Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2013
(8) Strengthening Public Relations, Information Disclosure and Information Dissemination
MOFA and JICA have each launched websites related to ODA (Note 3) that are linked to each other, which aim to release and disseminate accurate information. In October 2010, the “ODA mieru-ka site” (website for visualization of ODA) was launched within the JICA website to provide an easily understandable explanation of the current state of ODA projects and other aspects of the overall flow. In addition, an ODA email magazine is issued which introduces stories of experiences and episodes from actual development cooperation in the field from the staff of overseas diplomatic missions, and JICA personnel.
Since FY 1997, television programs have been broadcast to promote public interest in and understanding of international cooperation. In FY 2013, TV Tokyo’s “Chikyu Genki! - Ryuta Sato” covered familiar topics of international cooperation, and introduced the current state of Japanese development cooperation practitioners in developing countries and the impact of Japan’s ODA projects.
Global Festa JAPAN is held annually around the time of the International Cooperation Day (6th of October)* as one of Japan’s largest international cooperation events. The event is co-hosted by MOFA, JICA, and the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC) on Saturday and Sunday at Hibiya Park in Tokyo with participation from NGOs, international organizations, private corporations and related ministries. Approximately 78,000 people attended the 2013 event.
A lot of organizations engaged in international cooperation participated in Global Festa JAPAN 2013.
In addition, Japan conducts public relations activities overseas to promote a better understanding of Japan’s proactive international contribution through ODA. For example, Japan has provided press releases at the time of signings and handover ceremonies related to development cooperation and otherwise cooperated with interviews of the local press. Japan’s overseas diplomatic missions provide opportunities for the local press to address Japan’s cooperation by planning site-visit tours to Japan’s development cooperation projects. Furthermore, Japanese embassies disseminate information via various talks and websites and pamphlets in English and local languages.
Glossary
- *International Cooperation Day
- On October 6, 1954, Japan joined the Colombo Plan (Formed in 1951, the earliest international organization after World War II to provide aid to developing countries) with a decision by the cabinet, and started economic cooperation. In conjunction with this, October 6 was designated as “International Cooperation Day” with the authorization of the cabinet.
Note 3: MOFA ODA page: http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/ JICA: http://www.jica.go.jp
