Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2011
(2) Direct Participation in Assistance to Developing Countries by Citizens from All Walks of Life
JICA implements the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and Senior Volunteers programs to promote the participation in international cooperation by young people and a broad spectrum of Japanese citizens who have a variety of experiences. JOCV is a public-participation program that dispatches young Japanese aged between 20 and 39 to developing countries for two years, to assist the socio-economic development of those countries while living and working with the local. JOCV has a history of nearly half a century, and is an example of Japan's "Visibility of Japanese Aid" that has received high praise overseas over the years. Senior Volunteers, the corresponding JOCV program for elder participants (aged between 40 and 69) who possess a wide range of skills and abundant experience, is a public-participation program; through the program, the Japanese government supports the activities of people who are willing to assist the development of partner countries on a volunteer basis.
The most familiar examples of citizen participation in international cooperation are support for NGOs that engage in international cooperation and participation in those activities. The number of Japanese NGOs increased significantly after the Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities (the NPO Act) was enacted and legal preparations were made in 1998. The actual number of organizations involved in international cooperation is said to be approximately 400. Japanese NGOs are expected to expand the scope of ODA and develop highly-capable human resources in the field of international cooperation as a practitioner of "Visibility of Japanese Aid."
A Senior Volunteer provides instruction on nutrition to indigenous Ecuadorians (Photo: Yumiko Goto)
Physical therapists of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer making rounds in Papua New Guinea (Photo: Masaki Haraguchi)