EDITORIAL: Japan's ODA strategy

The government has been making a series of enormous official development aid (ODA) pledges.

Late last year, the government promised 1.75 trillion yen ($19.4 billion) in aid, funded by the public and private sectors over three years, for developing nations to fight climate change. An additional $5 billion (451 billion yen) in humanitarian aid, to be spent over five years to help stabilize Afghanistan, was also pledged.

The ODA total committed so far comes to nearly 400 billion yen annually for the next three years.

But the fiscal 2010 budget plan, which is under deliberation at the Diet, allocates only 618.7 billion yen to ODA.

The nation's ODA spending declined for 10 consecutive years under Liberal Democratic Party-led administrations. Even the current Democratic Party of Japan-led administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama could not stop the slide: The fiscal 2010 ODA budget is down 7.9 percent from the previous year.

Considering the sorry state of the economy and bloating social security costs, the administration is bound to come under growing pressure to trim its ODA budget. Although yen loans are not incorporated in the fiscal 2010 budget plan, the circumstances that surround the extension of foreign aid are severe.

Furthermore, implementing such generous ODA initiatives is not easy.

Regarding aid for Afghanistan, the government will soon explain its ODA program at an international conference in Britain. But security is deteriorating in Afghanistan. And coupled with rampant corruption within the current regime, there are no signs of any major program, such as redeveloping Kabul and its surroundings, being readied for implementation.

The aid plan to help developing nations combat climate change is also said to be contingent on the outcome of international negotiations in the days ahead. It appears the government is trying to figure out its aid plans after the amounts to spend have been decided.

Aiding Afghanistan and fighting climate change are not the only causes to which the government has pledged enormous amounts of money. About 500 billion yen in aid has been announced for infrastructure development along the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. Japan has also promised to double its aid for Africa.

But the government must not forget to remain flexible so that it can help deal with emergencies and disasters, such as the earthquake that has ravaged Haiti.

If the government fails to help these areas because it has already promised huge assistance programs in other countries, Japan could lose the trust of the developing world. And if aid money is squandered repeatedly, Japanese taxpayers will obviously blame the government and stop supporting the nation's ODA policy.

The government should now come up with an overall picture of foreign aid and prevent the ODA policy from becoming a haphazard and unbalanced affair. The government must clearly explain its basic policy and ideals, both to the nation and the rest of the world.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly last autumn, Hatoyama said Japan will "strengthen its assistance to developing countries in terms of both quality and quantity." He has yet to work on the specifics.

The Overseas Economic Cooperation Council was established in 2006 under an LDP administration to serve as the "control tower" of ODA management. Its members consist of the prime minister and Cabinet ministers concerned. The Hatoyama administration ought to make full use of this council to define its ODA philosophy and strategy without delay.

The government should expand dialogue and collaboration with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), eliminate wasteful aid, achieve on-site results in developing countries, and groom specialists on climate change and peace-building in war-torn nations.

We hope the Hatoyama government will improve Japan's foreign aid policy with new, innovative ideas.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 26