3 Efforts to Ensure Appropriate Development Cooperation
Japan’s ODA has, over many years, not only contributed to the development and growth of developing countries in various ways but also established firm bonds of friendship and trust between Japan and developing countries, as well as enhance Japan’s standing in the international community, and eventually, further ensuring the peace and prosperity of Japan. However, it was not without challenges and struggles. There were cases of frauds committed in implementing ODA projects, failures in delivering expected outcomes, and delays due to unforeseen circumstances. ODA projects have also caused unanticipated impacts on the environment or local communities, or resulted in accumulated debt. Furthermore, the development cooperation by the Government of Japan occasionally receives negative feedback that Japan’s presence is barely visible, or objectives of the assistance have not been achieved.
The Government of Japan has made efforts in order to consider these experiences as worthwhile, and strives to turn them into lessons for the future. To this end, Japan has continued efforts to improve evaluation systems, enhance its transparency, and hold dialogues with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society. Through these initiatives, Japan implements ODA with consideration for impacts on the environment and climate change, and the socially vulnerable including the poor, women, ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities. It is carried out under the policy of “contributing to peace and prosperity through cooperation for non-military purposes,” which promotes the development cooperation that is suitable for Japan as a peace-loving nation, so as to realize true prosperity among the people in developing countries. Japan has also established the mechanisms to prevent fraudulent practices, held dialogues and coordination with recipient countries, and arranged detailed project management and follow-up processes. The Government of Japan will continue to make ceaseless efforts to implement more effective and appropriate development cooperation.
(1) Anti-Corruption
Since Japan’s ODA is funded by taxpayers’ money, fraudulent practices associated with ODA projects are absolutely unacceptable, as such practices not only disturb the appropriate and effective implementation of development cooperation, but also undermine public trust in ODA projects.
However, fraudulent practices relating to ODA have been recurring even today, and serious actions need to be taken. In order to prevent such practices, it is necessary, for example, to ensure that organizations are aware that those practices will always be found if taken, and severe penalties will be imposed. Therefore, based on its experiences of fraudulent practices in the past, MOFA and JICA have taken measures to enhance its monitoring systems, such as “strengthening the function of the Consultation Desk on Anti-Corruption” and “expanding third-party checks”, as well as measures to reinforce penalties, such as “increasing the maximum period for suspension measures,” “raising the amount of penalty charges for breaching contracts,” and “introduction of a point-deduction system on corporations that repeatedly engage in serious fraudulent practices.” Furthermore, in 2018, MOFA and JICA revised the criteria regarding suspension measures, and took actions such as “expanding the scope of targets for suspension,” which made them possible to take measures against the corporate groups of suspended individuals, and measures against successors of business transfer during the term of imposed measures.
The Government of Japan will make continuous efforts to prevent fraudulent practices in cooperation with JICA, under the strong determination that such practices in association with ODA projects are entirely unacceptable.