bonds between people as indicated in the FY2011 Priority Policy Issues for International Cooperation released on June 27. Specifically, in addition to sharing administrative experiences, Japan will expand its support for the communication of knowledge and experience related to disaster response, including measures to prevent disasters caused by earthquakes and tsunamis, and the activities of disaster relief teams, in order to share the experiences and the lessons that Japan has learned from the earthquake. Japan proposed to set up a “Disaster Management Network for the ASEAN Region” at the Japan-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in July 2011. Further, Japan intends to contribute in the area of offering and sharing of scholarly research among the international community related to the prevention of tsunami-related disasters. $ ^{4} $

To continue leading the way in global

cooperation to prevent disasters, Japan also aims to host the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction (expected to be held in 2015). In addition, Japan will host a high-level international conference that also serves as preparation for the World Conference, and share its experiences and lessons from the large-scale disasters that occur frequently around the world.

Further, Japan will utilize ODA to proactively provide developing countries with goods produced in the affected areas as part of its aid to the developing countries and contribution to the recovery of the affected areas, while taking into consideration the desires of those countries. Moreover, Japan will actively promote inspection of affected areas by foreign trainees, etc., to facilitate the transmission of accurate information, as part

Trainees from various countries engaged in joint firefighting training with members of a fire department in Fukuoka Prefecture (Photo: Kenshiro Imamura/JICA)

Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Toshiyuki Kato meets with Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers who had returned from overseas locations, at a ceremony to present letters of appreciation from the Minister for Foreign Affairs

of measures to combat rumors. In addition, Japan will promote the acceptance of foreign trainees, etc., in the affected areas, while giving sufficient consideration to local circumstances. Japan's policy is to implement these measures to support the industries in the affected areas and to contribute to the economy of those areas.

Further, Japan must utilize the knowledge and experience of Japanese experts involved in international cooperation in the recovery and reconstruction process. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JICA provided assistance to the activities of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) beginning immediately after the earthquake occurred. Moreover, veteran Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) and many NGOs engaged in international cooperation utilized the knowledge and experience they had gained by aiding developing countries to support the operation of evacuation centers and to assist victims in the affected areas. In the future, Japan will continue to cooperate to ensure that the knowledge and experience related to conflict and disaster relief and reconstruction assistance possessed by Japan's NGOs, veteran JOCVs, and development consultants, are fully utilized in reconstruction efforts.

Through such measures, Japan intends to effectively utilize ODA for open reconstruction with integrated partnership of the public and private sectors.