Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2006
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Section 2. Measures for Each of the Priority Issues
1. Poverty Reduction
The issue of poverty not only involves economic aspects such as low income and expenditure, but also entails social and political dimensions in that it creates gender inequality and prevents people from receiving basic social services, such as education and health care, and from having opportunities to participate in decision making processes. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are universal development goals comprised of eight objectives, including poverty reduction, disseminating primary education, and improving health. Japan is striving toward the goal of accomplishing the MDGs by the year 2015. Moreover, as shown by development experiences in East Asia, sustainable economic growth is essential in reducing poverty. Poverty in each country is caused by a complicated combination of various factors, including the economic structure, politics, culture, society, history, and geography of that country. Therefore, assistance must be given with full understanding of the situation of each individual country. The following section details Japan's assistance for poverty reduction based on these viewpoints.