Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
Also, a mechanism to absorb the experience and know-how of local governments should be introduced.

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Establish a “Human Resources Development Centre for International Cooperation” (provisional name);

— This Centre can provide information on opportunities for employment or participation in international organizations and ODA implementing agencies (including as specialists and JOCVs), and also provide consulting service.

— This Centre will strive to be a link with the Recruitment Centre for International Organizations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs $ ^{3} $ and other similar organizations managed by NGOs, and efficiently compile a database and serve as a human resources network.

— Expand a quota for public recruitment and entrustment contracts of specialists dispatched by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), thereby extensively seeking human resources capable of responding to the needs of developing countries;

— Introduce a system to further utilize the excellent techniques of Japanese enterprises in executing ODA, particularly ODA loan, and expand opportunities for enterprises participating in ODA;

— Make further use of the know-how of Japanese NGOs and enterprises in ODA project formation, and proceed with personnel exchanges with NGOs and enterprises, and expand systems to encourage and absorb creativity of NGOs and enterprises;

— Assign those people experienced in specific sectors, countries and regions to related sections of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ODA implementing agencies, by using the term-fixed employment system;

— Urge international organizations to positively employ Japanese persons.

### 3. Collaboration with NGOs

The importance of NGOs as partners for ODA has been increasing. It is necessary to clarify the division of roles between the government and NGOs. Hereafter, the government should collaborate with NGOs that have detailed information on and diversified experience in the fields of developing countries, not only in implementation of ODA but also in policy formulation and evaluation. Both the government and the private sector should work together but at the same time compete with one another.

It is recommended that the Government enforce support for NGOs and that the NGOs should make further efforts to strengthen their organisation and capacity, secure their eligibility and augment transparency.

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Build a mechanism for collaborating with NGOs familiar with local situations in formulating ODA policies;

— Urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ODA implementing agencies to expand both financial and technical cooperation
systems, help NGOs build their capacity, and also introduce a more flexible mechanism for supporting NGO activities;

— Urge international organizations to have Japanese NGOs participate in their activities.

### 4. Securing Transparency

Sufficient transparency must be maintained throughout the entire ODA process, from the selection to the implementation of the projects, as well as the bidding procedures, ex-post evaluation.

It is essential to secure further transparency in order to promote public participation and at the same time ensure accountability to the people.

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Further promote disclosure of information at each stage, from selection to implementation, ex-post evaluation and follow-up on projects;

— Reinforce evaluation by a third party at each stage, emphasize the judgment of the “Board on Comprehensive ODA Strategy” (refer to II-1), regarding the priority of ODA projects, introduce a thorough third-party audit system, including audit with no prior notice regarding bidding procedures, and further utilize external knowledgeable people in ex-post evaluation;

— Raise the status of the ODA Annual Report $ ^{4} $ to ODA White Paper, and improve its contents, explaining results and problems of ODA to the public in an easily understandable manner;

— Hold ODA Town Meetings on a regular basis in various parts of the country;

— Increase opportunities for people to visit ODA project sites;

— Promote network-type information disclosure and public relations through the use of the Internet;

— Urge ODA recipient countries to promote disclosure of information.

### I I. PRIORITIZED AND EFFECTIVE ODA WITH A STRATEGY

The medium-term ODA policy $ ^{5} $ formulated according to the report of the First Consultative Committee on ODA Reform was too general, so that no specific measures were shown regarding priority areas or problems. As for the present country assistance programs, $ ^{6} $ we cannot state that they have sufficiently focused on priority areas for Japan to tackle.

To indicate the Japanese ODA strategy more clearly, it is necessary to regularly inspect the medium-term ODA policy and also to boldly prioritize country assistance programs. In doing so, it is required to give sufficient consideration to those areas in which Japan can
take advantage of its techniques and know-how, and to strive to implement ODA by utilizing Japan’s features and advantages.

In recent discussions on ODA, there appears to be an idea “from A to B” (e.g. from quantity to quality, from loan to grant, from hardware to software and from infrastructure to the social sectors). It is also important, however, to adopt an idea of “making overall use of A and B” depending on the actual situation of developing countries, making utmost use of the features of Japan’s ODA.

### I. Establishment of a “Board on Comprehensive ODA Strategy”

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Establish a permanent “Board on Comprehensive ODA Strategy” which is composed of representatives with various backgrounds, in order to realize public participation in ODA and to enhance the transparency of ODA;

— The Board as the commanding authority of Japan’s ODA, consulted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, will discuss basic ODA policies such as country assistance programs and the significance and the degree of priority of major ODA projects and will make proposals to the Minister. By so doing, the Board will contribute to the reinforcement of the functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the role of which is to coordinate ODA.

— Another function of the board will be to serve as a catalyst to stimulate public discussions of ODA.

