Ms. NAMIKI Ai, Programme Policy Officer at WFP Rwanda office (JPO since 2018), distributing specialized nutritious foods for children to mothers at the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda (Photo: WFP)

The Government of Japan has set a target of 1,000 Japanese working for UN-related agencies by 2025. Japan proactively provides support to seek out, train, and help develop the careers of human resources with the capacity to be active on the world stage while collaborating with higher educational institutions and Japan offices of international organizations. Note 19 Based on the recommendation made by the Advisory Board for ODA to “develop human resources for development cooperation,” Japan organizes seminars in and outside of Japan to explain the recruitment system of international organizations for students at secondary and higher educational institutions and company employees. Recently, seminars are mainly conducted online, which enables Japanese UN staff working on the ground remotely participate and share their experiences with specific examples. Japan also produces YouTube videos, and organizes seminars by high-ranking officials and HR managers from international organizations, among other efforts.

Moreover, the Government of Japan strives to nurture human resources to be active in international organizations, including in the area of international development cooperation, through Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme (see “Japanese Personnel at International Organizations Playing Active Roles on the Front Lines across the World amid the COVID-19 Pandemic” in Part I for the activities of a Japanese staff member at international organizations, and “Stories from the Field” for a career interview with a staff member of an international organization after working as JPO). MOFA has dispatched a cumulative total of over 1,800 JPOs since MOFA started this programme in 1974, 54 of whom were sent in FY2020. In addition, MOFA implements the “Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development” Note 20 (see “Human Resources Development for Peacebuilding” for details).

Through the PARTNER (Participatory Network for Expert Recruitment) Note 21 website, JICA centrally distributes information on international cooperation (such as recruitment and various trainings and seminars opportunities) lead by a wide range of actors such as ministries, agencies, JICA, NGOs, international organizations, companies and universities. It also provides activities such as human resources registration services and career counseling. Furthermore, JICA offers internships to graduate students and other individuals who conduct research closely related to development cooperation and are willing to play an active role in this field in the future. JICA secures human resources with competencies and abundant work experience in developing countries through the Senior Advisor System, as well as offers the Associate Experts Program and the Capacity Enhancement Training for human resources development.

Furthermore, the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development Note 22 analyzes and synthesizes knowledge gained in the field of development cooperation and provides feedback to JICA projects, thereby contributing to the realization of human security and the achievement of the SDGs, as well as helping to develop human resources.