Friday, October 22nd, 2004

Celebrating 50 Years of Japan’s Development Assistance

The year 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of Japan's international development assistance program. To commemorate this milestone both at home and abroad, the Japanese Government has planned a variety of events that began in September and will run through November 2004. These include an International Cooperation Symposium that was held on October 14 hosted by President Sadako Ogata of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The Bank was represented by Yukio Yoshimura, Bank Vice President and Special Representative for Japan, and the event was opened with a video address by President Jim Wolfensohn.

Japan has contributed over $200 billion of development aid and humanitarian assistance to the world's poorer countries over the past 20 years or so. Previously a borrower from the Bank, Japan is now one of the world's largest Official Development Assistance (ODA) donors and one of the largest contributors to the Bank and IDA.

Japan became a member of the Bank in 1952, and received loans for 31 projects, including the Fourth Kurobe Dam, which helped lay the foundations for it's unprecedented economic growth in the 50s and 60s. In October 1954, Japan decided to participate in the regional Colombo Plan project, which marked the beginning of its ODA program to developing countries.

Japan is the top source of aid flows to Asia, which has helped to lift many people in Asia out of poverty. By successfully linking its ODA to trade and investment, Japan has contributed substantially to East Asia's remarkable growth and development. Substantial assistance has also been provided to Latin America, the Middle East and Africa to assist the war on poverty.

As one of the world's largest aid donors and a leader in the international development community, Japan plays a crucial role in implementing the new international development consensus - in promoting growth within its neighbors in East Asia, providing humanitarian assistance for global problems such as poverty reduction in Africa; supporting environmental protection, education, healthcare, refugee assistance, and elimination of tuberculosis and HIV-AIDS. It is also a major provider of technical expertise, knowledge development, capacity building, and post-conflict support.

"The World Bank and Japan have enjoyed a long and rewarding partnership working together to solve the serious global challenges of our time - the large imbalances between rich and poor, within countries and between countries," said Japan VP Yoshimura. "The unique collaboration has evolved into a partnership of equals which has yielded inestimable progress on the frontlines of development."

The Japanese Government is using the 50th Anniversary as an opportunity to reach out to the Japanese public and to raise awareness and knowledge of its overseas development program, often little understood or appreciated by the Japanese people. The initiative is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and involves an intense media campaign to explain Japan's development successes and the effectiveness of its aid.

At the invitation of the Japanese Government, the Bank's EXT Japan team has planned a number of activities, both in Tokyo and Washington D.C., including seminars, workshops, GDLN sessions and discussions held at the Tokyo Public Information Center and the Tokyo Development Learning Center to highlight the strong partnership between Japan and the Bank.

• The first event - a seminar "Looking Ahead: Partnership between Japan and the World Bank" took place on October 8 at the Bank's Tokyo Office co-sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MOF) and MOFA.

• On October 14, a symposium was organized by JICA with the theme, "Turning Point of Japan's Overseas Development Assistance." In his opening address, President Jim Wolfensohn thanked Japan for its long support for development and the successful partnership with the Bank over these many years.

• On November 4, the Asia Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center and the Bank will co-sponsor a panel discussion in Washington on "50 Years of Japan's Overseas Assistance-An Assessment."

• On November 15, EAP Vice President Jamil Kassum will visit Tokyo to participate in a workshop being organized by Tokyo Office to review the record of the Japan's ODA in the East Asia and Pacific region.

• Two other events - to be hosted by Keio University in Tokyo and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts - will celebrate the Joint Japan-WBG Scholarship Program, a remarkable success story of Japan's development assistance.

The Executive Director for Japan, Yoshio Okubo, welcomed the various opportunities to profile and assess Japan's contribution to development during the past 50 years and said that "Japan's relationship with the World Bank has embraced the whole spectrum of Japan's growth and development from borrower to major international donor and has now evolved into a mature and durable partnership to help tackle the serious global challenges of our time."

As Yukio Yoshimura stated at the closing October 8 seminar, "Japan has accumulated a wealth of skills, experience and know-how through its pursuit of economic growth from post-war reconstruction and with the help of international cooperation. Here in Japan we are seeking to deepen the understanding of as many people as possible concerning the poverty that still exists in developing countries, and what Japan and the World Bank can do together in partnership to confront global development issues."

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The Bank's EXT Japan team is led by Yukio Yoshimura, Vice President and Special Representative to Japan, the staff of the Tokyo Office and EXT Senior Counselor, Lester Dally.