— The Minister, based on the recommendations of the “Board on Comprehensive ODA Strategy”, will formulate basic ODA policies and comprehensive ODA strategies (e.g. country assistance programs), and will coordinate ODA of the entire Japanese Government.

### 2. Prioritizing Country Assistance Programs

Reform proposals this committee calls for include the following actions:

— The “Board on Comprehensive ODA Strategy” will narrow down the priority areas of aid, while absorbing the experience of experts on specific regions and sectors and reinforcing networks with the various domestic organizations concerned;

— In focusing on country priority areas, the Board will sufficiently consider the needs of the developing countries, study individual country assistance strategies from leading international organizations and donor countries and select those areas in which Japan has comparative advantage.

### 3. Promotion of International Collaboration

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Formulate “sector/issues-specific aid principles” by holding policy dialogues with international organizations and donor countries and assessing the needs of ODA recipient countries;

— Re-evaluate development experience in Asia in the form of exchanges of knowledgeable people and symposia, explore forms of development cooperation that match the current situation in developing countries, and disseminate the results of such efforts to the world.

### I II. DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT OF THE ODA IMPLEMENTATION SYSTEM

What is prioritized and effective ODA that is based on a strategy? It is ODA that maintains
consistency throughout the entire process, from planning to implementation of specific projects or other aspects of “downstream” activities, under the “upper stream” basic policies such as country assistance programs and “sector/issue-specific aid principles”. To ensure such ODA, we have proposed that the “Board on Comprehensive ODA Strategy” be set up. And in order to implement such consistent ODA, it is necessary to expand the efforts we have made so far and to improve the implementation system.

On the other hand, ODA is required to respond flexibly to incidents such as the terrorist attacks in the U.S. and the situation in and around Afghanistan. In addition, problems in developing countries are not limited to social/economic development but include issues such as conflict prevention and peace building that ODA has insufficiently dealt with so far. It is essential to improve the ODA system so that ODA can flexibly cope with these issues.

To ensure that Japan’s ODA responds to the real needs of developing countries and has a great impact, it is essential to find and implement many successful programs and projects, whose important components are not only financial and technical cooperation but also the formation of development strategies and institution/policy building. This means an increase in the proportion of the input of aid implementing staff in Japan’s total ODA activities.

Furthermore, programs and projects that do not match the needs of the developing countries or inflexible systems should be drastically reviewed.

### I. Securing Consistency

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Make ODA consistent by reinforcing links between existing aid mechanisms (grant aid, technical cooperation and ODA loan), and also utilize and expand relevant systems (for instance, sector program development survey $ ^{7} $ to strengthen interface among ODA schemes;

— Call upon embassies in recipient countries to establish a regular consultative council, aimed at promoting tie-ups with implementing agencies and maintaining consistent implementation of country assistance programs, and also call upon embassies to promote communication with local donor communities in collaboration with implementing agencies;

— Urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ organisation that handles ODA policies and individual implementing agencies to consider reorganising their organizations to include country/region-based divisions, in order to ensure consistency from policy planning to implementation of ODA;

— Proceed with transfer of authority and business from policy organizations to implementing agencies.

### 2. Speedy and Flexible Response

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Make conditions of aid provision more flexible and streamline and simplify provision procedures in order to expand and reinforce relevant systems, so that ODA can
respond to urgent needs such as conflict prevention and peace building, and also seek closer collaboration with NGOs in order to implement minute assistance that meets a variety of needs on the ground;

— Make procedures for coordination and adjustment of project contents more flexible and above all positively promote transfer of authority and business from Tokyo to local field offices, in order to reinforce local functions and further reinforce local organizations and enable flexible responses (e.g. at donor meetings held locally);

— Improve the international emergency aid system, including a quicker dispatch of international emergency aid teams and closer collaboration with NGOs.

### 3. Ceaseless Review

Reform proposals this committee calls for include actions to:

— Seek further improvement of ODA evaluation, in particular, promote evaluation of technical cooperation that includes JICA experts, standardization of evaluation methods of Ministries and Government Agencies concerned, reinforcement of functions to feed back results of evaluation to policy planning and improvement of aid methods and awareness reform among aid-related persons;

— Incorporate a mechanism to implement technical cooperation in a unified, effective and efficient manner;

— Make an overall review of long established schemes, including a review of the debt-relief scheme;

— Strive to increase the number of policy staff in implementing agencies so that these agencies are able to participate more actively in institution and policy building of aid recipient countries, and further improve aid staff quantitatively and qualitatively in highly specialized work (in particular, grassroots grant assistance aid, international collaboration at the field level including sector-wide approaches $ ^{8} $ and donor meetings, environmental and social consideration of individual projects, and evaluation).

