Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2007
Next PageMain Text > Part II ODA RECORD FOR FY2006 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's Official Development Assistance > Section 2. Measures for Each of the Priority Issues > 1. Sustainable Growth > (3) Human Resource Development
(3) Human Resource Development
<Record for FY2006>
In FY2006 Japan accepted 31,161 trainees and dispatched 5,675 experts, 5,869 people as part of study teams, 4,407 members of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), and 1,405 other volunteers.
<Current Status>
As it is said that "nation building starts from human resource development," support for human resource development is one of the important pillars of Japan's assistance. Assistance for human resource development does not only encompass the fostering of personnel who will directly contribute to the development of developing countries: it also plays a major role in enhancing bilateral relationships by promoting mutual understanding through person-to-person exchanges and establishing personal relations among leaders in various sectors including youths, who have responsibility for future development. Assistance for human resource development is also an extremely important factor in strengthening self-help efforts (ownership) of developing countries, which is one of the fundamental principles of Japan's assistance.
To foster human resources that will take part in development processes it is essential to promote assistance not only in primary education, but also in various other educational opportunities such as higher education, technical education, vocational training, and practical training in areas such as administration.
<Japan's Efforts>
Japan provides assistance in human resources development mainly through technical cooperation to accept foreign students, improve the capabilities and functions of higher educational institutions, develop the capacities of administrators, develop and enhance vocational skills, improve occupational safety and health, and strengthen industrial competitiveness. For personnel training, information and communication technology (ICT) is often used to provide high-quality assistance at a lower cost.8
At the Second East Asia Summit (EAS) held in the Philippines in January 2007, the then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced an exchange project amounting to ¥35 billion (JENESYS Programme).9 Primarily focusing on the East Asian region, the program will invite around 6,000 youths to Japan annually over the next five years. This project is designed to foster a sense of solidarity in the region and promote favorable sentiments toward Japan in Asia through youth exchange and it greatly expanded the original youth exchange program. The first group came to Japan in May 2007 as a 200-person delegation of high school students from China. The students experienced home-stays in various regions of Japan in addition to other cultural activities.
See Part I, Chapter 1, Section 1 also for details
Regarding the acceptance of foreign students, Japan has devoted its efforts to enhancing various policies for foreign students systematically from before they arrive in Japan until after they return home. Japan has advanced various policies related to accepting foreign students, including enhancing the Japanese Government Scholarship student system, supporting privately-financed foreign students, promoting mutual exchanges among foreign students, and strengthening education and research guidance given to foreign students. The total number of foreign students studying in Japan exceeded 100,000 in May 2003, and as of May 2006 it was 117,927. Continuing on, Japan will promote further exchanges through efforts both in the areas of accepting foreign students and supporting Japanese students going abroad, and at the same time actively work on policies to secure and improve the quality of foreign students.
Furthermore, as for the human resource development targeting young administrative and other officials in developing countries, Japan provides the Japanese Grant Aid for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) through grant aid. In terms of loan aid, Japan has heretofore provided financing for programs like the dispatch of foreign students for the development of human resources in developing countries. This is done through means such as the so-called Loan aid for Exchange Students, and is so far primarily focused on Indonesia and Malaysia.
Chart II-12. Changes in the Number of Foreign Students in Japan (as of May 2006)
<Human Resource Development Support in Various Sectors>
● Higher Education
Assistance in higher education includes: development of higher education facilities such as colleges in developing countries; support in improving operation and management capabilities; enhancement of education and training capabilities; enhancement of coordination with the business circle and local communities; and developing regional networks among higher education institutions that extend beyond national borders. For example, JICA established the African Institute for Capacity Development (AICAD) on the campus of Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. It was established as an institute for human resource development to contribute to social and economic development and poverty reduction. At the Institute, activities are conducted with the goal of disseminating the studied and developed technology to local residents. These activities are centered around the three functions of "Research and Development," "Training and Extension," and "Information Networking and Documentation" through the use of a network of 15 universities in the three countries of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
There is also the ASEAN University Network -- Southeast Asia Engineering Education Development Network (AUN/SEED-Net) Project, a technical cooperation project targeting the ASEAN region. This project adopts a "university network" style approach spanning ASEAN member universities and supporting universities within Japan (10 universities). It provides assistance for improving the educational and research capacity of the 19 top-tier engineering universities ("member universities") in various ASEAN countries. Over the five year period from 2003, AUN/SEED-Net has achieved significant results through a number of initiatives and has received high appraisals both internally and from outside. These initiatives include strengthening the capacity of more than 400 educators through the acquiring of degrees, as well as the creation of a human resource development system by newly establishing and strengthening international programs for graduate schools by ASEAN member universities. Other efforts include establishing substantive exchange and collaborative relations between ASEAN and Japanese educational institutions, as well as utilizing these relations to address regional challenges.
