for maintaining economic activity and the lives of the inhabitants, Japan is backing up the economic growth, by supporting improvement efforts for Port Vila, which serves as the gateway to Vanuatu. Meanwhile, to help improve the economic structure of Nauru, whose economy is in trouble due to the exhaustion of its phosphate reserves, Japan has provided support such as non-project grant aid, in building foundations for the daily lives of inhabitants.

The island nations in this region are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Japan conducted a survey in Tuvalu in March 2008, for evaluating the possibility of cooperation for the problem of climate change based on the Cool Earth Partnership. The three areas—coastal protection measures, disaster prevention, and alternative energy—have been considered based on factors including the results of this survey.

See Part I Chapter 2 (page 8) on the "Cool Earth Partnership."

## ● Region-wide Assistance and Cooperation with Other Agencies

While Japan provides assistance tailored to each country, region-wide support is what is most effective against the shared challenges of the region. The island countries of the Pacific face common development problems in the education, environment, and health care sectors. In order to achieve the sustainable development of these countries, not only must cooperation be extended to each individual country, but regional cooperation encompassing the entire Pacific region, taking into account region-wide benefits, must also be provided. For instance, for the University of the South Pacific (USP) it was decided to help build a center (to carry out research into areas such as information and communications technology at the university), and provide the related machinery and equipment, with grant aid from Japan. $ ^{87} $ However, through assistance for developing distance learning network facilities for USP, based in the university, Japan gives the opportunity for a wide range of island nation inhabitants to receive secondary education. Region-wide support for waste disposal measures is also being carried out. For example, Japan has dispatched experts to the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), a regional international agency in Samoa, and provided training in waste countermeasures, through which it has contributed to solving the region’s environmental problems by assisting in the preparation of a waste countermeasures master plan.

In measures against infectious diseases, Japan has extended cooperation together with the World Health Organization and UNICEF in implementing the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) focused on safe inoculations, including provision of vaccines, maintenance of cold chains, and safe disposal of medical waste. In order to strengthen immunization programs in the region, assistance aimed at improving the rate of immunization against measles and Type-B hepatitis, eradicating filariasis, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Regarding its collaboration with international organizations, “Accelerated Co-Financing scheme with ADB (ACFA),” established in 2007, initiated the first projects in Samoa. This framework is based on the “Enhanced Sustainable Development for Asia (ESDA)” launched with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for promoting investment and energy conservation. Japan has established a common agenda for promoting these areas, and intends to extend a five year ODA loan of US$2 billion, primarily targeting the Pacific and Central Asia. In December 2007, Japan opted to furnish the Oceanic nation of Samoa, which suffered from an unstable power situation due to power cuts caused by cyclones as well as rising electricity rates resulting from soaring oil prices, through an ODA loan. The

(Source: AFP=Jiji)