Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2005
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Chapter 1 Japan's ODA in Terms of Disbursements
Prime Minister Koizumi to ride the subway train in India (Delhi Metro) constructed with the assistance provided by Japan. The Delhi Metro was constructed with the objective of alleviating traffic congestion and reducing air pollution in New Delhi, the capital city of India (Photo: JBIC)
Key Points
- ODA disbursements in 2004 (calendar year) amounted to approximately US$8,905.55 million, a 0.3% increase from the previous year.
- Japan continued to be the second-largest donor country in the world.
Japan's Official Development Assistance ( ODA ) disbursements 1 in 2004 totalled approximately US$8,905.55 million, a 0.3% increase from the previous year (on a yen basis, approximately ¥962.7 billion, a 6.5% decrease from the previous year). Bilateral ODA disbursements were approximately US$5,917.19 million, a 6.6% decrease from the previous year while ODA provided through international organizations totalled approximately US$2,988.36 million, a 17.4% increase from the previous year. Bilateral ODA was a major component of Japan's ODA, amounting to US$5,917.19 million or approximately 66.4% of total disbursements. In general, bilateral ODA is expected to contribute to promoting friendly relationships between Japan and recipient countries through implementation of assistance projects formulated after consultations with developing countries. Japan's ODA provided through international organizations totaled US$2,988.36 million, accounting for 33.6% of total ODA disbursements. The advantages of such aid are that it utilizes the abilities and knowledge possessed by international organizations, ensuring political neutrality, and it provides assistance to countries and regions that government-based assistance can hardly reach. Thus Japan takes a flexible approach in collaboration with international organizations.
Chart 1. Japan's ODA Disbursements in 2004
Breaking down bilateral ODA, grant aid was approximately US$4,323.87 million, technical cooperation was approximately US$2,806.76 million, and loan aid appears to be approximately minus US$1,213.44 million in net terms. Loan aid is expressed in negative figures because upon the calculation of the figure, the repayment from developing countries and the principal of forgiven debt for heavily indebted poor countries ( HIPC ) 2 are subtracted. 3 , 4 Specifically, while newly committed yen loan increased by 1.0% to US$6,039.91 million, the repayment of past yen loans from developing countries, mainly in Asia, drastically increased by 22.2% from the previous year to US$4,998.63 million. And the amount of the principal forgiven has risen to US$2,254.72 million, which is counted in negative terms. The principal of forgiven debt and its interest are included in the figures for grant aid, which is approximately US$4,323.87 million.
Chart 2. Japan's Bilateral ODA Disbursements by Type
Breaking down bilateral ODA according to the type of assistance (on a net disbursement basis, except for debt relief), grant aid was approximately US$1,961.59 million (approximately 33.8% of total bilateral ODA), a 15.7% increase from the previous year, and technical cooperation was approximately US$2,806.76 million (approximately 48.3% of total bilateral ODA), a 2.2% increase from the previous year. Loan aid was approximately US$1,041.28 million (approximately 17.9% of total bilateral ODA), a 44.9% decrease from the previous year.
Chart 3. Japan's Bilateral ODA Disbursements by Region
Looking at bilateral ODA disbursements by region, assistance for the Asian region was approximately US$2.54456 billion, a 21.1% decrease from the previous year and approximately 42.3% of total bilateral ODA; assistance for Africa was approximately US$646.97 million, a 22.1% increase from the previous year (10.9% of total bilateral ODA); assistance for the Middle East was approximately US$1,030.87 million, a 147.5% increase from the previous year (17.3% of total bilateral ODA); assistance for Central and South America was approximately US$309.3 million, a 33.3% decrease from the previous year (5.2% of total bilateral ODA); assistance for Oceania was approximately US$42.15 million, a 19.2% decrease from the previous year (0.7% of total bilateral ODA); and assistance for Europe was approximately US$140.69 million, a 34.7% decrease from the previous year (2.4% of total bilateral ODA). Assistance for the Middle East nearly doubled from the previous year due to a US$1.05 billion increase in assistance for Iraq's reconstruction. In recent years, the ratio of economic cooperation to Asia has been gradually decreasing due to the recent economic development in Asia. Nevertheless, two-thirds of the people in developing countries who subsist on less than one dollar a day live in Asia, demonstrating the fact that this region is still strongly in need of economic assistance. Therefore, Japan continues to provide the majority of its assistance to the Asian region, with which it has a deep relationship.
Chart 4. Trends in the ODA Disbursements of Major DAC Countries
Chart 5. Trends in Bilateral ODA Disbursements by Region
Chart 6. Ratio of ODA Disbursements to GNI in the DAC Countries
Chart 7. Per Capita ODA Disbursements in the DAC Countries
Chart 8. Trends in Japan's ODA Disbursement and its Ratio to GNI
Chart 9. Amount of Japan's Assistance to Least Developed Countries in Japan's Bilateral Assistance
Chart 10. Ratio of Grants to LDC in Japan's Bilateral Assistance
Chart 11. Trends in Japan's ODA Budget and Other Major Expenditures (Initial Budget Base)
