tunities for Japanese businesses to participate in ODA projects and encouraging broad-based public participation in development cooperation through universities, think tanks, local governments, and NGOs. Through such efforts, Japan will maintain its vitality within the global community, continuing to enjoy harmonious development in the future and winning the confidence and appreciation of the international community.

### I I. Priority Issues and Sectors

In light of the basic approaches enunciated above, henceforth Japan will place greater emphasis on poverty alleviation programs and various aspects of social development, human resources development, policy-related assistance and other “soft” types of aid. This will be done while considering the balance with assistance aimed at economic and social infrastructure development. Japan will also continue to work actively on tackling global issues.

### I. Support for Poverty Alleviation Programs and Social Development

The importance of combating poverty is fully reflected in the goals of DAC’s “Development Partnership Strategy.” This has also been confirmed in the so-called “20/20 Initiative” of the United Nation’s World Summit for Social Development of 1995, which calls on industrial countries to earmark at least 20% of their economic assistance, and developing countries at least 20% of their national budgets, to basic social needs. $ ^{4} $ The “Initiative for a Caring World” proposed by Japan $ ^{5} $ advocates the sharing of knowledge and experience to improve the welfare of people in developing countries.

The following factors are of special importance in the fight against poverty: equitable distribution of the benefits of economic development, implementation of economic cooperation projects directly aimed at assisting the poor, and the sharing of Japan’s own experiences of economic growth and poverty eradication with developing countries.

Assistance for basic education and health and medical services plays a critical role in poverty alleviation programs and social development projects. The perspective of “women in development” (WID) and gender issues is of similar importance for developing countries. $ ^{6} $ As access to safe water constitutes a vital element in supporting human health, the scarcity of water resources could conceivably result in increased tensions in the future. For this reason, assistance for water resource development and the management and use of existing water resources has become increasingly important. To reduce regional disparities, assistance to rural and impoverished areas must be assigned greater importance. In many developing countries, large populations reside in rural areas. Thus, the elimination of poverty in such areas is of importance. The Asian currency and economic crisis has served to reiterate the importance of agriculture and of rural areas.

In light of the above, Japan will provide the following forms of support.

— Japan will endeavor to achieve the goals of the “20/20 Initiative,” while keeping in mind the objectives outlined in the Development Partnership Strategy.

— Japan will assist developing countries in their efforts to improve policy formulation and implementation capabilities and to comprehensively address poverty alleviation. Japan will emphasize software-oriented cooperation such as the development of institutions that will promote the distribution of the benefits of economic