development, etc. —telecommunications and transportation, etc. —in addition to the above sectors. As a result of these measures, Japan is now providing support to Iraq totaling up to $5 billion.

B. Reconstruction Assistance for Afghanistan
The civil war in Afghanistan continued for more than 20 years and because of the repressive Taliban regime that emerged after the war, Afghanistan became isolated from the international community. After the terrorist attacks in the US in September 2001 and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan by the US military, the Taliban regime collapsed and efforts toward peace were commenced. With the belief that efforts to pursue peace in Afghanistan would lead to greater peace and stability for the entire world and contribute to the eradication and prevention of terrorism, Japan, the US, the EU, and Saudi Arabia co-chaired the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in Tokyo in January 2002 and assistance of over $4.5 billion was pledged by the international community. Japan itself pledged up to $500 million of assistance over the next two and a half years—of that, up to $250 million was for the first year—and by December 2003, restoration and reconstruction assistance of $477 million had been implemented.

Then Japan invited Hamid Karzai, President of the Afghanistan Transitional Administration to Japan, held the “Tokyo Conference on “Consolidation of Peace (DDR)” in Afghanistan” in Tokyo, confirmed President Karzai’s commitment to the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) project for which Japan was taking the leading role in assistance, and pledged active cooperation in the DDR sector. And on the occasion of the holding of the Afghanistan Development Forum held in September 2003 to discuss future support for Afghanistan, Japan declared that it would implement as quickly as possible, the remainder of the $500 million of support that it pledged at the Tokyo conference. In response to a request from the government of Afghanistan, in November 2003, Japan pledged additional assistance of $20 million, in the form of assistance through international organizations, in order to meet the short-term, emergency needs of Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, relationships between ethnic groups, military factions, the central government, and regional political forces remain fragile and there is a danger that conflicts will reoccur. Moreover, concerns exist in the public security sector. For example, drug cultivation has rebounded to the level it was at before the Taliban regime came to power. In a situation like this, it is extremely important to promote the peace process along with the reconstruction process and to ensure public security is an essential prerequisite for reconstruction. Also, it is important to achieve seamless transition from humanitarian assistance to recovery and reconstruction assistance so that no gap opens up between humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs, such as food and blankets, and reconstruction assistance including infrastructure development, etc. For these reasons, Japan announced the “consolidation of peace” concept with the three pillars of “cooperation in the political process,” “cooperation in domestic security,” and “cooperation for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance” in May 2002 on the occasion of the visit to Afghanistan by Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi. Since that time, Japan has implemented assistance placing priority on these sectors.

Based on the Bonn Agreement of December 2001, Japan is providing support for the healthy progress of the political process to inaugurate a new administration. In March 2003, Japan donated $750,000 through the UNDP for consultations with the people in preparation for the Constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) to be held in December that year. And Japan dispatched constitutional experts to Afghanistan in May, August and November 2003, held seminars, and provided all kinds of assistance for the inauguration of the new administration planned for June 2004. In addition, Japan began by donating $5 million in funds as financial support for the Transitional Administration headed by President Karzai, and provided ¥6 billion of funds for the purchase of equipment and supplies necessary to implement the National Development Framework being formulated by the Transitional Administration. In order to strengthen the administrative functions of the central government, Japan dispatched JICA experts (policy advisors, etc.) to the government’s ministries and agencies and accepted Afghani trainees to Japan for training.

In the domestic security sector, Japan is pouring its efforts into reintegration of ex-combatants and into land mine clearance, and is providing equipment to the police in order to make smooth reconstruction and development possible. In particular, Japan is taking the lead in projects for the demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants. On the occasion of the visit of Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to Afghanistan, she proposed the “Register for Peace” to support the social reintegration of demobilized combatants by, for example, vocational training and promotion of employment for demobilized combatants. She also announced a donation of $35 million to cover the cost of implementing DDR of ex-combatants projects. Furthermore, Japan is playing an active role in developing an environment for the social reintegration of demobilized combatants. For example, it has dispatched survey teams to Afghanistan twice and announced a donation of $20 million through a trust fund set up in the World Bank for the National Emergency Employment Program (NEEP). President Karzai declared the commencement of the DDR process on October 24, 2003, the DDR pilot phase was commenced successively in the four cities of Kunduz, Gardez, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul, and preparation is underway to commence the main phase of the DDR process. Japan is also providing the most assistance to deal with the land mine issue. This issue is very serious with several hundred people falling victim to the mines every month.

Japan was actively providing support for the increasing needs for humanitarian assistance in the period leading up to September 2001 and in the period from the occurrence of the terrorist attacks in the US to the end of 2003, Japan provided assistance of about $128 million. And Japan is implementing the “Ogata Initiative” in cooperation with international organizations such as UNHCR, UNICEF and the WFP. The goals of this initiative are employment creation for refugees and internally displaced persons, and the regional comprehensive development in Afghanistan. In the UN General Assembly meeting in September 2002, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, President George W. Bush, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal issued a joint press statement concerning the reconstruction of a trunk road from Kabul, through the major city of Kandahar in the south to Herat in the northwest and the three countries cooperated to build the road. The first layer of asphalt was completed for the approximately 500km long Kabul-Kandahar section of the road in December 2003 and this section of the road was opened for traffic.

Japan particularly places importance on the empowerment of women and cooperation with NGOs when implementing assistance in all sectors. Japan’s assistance for women includes provision of equipment to maternal and child care hospitals, construction of women’s centers, etc. And in regions ravaged by war, reflecting the importance of providing educational opportunities, Japan has carried out school repair and construction projects in the city suburbs.

