3. Efforts to Ensure Appropriate Development Cooperation
ODA implemented by Japan over many years has not only contributed to the development and growth of developing countries in various ways. It has also established firm bonds of friendship and trust between Japan and developing countries, enhanced Japan’s standing in the international community, and further ensured the peace and prosperity of Japan. On the other hand, ODA has not been free from challenges and struggles. For example, there were cases of fraud committed in ODA projects and failures in delivering expected outcomes and delays due to unforeseen circumstances.
The Government of Japan has made efforts to consider these experiences as worthwhile and strived to turn them into lessons for the future. To this end, Japan has continued to make various efforts to improve evaluation systems, enhance transparency, and hold dialogues with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society. Japan has also established the mechanisms to prevent fraudulent practices, held close 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
Japan’s ODA is funded by taxpayers’ money. Fraudulent practices committed in ODA projects not only disturb their appropriate and effective implementation, but also undermine public trust in ODA projects. Fraudulent practices are absolutely unacceptable. In order to prevent fraudulent practices, it is necessary, for example, to ensure that companies and organizations are aware that fraudulent practices will always be revealed to the public if taken, and severe penalties will be imposed.
Therefore, based on lessons learned from fraudulent practices that occurred 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 “introducing a point-deduction system on corporations that repeatedly engage in serious fraudulent practices.” Furthermore, in 2018, the criteria regarding measures taken against corporate groups involved in fraudulent practices were revised. One of the revisions was “expanding the scope of targets for suspension measures,” which enabled MOFA and JICA to take measures against the corporate groups of suspended companies and organizations 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 fraudulent practices committed in ODA projects are absolutely unacceptable.