Presentation Title: Transition of Japan's ODA

The 2003 Official Development Assistance (ODA) Charter is based on the MDGs adopted by the UN in September 2000 and the framework of “human security” that Japan has been working on to date. It clearly states the position that “global and international interests” were equal to “Japan’s national interests.” Concerning increased domestic expenditure for recovery efforts from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the impact of the changing international situation on national security in the 2010s, the Development Cooperation Charter issued in 2015 refers to “securing national interests” as the purpose of ODA, perhaps in order to secure the budget for ODA.

Since Japan started ODA in the 1950s, some reasons for ODA funding have included “national interests” intended “to promote international understanding of Japan’s position,” “to create economic interdependence,” “to create a good political position with the recipient country,” etc. However, I am concerned that the interests of the recipient country and global and international interests will no longer be prioritized because of the assertion of “securing national interests” in the New Charter. I examine Japan’s ODA today by reviewing actual examples.

About

Dr. Naoto Yoshikawa is Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives and Executive Director of Tokai University European Center. He is a professor at the Department of International Studies and has broad experience teaching in international political economy and international politics, including international development theories. He has served as the Chancellor at Hawaii Tokai International College, a Junior College located in the US, for 10 years. He also has work experience at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Zambia as the administration and finance officer and at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as an economist at the headquarters in Rome Italy. He also has served as the acting representative/program officer in Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Surinam