### I V. CONCLUSION—GOALS OF JAPAN'S ODA

Japan has been making ODA contributions for the past 50 years. Japan has strongly depended on overseas nations for resources, energy, markets and others. Therefore, coexistence with the world, and in particular, with Asia, has been an essential requirement for Japan’s survival and prosperity. Furthermore, efforts to contribute to the settlement of global issues such as conflicts, refugees, infectious diseases and environmental destruction, have been important conditions for Japan to acquire trust in the international community. ODA has been consistently an important policy measure for Japan to realize these two goals.

The Japanese Government’s efforts regarding Afghanistan issues have aroused the Japanese people’s interest in ODA, and has made the people realize again that ODA can play an important role as a means of Japanese diplomacy. As such, attainment of the various objectives of ODA and effective utilization of ODA as a diplomatic tool are expected to
remain significant for Japan’s national interest.

Japan’s ODA is currently at a turning point. The era for public participation has entered a new phase. ODA must be based on an ardent wish to see people suffering from poverty in developing countries become able to live suitably as human beings, and to offer a helping hand. The problems are how to translate the wishes of the Japanese people into action and how to create a mechanism whereby people of various backgrounds can participate in ODA activities.

Furthermore, the period of budget increases ended in the late 1990s, and ODA has entered a great transition period in terms of volume. After this Committee announced the Interim Report, the ODA budget was greatly curtailed, much to our regret. However, to live up to the expectation of the international community, and also for the benefit of our own country, it is necessary, even in times of economic and fiscal difficulties, to secure ODA which is commensurate with Japan’s economic power and its international responsibility. At the same time, it is necessary to execute ODA, which comes from taxes paid by the people, more efficiently and transparently than ever. The people’s vigilance towards ODA has increased. Transparency and efficiency are becoming more and more important.

The Japanese people are searching for a new way of life, one example of which is the active participation of Japanese youth in the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs). Many young people hope to find value in their lives during the two years in which they are dispatched as JOCVs. More than a few seniors also find new meaning to life by volunteering in developing countries. Japanese NGOs have expanded in this kind of new situation. Local governments, enterprises and universities have also become eager to take part in ODA activities. Public participation is not just a catchphrase. It is the people’s voice emerging out of the new-age environment. Public participation in ODA activities will surely provide the stagnant Japanese society with fresh energy and give rise to new pride in the hearts of the Japanese people.

The greatest concern of this Committee has been how to incorporate the Japanese people’s participation in ODA. We have envisioned specific frameworks for absorbing valuable knowledge and opinions of the people from various backgrounds and areas. Second, for effective utilization of limited financial resources, we emphasized the importance of formulating Country Assistance Programs that identify priority sectors of ODA into which financial and human resources can be channelled. We also proposed measures to find, foster and utilize those people eager to participate in not only ODA but also in international cooperation. All of these proposals are based on our ardent wish to see as many Japanese people as possible take part in ODA.
## LIST OF ODA-RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Publisher/editor	Title	Language(s)*	Period covered
Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Japan's ODA White Paper 2001	J, E	annual
Japan's ODA Annual Report (two volumes)	J, E	annual (through 2000)
Japan's ODA Summary	J, E	annual
Wagakuni no seifu kaihatsu enjo no jisshijokyo ni kansuru nenjihokoku (Annual Report on the Implementation of Japan's ODA)	J	annual (through 2000)
Annual Evaluation Report on Japan's Economic Cooperation	J, E	annual
Kokusai kyoryoku plaza (Plaza for International Cooperation)	J	monthly
A Guide to Japan's Aid	J, E	irregular
Keizai kyoryoku Q&A (Q&A on Economic Cooperation)	J	irregular
ODA: Japan's Official Development Assistance	J, E	irregular
Japan's Support for Democratization	J, E	irregular
IT: Key to the Economic Development in the 21st Century	J, E	irregular
Japan's Assistance to Africa	J, E, F	irregular
Current Situation Regarding HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and Japan's Support	J, E, F	irregular
Japan's Environmental Cooperation	J, E	irregular
Japan-China Environment Cooperation	J, E, C	irregular
Japan's ODA for Caring Societies	J, E	irregular
Global Issues Initiative (GII) on Population and AIDS	J, E	irregular
Gender and WID	J, E	irregular
Polio no nai sekai e (Toward a Polio-Free World)	J	irregular
Small Arms: Japan's Role in Disarmament and Development	J, E	May 2000
ODA and NGO: Partnership with Japanese NGOs under ODA	J, E	irregular
Dare mo ga shiawase ni kuraseru sekai o mezashite (Toward a World in Which We Can All Live Happily)	J	June 2001
JICA	JICA kokusai kyoryoku	J	monthly
JICA frontier	J	monthly
JICA network	E, F, S	quarterly
JICA satellite	J	irregular
Kaigai iju (Emigration)	J	bimonthly
Crossroads	J	monthly
JOCV news	J	semimonthly

