Abstract
This chapter attempts to address some unanswered questions in the history of Japanese aid: (1) How exactly was World War II reparation “the origin” of Japanese aid? (2) How was Japan’s aid able to expand so rapidly in the 1970–1980s and what was the implication from the recipient perspective?, and (3) How was “human” conceived as an object of development assistance? The chapter argues that the style of Japanese aid is more of a product of external circumstances and pressures from outside rather than that of a strategic choice of the government. Understanding the evolution of Japanese aid requires the observer to pay attention to such environmental factors that have triggered a response from where institutions have evolved. To guide Japan’s aid in the right direction, it is essential to nurture critical media and the public who can maintain such pressures and scrutinize the work of development cooperation from a long-term perspective.
Japanese names here are written in Japanese order, with the family name first. This chapter is adapted from the forthcoming book of the same author Kaihatsu Kyoryoku no Tsukurare kata (The Make up of Development Cooperation) to be published from the University of Tokyo Press in May 2021.
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Notes
- 1.
All translations are by the author.
- 2.
The exchange rate at that time was fixed at 360 yen to the dollar, so there was no need for concerns over currency fluctuations, but there was the problem of a steep rise in the price of Japanese products (Okano, 1958: 568).
- 3.
The reason that Japan frequently used the term keizai kyōryoku (economic cooperation) rather than the term foreign aid that was widely used in the West was not only that Japanese aid was motivated by business, such as trade and investments, but also because it was necessary to choose a term that could be readily used in relation to Asian nations wary of new Japanese advances into the region.
- 4.
The value of the yen, which stood at around 240 yen to the US dollar in 1985, rose to 150 yen in a mere two years.
- 5.
A grant element is an indicator of the concessionality (softness) of aid conditions. If we posit commercial loans as grant element 0%, the figure rises as conditions (interest rate, maturity, grace period) are eased; with gifts it stands at 100%. To qualify as ODA, loans must incorporate a grant element of at least 25% (Kokusai kyōryoku yōgoshū [Lexicon of international cooperation], 3rd ed., 59).
- 6.
At this meeting, Japan stated that it completely agreed on the need for more staff but that it was government policy to reduce the quota of personnel in government offices as much as possible, so a personnel increase would be difficult (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1973: 18).
- 7.
In 1991 when Japan was among the top ODA donor, 52% of the ODA budget was from general budget account while 43% came from FILP. FILP thus had the effect of reducing the budget constrain and the pressure to increase tax (Takehara, 2014: 146).
- 8.
That is precisely why product loans were criticized as a breeding ground for lining the pockets of corrupt regimes (Sumi, 1989: 19).
- 9.
Mendoza (2001: 47) states that unless private businesses paid this fee, they could not receive contracts for projects.
- 10.
In addition, new regional support offices were established at six sites to strengthen on-the-ground operations around the world and each office’s activities, and they are effectively tackling shared challenges in each region. JICA’s domestic headquarters was also reorganized, and steps were taken to simplify and expedite decision-making processes and to make Japanese support for on-the-ground operations more efficient.
- 11.
The Human Development Division was established in JICA in FY2004.
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Sato, J. (2022). Pivotal Moments in Japanese ODA: Circa 1950–2010. In: Kwon, Hj., Yamagata, T., Kim, E., Kondoh, H. (eds) International Development Cooperation of Japan and South Korea. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4601-0_3
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