Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2006
Next PageMain Text > Part II ODA DISBURSEMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2005 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's ODA > Section 2. Measures for Each of the Priority Issues > 3. Addressing Global Issues > (7) Terrorism and Piracy
(7) Terrorism and Piracy
A. Terrorism
Terrorism occurs beyond national borders and is a major global issue that directly affects not only developing countries, but the entire international community including developed countries. As can be seen in terrorist attacks that take place frequently across the world, the threat of international terrorism remains serious. Furthermore, the types of terrorists and their methods are diversifying, so it is even more necessary than ever before to enhance international cooperation for counter-terrorism activities.
Japan has actively participated in counter-terrorism works in the international community, recognizing that it is important for the international community to unite in its fight against international terrorism and to sustain a long-term approach to this end in a wide range of fields. Particularly from the viewpoint of depriving terrorists of the means to commit terrorist acts or to seek safe haven and of overcoming the vulnerability to terrorist attacks, emphasis is placed on providing assistance to developing countries in order to enhance their counter-terrorism capabilities in such areas as immigration control, transportation security, and combating the financing of terrorism. The frequent occurrence of terrorism has a major impact on the economic activity of the affected country through tourism, foreign direct investment, trade, and other areas. For this reason, for developing countries it is an important prerequisite for development to enhance counter-terrorism measures and prevent terrorism. From this perspective, Japan established the Grant Aid for Cooperation on Counter-Terrorism and Security Enhancement in FY2006, and decided to enhance assistance for counter-terrorism activities in developing countries.
In particular, Japan focuses its assistance on preventing terrorism and ensuring safety and stability in the Southeast Asian region, which has close ties with Japan in terms of politics, economy, and society, and is thus important for Japan's prosperity as well. Specifically, Japan has been holding seminars and accepting trainees in the areas of immigration control, aviation security, port and maritime security, customs cooperation, export control, law enforcement cooperation, combating terrorist financing, counter-CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear) terrorism39 counter-terrorism conventions and protocols and such. In FY2005 Japan accepted approximately 350 trainees. The UN Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) held an international seminar on the fight against terrorism from January to February 2006, which 18 developing countries primarily from Asia attended. They declared that in order to fight against terrorism, it is important to reinforce legal systems and their enforcement.
The Seminar on Immigration Control in Southeast Asia (Photo: Ministry of Justice)
In July 2005 Japan held the Seminar on Prevention and Crisis Management of Biological Terrorism at the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, inviting the Southeast Asian countries. This was held as a follow-up to the seminars held in Tokyo in 2003 and in Malaysia in 2004. It came in response to the then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's announcement at the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Leaders Meeting in October 2002 to carry out an initiative to improve crisis management capabilities regarding terrorism over a five-year period beginning in FY2003.
Moreover, in May 2005 Japan decided on and implemented grant aid of ¥449 million with the objectives of improving investigative activities for the Indonesian National Police and preventing terrorist attacks. This grant aid included the provision of an investigation communications system and equipment and supplies for a crime investigation laboratory. In the immigration control sector, Japan has held the Seminar on Immigration Control annually since 1987. The purpose of this seminar is to strengthen partnership with the immigration control authorities in the Asia-Pacific Region as well as to improve examination techniques and promote the accurate and smooth operation of immigration administration in each country. In 2005 one of the themes of the seminar was "Practical utilization of the biometrics technology for immigration control". Biometrics technology is a method to unfailingly prevent terrorists and other undesirable foreigners from entering the country by obtaining biometrics information such as human fingerprints or the iris at the landing examination and comparing them with the existing database of undesirable foreigners including terrorists. Also aiming at building counter-terrorism capacity on immigration control for the participating countries through this seminar, Japan seeks international cooperation.
Japan intends to continue to actively provide assistance for counter-terrorism capacity building.
B. Piracy
Since Japan is largely dependent on maritime transport for the import of oil, minerals and other energy resources it needs, acts of piracy that threaten maritime safety are an issue directly related to the peace and stability of Japan itself. In order to prevent acts of piracy, Japan's efforts to date include improving the law enforcement capacity of coastal countries, enhancing information sharing, and developing human resources, while respecting the sovereignty of the coastal countries.
In particular, in the Southeast Asian region, where the majority of Japan's oil and other energy resources pass, many acts of piracy have been witnessed in recent years, as exemplified by the attack on a Japanese ship and its crew in the Strait of Malacca in March last year. Since piracy is a direct threat to the safety of Japanese nationals involved in maritime transport and to Japanese economic activity, the Government of Japan is giving priority to assistance for the prevention of piracy. Specifically, since July 2002 Japan has implemented the Project on Philippine Coast Guard Human Resource Development with the objective of improving the operational capacity of the Philippine Coast Guard, and has made efforts to improve maritime law enforcement capacity and develop human resources. In October 2005 Japan implemented the Maritime Law Enforcement Training in the East Asian Region, under which it provided training to the employees of coast guards in Asian countries. The Government also dispatched experts to Indonesia, Malaysia, and other coastal countries of the Strait of Malacca with a view to improving their maritime law enforcement capacity. Furthermore, in order to strengthen Indonesia's capacity in maritime security in the Strait of Malacca, in June 2006 the Government decided to provide three patrol vessels to that country under the Grant Aid for Cooperation on Counter-Terrorism and Security Enhancement (see Chapter 2, Section 4 for details). Japan intends to continue to enhance cooperation in this field (see Part I, Chapter 2, Section 6 for details on combating piracy).