Japan’s assistance leaves an impression of Japan’s presence with the people of Afghanistan, and contributes to the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Reconstruction and development assistance for Afghanistan by the international community, in particular Japan, has been steadily implemented as described above, but it is not possible to be optimistic about future developments. The Transitional Administration of Afghanistan led by President Karzai still cannot be said to have a sufficient power base, so it is necessary for it to pass through the stages necessary for the inauguration of an official administration in 2004, one by one in the future. Supporting the Transitional Administration and successfully advancing the peace process are responsibilities of the international community and continued political and financial support by the international community is essential. Japan intends to continue supporting the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

C. Reconstruction Assistance for Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, more than 65,000 people have been sacrificed in the military conflict between the government and the Tamil extremists (the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)) seeking independence for the northern and eastern regions. The conflict has lasted about 20 years. A ceasefire agreement between the two parties was established in February 2002, peace talks began in September 2002, and the peace process is currently continuing in Sri Lanka.

Providing backup support for the promotion of the peace process in Sri Lanka by beginning the provision of ODA that benefits regional communities before peace has been achieved and helping the people of Sri Lanka to keenly feel the “peace dividend” contributes to the “consolidation of peace” advocated by Japan. So Japan is actively supporting the peace process in Sri Lanka and has appointed Yasushi Akashi, former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, as government representative concerning peace-building and restoration and reconstruction in Sri Lanka in October 2002. Representative Akashi visited Sri Lanka four times in the year after his appointment, held talks with major government figures such as President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, and with the leader of the LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran, exchanged opinions concerning the peace process and reconstruction and development of Sri Lanka, and conducted visits throughout Sri Lanka, in particular in the war zones in the north and east.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi became the first Japanese foreign minister to visit Sri Lanka in 16 years in January 2003, became the first foreign minister of a major country to visit Jaffna in Northern Province, a former front line battlefield, explained about Japan’s contribution to Sri Lankan peace, and expressed support for domestic and international NGOs.

The sixth round of the Peace Talks was held in Hakone in March 2003. In these talks, Representative Akashi participated for the first time in the session concerning reconstruction and development of the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and consultations were held in preparation for the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka to be held in June.

The Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka was held in June 2003 with the participation of 51 countries and 22 international organizations. Prime Minister Koizumi attended as Japan’s representative and Prime Minister Wickremasinghe attended for Sri Lanka (Joint chairs: Japan, the US, Norway, the EU). At the Tokyo Conference, the international community showed a strong and unanimous determination to promote the Sri Lanka peace process and announced its intention to provide assistance of $4.5 billion over the next four years for all of Sri Lanka, including the northern and eastern regions. On behalf of Japan, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi announced that Japan had preparations in place to provide assistance of up to $1 billion over the next three years, while assessing the progress of peace in Sri Lanka.

At the Tokyo Conference, the Tokyo Declaration on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka was adopted. This declaration stated among other things that in view of the linkage between donor support and progress in the peace process, the international community will monitor and review the progress in the peace process. In the future, Japan intends to continue to actively contribute to the peace process in Sri Lanka in compliance with the principles in the Tokyo Declaration and in close cooperation with the concerned countries and organizations, in particular, the co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference.

D. Assistance through NGOs for Peace-building
The distinctive feature of NGOs is that they can implement meticulous assistance by meeting the diverse needs of developing countries and regions and by prompt and flexible emergency humanitarian assistance. Therefore, they can be expected to be effective in the peace-building sector.

Previously, the Grant for Supporting NGO Emergency Activities system provided assistance to NGOs. Two projects related to Afghanistan were implemented under this system in fiscal year 2001 (both of which were emergency medical care for Afghani refugees in Pakistan. Total value: ¥100 million). This system was combined with the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects system in fiscal year 2002 and, for example, assistance was provided to ten projects mainly concerned with emergency medical care and reconstruction of schools, etc. (Total value: about ¥130 million) in Afghanistan in that year. Currently, as the first example of Japanese NGOs essentially participating in land mine and unexploded ordinance clearance activities, two organizations are active (disposal of unexploded ordinance in Cambodia and land mine clearance in the vicinity of the Khmer Ruins in Thailand. Total value: ¥120 million). These can be said to be new developments in the peace-building field.

In addition, the Japan Platform^*1 was established in fiscal year 2000 as a framework for cooperation between all sectors—NGOs, the business community, and the government—so that Japan’s NGOs can provide emergency humanitarian relief more quickly and effectively. NGOs under the umbrella of the Japan Platform have already vigorously implemented projects in some countries including Afghanistan and Iraq utilizing government funds.

*1: Japan Platform
A system for international humanitarian assistance inaugurated in August 2000 that pools the funds, equipment, expertise, and information procured from governments, foundations, private companies, NGOs, etc. and when a conflict, natural disaster, etc. actually occurs, it enables the NGO to use these resources, as necessary, to go to the assistance of victims.

26. Trade insurance indemnifies against trade losses that can occur in foreign trade and other foreign transactions. These trade losses include being unable to export or being unable to collect the money owed for exported goods due to factors such as import restrictions and foreign exchange trading restrictions in foreign countries, war, or the bankruptcy of the contractual partner.
27. One of the many IMF Financing Programs that utilizes an Extended Fund Facility to provide funds to countries with structural and long-term international balance of payments difficulties, it provided finance worth about $5.3 billion over three years.
28. Indonesia, the Philippines, Viet Nam
29. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 1999 World Population White Paper

3. Priority Issues—To What Areas (What Kind of Issues) Should ODA be Provided?

(1) Poverty Reduction

(2) Sustainable Growth

(3) Addressing Global Issues

(4) Peace-building