Japan’s total ODA (Note3) in 2018 was approximately $14,163.52 million (approximately ¥1,564.2 billion) according to the Grant Equivalent System (GE system) introduced from the 2018 statistics (see “ODA Topics” for details). The gross ODA disbursements amounted to approximately $17,250.01 million (approximately ¥1,905.1 billion), which was an approximate 6.6% decrease on a dollar basis compared to the previous year (2017) (an approximate 8.0% decrease on a yen basis). Among the member countries of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Japan ranked fourth (Note4) following the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom in terms of both the GE system and gross disbursements.

A breakdown of disbursements shows that in terms of the GE system, bilateral ODA accounted for approximately 75.9% of overall disbursements, while ODA for international organizations accounted for approximately 24.1%, and in terms of gross disbursements, bilateral ODA accounted for approximately 77.0% of overall disbursements, while ODA for international organizations accounted for approximately 23.0%. Bilateral ODA is expected to contribute to the strengthening of Japan’s relations with recipient countries. In addition, ODA for international organizations enables Japan to support countries and regions where direct bilateral assistance from the Government of Japan is difficult to reach through international organizations that have expertise and political neutrality. Japan is making flexible use of these types of assistance, as well as initiating coordination between them, while making every effort to ensure the “visibility of Japan” through properly providing aid.

When examining the gross disbursements of bilateral ODA by aid scheme, the disbursements for bilateral ODA calculated as grant aid totaled approximately $2,630.91 million (¥290.6 billion), or approximately 15.3% of the total ODA gross disbursements. Among these grants, grant aid through international organizations accounted for approximately $1,314.79 million (¥145.2 billion), or approximately 7.6% of the total. Technical cooperation accounted for approximately $2,647.54 million (¥292.4 billion), or approximately 15.4% of the total. With regard to government loans, loan disbursements accounted for approximately $8,006.18 million (¥884.2 billion), or approximately 46.4% of the total ODA gross disbursements. As for the GE amount of government loans, the total was approximately $5,477.69 million (¥604.9 billion).

Japan’s bilateral ODA disbursements (including support for graduated countries) by region are as follows. They are in the order of gross disbursements, (net disbursements), and (percentage out of the total disbursements).

◆Asia: $7,509.02 million ($1,492.52 million) (56.5%)

◆Middle East and North Africa: $1,682.65 million ($934.28 million) (12.7%)

◆Sub-Saharan Africa: $1,333.40 million ($1,214.53 million) (10.0%)

◆Latin America and the Caribbean: $452.46 million ($190.74 million) (3.4%)

◆Oceania: $219.20 million ($199.86 million) (1.6%)

◆Europe: $80.65 million ($8.40 million) (0.6%)

◆Assistance covering multiple regions: $2,020.27 million ($2,020.27 million) (15.2%)

1. Note 3: The amount of disbursements in 2019 is planned to be finalized at the end of 2020.
2. Note 4: Excluding assistance for graduated countries. See “Reference Statistics 2 (1): Official Development Assistance by Type of Assistance and Currency (2018)” for details regarding disbursement amounts including graduated countries.

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