$ ^{*} $ J=Japanese; E=English; F=French; S=Spanish; C=Chinese; R=Russian
JICA Annual Report	J, E, F, S	annual
Jigyo hyoka hokokusho	J	annual
Kokusai kyoryoku kenkyu	J	semi-annual
JICA Info Kit	J, E	irregular
Chikyu kazoku (Global Family): JICA Report (video)	J	weekly
Hello JICA (pamphlet for the visually and hearing impaired)	J	irregular
Hito kara hito e: Chikyu ga sasaeru kokusai kyoryoku (People to People: International Cooperation Sustained by the Earth)	J	irregular
Kokusai kyoryoku jigyodan jissekihyo (Table of JICA's Achievements)	J	annual
Kokusai kyoryoku jigyodan (ninzu) jissekihyo (Table of JICA's Personnel)	J	annual
JBIC	The Role and Functions of JBIC	J, E	irregular
Profile: Japan Bank for International Cooperation	J, E, F, S, C, R	irregular
Homepage annai leaflet (Leaflet Introducing JBIC's Website)	J	irregular
Development & Cooperation	J	irregular
JBIC Today	E	quarterly
Enshakkantte nandesuka? (What is an ODA Loan?)	J	irregular
Enshakkan leaflet (ODA Loan Leaflet)	J	irregular
Annual Report	J, E, F, S	annual
ODA Loan Report	J, E	annual
Operational Guidance on the Preparation of Japan's ODA Loan Projects	J, E	irregular
Guidelines for the Employment of Consultants under JBIC ODA Loans	E	irregular
Guidelines for Procurement under JBIC ODA Loans	E	irregular
Handbook for Procurement under JBIC ODA Loans	E	irregular
Sample Prequalification Documents under JBIC ODA Loans: Procurement of Work, Major Equipment, Industrial Installations and Turnkey Contracts	E	irregular
Sample Bidding Documents under JBIC ODA Loans: Procurement of Civil Works	E	irregular
Sample Bidding Documents under JBIC ODA Loans: Procurement of Goods	E	irregular
Sample Documents for Selection of Consultants under JBIC ODA Loans	E	irregular
Sample Bidding Documents under JBIC ODA Loans: Procurement of Civil Works Smaller Contracts	E	irregular
Evaluation Guide for Prequalification and Bidding under JBIC ODA Loans	E	irregular
Ex-Post Evaluation Report for ODA Loan Projects	J, E	annual
JBIC Environmental Guidelines for ODA Loans	J, E	irregular
Japan Bank for International Cooperation Guidelines for Confirmation of Environmental and Social Considerations	J, E	irregular
Handbook on Social Dimensions for ODA Loans	E	irregular
Kaihatsu kinyu kenkyujoho (Report of the Research Institute for Development and Finance)	J	quarterly
Research Papers	J, E	irregular
Kokusai kyoryoku binran (Handbook of Overseas Economic Cooperation)	J	annual
# ODA-RELATED WEBSITES

JAPAN

Ministries and Agencies

Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet

http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html

Cabinet Office

http://www.cao.go.jp/index-e.html

National Police Agency

http://www.npa.go.jp/police_e.htm

Financial Services Agency

http://www.fsa.go.jp/indexe.html

Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs,

Posts and Telecommunications

http://www.soumu.go.jp/english/index.html

Ministry of Justice

http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/preface.html

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

http://www.mofa.go.jp

Ministry of Finance

http://www.mof.go.jp/english

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science

and Technology

http://www.mext.go.jp/english/index.htm

Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/index.html

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

http://www.maff.go.jp/eindex.html

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

http://www.meti.go.jp/english/index.html

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

http://www.mlit.go.jp/english/index.html

Ministry of the Environment

http://www.env.go.jp/en/index.html

Government-Affiliated Organizations

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

http://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html

Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)

http://www.jbic.go.jp/english/index.php

The Japan Foundation

http://www.jpf.go.jp

Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

http://www.jetro.go.jp

Institute of Developing Economies (IDE)

http://www.ide.go.jp/English/index.html

International Cooperation Groups

Association for Promotion of International Cooperation (APIC)

http://www.apic.or.jp/plaza/english/english.htm

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)

http://www.grips.ac.jp/index-e.html

Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID)

http://www.fasid.or.jp

## OVERSEAS

Government Aid Agencies

U.S.A.

USAID (Agency for International Development)

http://www.usaid.gov

France

AFD (Agence Française de Développement)

http://www.afd.fr/english/index.cfm

Germany

BMZ (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung)

http://www.bmz.de/en/index.html

GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit)

http://www.gtz.de/english

KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau)

http://www.kfw.de/EN/Inhalt.jsp

United Kingdom

DflD (Department for International Development)

http://www.dfid.gov.uk