February 11, 2015
The Abe Cabinet on February 10 approved a new framework for Japan’s official development aid (ODA) program, allowing the use of the program for military-related activities.
The ODA program aims to provide funds and technologies contributing to economic and social development and welfare improvement of developing countries, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The conventional framework of the program, the ODA Charter, which was established in 1992 and revised in 2003, in principle avoided using the program for military-related purposes and for engagement in international disputes.
The new framework named the “Development Cooperation Charter” stresses that the aid program will play a more active role for peace, stability, and prospects of the international community from a view point of “proactive contribution to peace”, Abe’s favorite phrase.
The Japanese government launched the ODA program in 1954. At that time, the program took on strongly the characteristics of compensation to Asian nations which suffered from Japan’s colonial rule during the war. In the 1970s and 1980s, when large-scale development projects became popular in developing countries, Japan’s aid was criticized as support for dictatorships and for gaining market entry of Japanese large corporations. During this period, however, there was no use of ODA for military-related purposes.
Unlike other industrial nations, such as the United States whose support program includes military-related support, Japan kept a distance from such support in line with the spirit of its pacifist Constitution.
The Abe Cabinet is trying to bypass the non-military principle of the conventional ODA program by using the phrase “proactive contribution to peace”. The new charter is unacceptable as it will undermine the international trust that Japan has gained in the post-war era.
Past related articles:
> Don’t include military-related aid in ODA program [April 15, 2014]
> Refrain from expanding Japan’s ODA to recipients’ military-related projects: JCP Kasai [April 7, 2014]
The ODA program aims to provide funds and technologies contributing to economic and social development and welfare improvement of developing countries, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The conventional framework of the program, the ODA Charter, which was established in 1992 and revised in 2003, in principle avoided using the program for military-related purposes and for engagement in international disputes.
The new framework named the “Development Cooperation Charter” stresses that the aid program will play a more active role for peace, stability, and prospects of the international community from a view point of “proactive contribution to peace”, Abe’s favorite phrase.
The Japanese government launched the ODA program in 1954. At that time, the program took on strongly the characteristics of compensation to Asian nations which suffered from Japan’s colonial rule during the war. In the 1970s and 1980s, when large-scale development projects became popular in developing countries, Japan’s aid was criticized as support for dictatorships and for gaining market entry of Japanese large corporations. During this period, however, there was no use of ODA for military-related purposes.
Unlike other industrial nations, such as the United States whose support program includes military-related support, Japan kept a distance from such support in line with the spirit of its pacifist Constitution.
The Abe Cabinet is trying to bypass the non-military principle of the conventional ODA program by using the phrase “proactive contribution to peace”. The new charter is unacceptable as it will undermine the international trust that Japan has gained in the post-war era.
Past related articles:
> Don’t include military-related aid in ODA program [April 15, 2014]
> Refrain from expanding Japan’s ODA to recipients’ military-related projects: JCP Kasai [April 7, 2014]
