2 Future Directions of Japan’s ODA
(1) Evolving Global Context and International Trends in Development Cooperation
The international community now stands at a turning point in history and is confronted with complex crises. Threats and global issues that demand collective action by the international community, such as poverty, conflicts, human rights suppression, infectious diseases, and environmental issues, are on the rise.
At the same time, the international order is under severe strain. As the global balance of power shifts and geopolitical competition intensifies—evident in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and mounting tensions in the Middle East—the risk of division in the international community is becoming more serious. This is an era in which confrontation and cooperation are intricately interwoven in international relations. In this context, emerging and developing countries, collectively referred to as the Global South, are becoming increasingly prominent. By 2050, it is projected that countries in the Global South will account for two-thirds of the world’s population.
To navigate today’s complex crises, the international community must move beyond division and confrontation and be guided toward cooperation. Japan, which has contributed to global peace and stability for the past 70 years as a peace-loving nation since the end of World War II, is well-positioned to play a leading role in this endeavor. Fulfilling this responsibility will require deeper engagement with emerging and developing countries, collectively referred to as the Global South. In this context, ODA serves as an important tool of its diplomacy. Given its significance to Japan’s own long-term interests, it must continue to evolve in response to the changing global landscape.
In light of these significant changes, Japan revised its Development Cooperation Charter—a policy document that constitutes the foundation of its development cooperation policy—in 2023, setting forth a commitment to implement development cooperation more effectively and strategically than ever before. Since then, in 2024, which marks the 70th anniversary of ODA, it has been working to implement the revised Charter.