Another example is a project to strengthen collaborative relations with industry and local society to promote the social contributions of the universities has been implemented at Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia) and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (Viet Nam). In addition, projects to strengthen the capacity of the ICT departments at the National University of Laos and the Surabaya Institute of Technology (Indonesia) have been implemented. This was done to enhance capacity for the development of human resources related to ICT, which serves as fundamental technology for social and economic development.
● Technological Education and Vocational Training
For technological education and vocational skill development, Japan has been extending cooperation aimed at enhancing the quality of vocational training and implementing training programs that match the needs of the labor market. In FY2006 Japan carried out technical cooperation projects in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Turkey, Senegal, Paraguay, and other countries. More specifically, Japan has dispatched experts in fields like information and communications, mechatronics, and metalworking to Sri Lanka, and has sent experts in the electrical and electronics sector and machinery and metal sector to Ecuador. It has also conducted on-site technology transfers and received trainees in Japan. In post-conflict countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan, Japan cooperated for basic vocational training for former soldiers who were demobilized from the army to ensure their smooth reemployment and return to local communities.
● Industrial Human Resources
Another area of cooperation involving the development of human resources is in improving trade and investment climates. Japan has been cooperating in the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and development of mineral resources. In recent years such efforts have come to include management techniques, such as building institutional foundation for industries and management skills of productivity improvement. Areas of cooperation have expanded to those related to environment and energy, the needs for which have increased with the advance of industrialization. To promote trade and investment, Japan also extends assistance through the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS). Activities by both bodies include dispatching experts in various fields and accepting trainees, as well as organizing seminars. Other initiatives in place include assistance in the protection of intellectual property rights, standards and authentication, efficiency of product distribution, the environment and energy conservation, institutional improvements such as development of industrial human resources, and establishment of "Asian standards."
● Occupational Health and Safety
Japan has conducted training related to issues including occupational health and safety policies, occupational health management in the construction industry, and the prevention of occupational diseases. This training targets administrative officials in Asia, Latin American and Caribbean countries, and Africa. Japan has also conducted human resource development aimed at improving regulatory administration, working conditions, and health management. Support centering on Asia, including conducting training and invitations, is provided through the Japan International Labour Foundation (JILAF) and the NIPPON - KEIDANREN International Cooperation Center (NICC). In cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat, Japan also implemented joint seminars consisting of the three parties of government, labor, and management, as well as capacity development workshops and country-by-country seminars in FY2006. In addition, it has conducted training to improve policies for labor-management relations. This is targeted at middle-management personnel engaged in the administration of labor-management relations in different countries, including in the European region, such as in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Armenia.
● Support for Introducing a Market Economy
As a way of providing support for the reform efforts of developing countries toward introducing a market economy, Japan has established a number "Japan Centers" (formal name: Human Resources Development Centre for International Cooperation), the main objective of which are to nurture local entrepreneurs and managers of SMEs, mainly in Southeast and Central Asian countries undergoing transition to market economies. So far such centers have been set up in Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City), Mongolia, Cambodia and Ukraine. As a way to eliminate the disparities among ASEAN countries, the Japan Centers established in Southeast Asia are currently implementing the ASEAN Japan Collaboration Programme for Human Resources Development, which assists in establishing the infrastructure for human resource development in those countries which have joined ASEAN recently, namely Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam. The centre also promotes technical cooperation related to human resource development between these countries and the other ASEAN countries.
Japan also provides assistance for training sessions and expansion of networks for the preservation of cultural heritages. The objective of this is to enhance international cooperation pertaining to the preservation of cultural heritages in Asian, Middle Eastern, and African regions.
Training of Sailors from Developing Countries
In order to train excellent sailors, it is essential to conduct actual on-board practical training. However, the current state is one in which a lack of facilities in developing countries and other factors have resulted in there being few opportunities for the proper, prior on-board training necessary to acquire a license to board as a crew member.
Since 1990 Japan has been inviting good candidates for sailors for training, from countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Bangladesh. As of March 2007, 1,094 people have completed the training, and more than half of them have gone on to gain employment at Japanese shipping companies. As this demonstrates, this training contributes to human resource development while also serving to create opportunities for employment.
Main engine installation procedure aboard the training ship of the National Institute for Sea Training (Photo: MLIT)
In order to train excellent sailors, it is essential to conduct actual on-board practical training. However, the current state is one in which a lack of facilities in developing countries and other factors have resulted in there being few opportunities for the proper, prior on-board training necessary to acquire a license to board as a crew member.
Since 1990 Japan has been inviting good candidates for sailors for training, from countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Viet Nam, and Bangladesh. As of March 2007, 1,094 people have completed the training, and more than half of them have gone on to gain employment at Japanese shipping companies. As this demonstrates, this training contributes to human resource development while also serving to create opportunities for employment.
Main engine installation procedure aboard the training ship of the National Institute for Sea Training (Photo: MLIT)