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Abstract
Domestic and international contests explain the transformation of Japan's foreign aid programme begun in the early 1950s. Through contests between domestic players, Japan has streamlined its aid processes by introducing institutional innovations, accommodating new actors in aid policy and delivery, and responding more sensitively to public opinion and independent advice. At the international level, contests have come from the Development Assistance Committee/Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (DAC/OECD), the USA, and China. Through these contests, Japan has emerged as a more rounded aid donor. Its new aid model blends Western principles with concepts of ‘self-help’, favouring large infrastructure projects that serve both Japan's and recipient countries’ interests.
Acknowledgements
This article has benefitted from my discussions in Tokyo in September and October 2013 with a number of people well informed on Japan's foreign aid policy. From JICA, the President, Professor Akihiko Tanaka, JICA Research Institute's Deputy Director Mr Naohiro Kitano, and other JICA and its Research Institute's staff generously gave me time, opinion and observations. From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yutaka Arima, Director, Second China and Mongolia Division and Mr Tadayuki Miyashita, Director, International Cooperation Bureau, advised on some recent developments. From GRIPS, the President, Professor Takashi Shiraishi and the Vice President, Professor Keiichi Tsunekawa, were especially generous with their explanations and observations. I appreciate their time, information, and perspective. I also acknowledge that I alone am responsible for interpretation of all sources and for any error in this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Author's various interviews in Tokyo, October 2013.
2. http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/oda_policy/pdfs/priority_policy_13.pdf.
3. In 1970, Asia received close to 95 percent of Japan's aid which declined to about 73 percent in 1980 and the most recent data for 2011 suggest that Asia accounts for only 48.9 percent (accessed at http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/white/2012/html/index_kanto.html, 31 March 2014).
4. The Bureau of Economic Cooperation within the MOFA was reorganised as Bureau of International Cooperation in 2006.
5. Budget allocation and gross aid amount (new allocation minus repayment) often create confusion in calculating the disbursed amount.
6. http://www.mod.go.jp/j/approach/anpo/js20120427.html.
7. http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2006/6/0616-3.html.
8. A similar trend is noted in the area of promoting the rule of law in developing countries as part of Japan's aid programs (Nicholson and Hinderling 2014).