EDITORIAL: INTERVIEW/ Sadako Ogata/ Development of Kabul will be a stabilizing factor

Japan's new aid package for Afghanistan will likely prove crucial to plans to redevelop the already overpopulated capital of Kabul, according to Sadako Ogata, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Following are excerpts from an interview she recently gave to The Asahi Shimbun:

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Question: With regard to additional support for Afghanistan, the administration led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is focusing on support for the police, vocational training, agriculture and education. How do you evaluate this policy?

Answer: Police functions need to be strengthened. In the fiscal 2008 supplementary budget, Japan funded six months worth of wages for 80,000 Afghan police officers. If it adds another six months worth of wages (as part of its additional support package), I think the Afghan side would appreciate it very much. We are also talking with the World Bank from time to time and our argument for peace-building focuses on further strengthening of civilian areas such as health and education.

Q: What kind of support can Japan provide to make the most of its expertise in areas where it excels?

A: Japan and Afghanistan have ties that go way back. Japan also has considerable experience in providing support in economic and social development, including the construction of a terminal building at Kabul International Airport.

It has also supported projects to build and repair more than 550 schools and train some 10,000 teachers. School attendance among girls has also risen substantially.

Furthermore, it provided assistance for the promotion of agriculture and rural development. After all, Afghanistan is an agricultural nation. On the other hand, there are also plans to develop the greater Kabul area.

Q: As things stand now, the project is still on the drawing board, isn't it?

A: The population in Kabul is rapidly growing. The city cannot accommodate the 4 million people it has now. I hope the additional assistance package will add impetus to the project. The planned sites are not all in dangerous areas and if the project moves forward, it will lead to the creation of many jobs. If people who belong to the anti-government Taliban forces want to work, the project may contribute to social integration and serve as a receptacle for people seeking employment.

Q: It is a costly project. Is there any chance that Japan will provide a yen loan to finance it?

A: I hope that will happen in the near future.

Q: As the security situation worsens, isn't there a limit to JICA's civilian aid activities?

A: When Tokyo hosted the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in 2002, I didn't expect the Taliban to regain so much ground. The security situation started to deteriorate significantly around last year, making it increasingly difficult to work there. Even amid such circumstances, JICA has been active with a maximum staff of 70 people. If the situation becomes more stable, we want to add a few more people.

Q: There are reports about bribery and corruption within the administration of Hamid Karzai, who was recently re-elected president. How do you view the situation?

A: The more international criticism emerges, the stronger the discontent on the part of Afghanistan's rulers. From the standpoint of aid donors, we cannot provide sufficient aid unless the recipient shows integrity. Some of the Afghan ministries are doing a good job. Their operations are influenced to a great extent by the ministers who run them. We must rely on such people in advancing aid.

Q: The U.S. administration of Barack Obama plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. How would a troop surge affect civilian aid?

A: If the reinforcement contributes to stabilizing the security situation, there will be chances for civilian aid to expand. The situation is most serious in the federally administered tribal areas in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Unstable areas are also spreading in Pakistan. How can they be contained? In order to contain them, local people's livelihoods must be improved. However, the problem is not so simple that if we implement civilian aid, the security situation would automatically improve or if security improves, so would people's livelihoods. That is the most difficult point.

Q: What has been the international reaction to Japan's decision to discontinue its refueling mission by the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean and increase civilian aid?

A: I think the refueling activities were indirectly useful in particular to members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that dispatched troops. Japan's aid package this time is aimed at injecting money to projects that directly benefit the people of Afghanistan.

Richard Holbrooke, special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Obama administration, focuses not only on military operations but also on civilian aid and agricultural support. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also says let's do both. The situation is completely different from the time George W. Bush was at the helm. But it is still too early to know whether the policy will prove effective.

Cooperation with the United States in a region where anti-U.S. sentiment is strong could work for or against Japan. The two countries are not always doing the same thing together. I hope the two nations can mutually complement each other.

Q: How would you answer the basic question of why Japan should go out of its way to help Afghanistan?

A: In offering aid, we must bear in mind that peace of other countries is important to Japan. As nations are increasing dependent on one another, Japan can no longer enjoy prosperity and peace all by itself. We need to develop the awareness that Japan is a major economic power which is expected to play a positive role.

How will (political leaders) come up with persuasive numerical data to explain such a situation? Budgets for science and technology projects were drastically cut during a review of budget requests carried out by the Government Revitalization Unit. However, aid to promote science and technology is most earnestly needed by African nations. While cutting costs is important, we need to draw a whole picture based on a grand vision.

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Ogata served as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 1991 to 2000. She was appointed the Japanese prime minister's special representative on Afghanistan assistance in 2001 and served in this role until 2004. She co-chaired the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in 2002. Since 2003, she has been serving as president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.(IHT/Asahi: December 24,2009)