### 2. Increasing Public Participation

## (1) Broad Participation by Japanese Citizens from All Walks of Life

In order to promote international cooperation with the participation of Japanese citizens from all walks of life, JICA implements programs like the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and Senior Volunteers. The JOCV is a citizen-participation instrument that dispatches youth between the ages of 20 and 39 for two years to developing nations to assist in social and economic development while living and working together with the people of the country. JOCV has a long history spanning more than 40 years, and it has been highly praised overseas as a form of person-to-person Japanese aid. Senior Volunteers, the corresponding JOCV project for seniors, is a public participatory project under which the government supports the activities of senior citizens between the ages of 40 to 69 who possess a wide range of skills and abundant experience and wish to contribute to the development of developing countries on a volunteer basis.

The most familiar examples of citizen participation in international cooperation are assistance for NGOs that engage in international cooperation as well as participation in those assistance activities. The number of Japanese NGOs increased dramatically in accordance with legislative developments following the 1998 enactment of the Act on Promotion of Specified Non-profit Activities (NPO Act). The actual number of organizations involved in international cooperation activities is said to be around 400. Japanese NGOs are anticipated to expand the scope of ODA, cultivate highly-capable human resources in the field of international cooperation, and serve as the main body for activities that communicate the spirit of Japan.

## (2) Human Resources Development and Development Research

Due to the increasing diversity and complexity of development issues, recruiting and developing personnel with sophisticated knowledge, abundant experience, and communication skills in foreign languages is essential today for effective and efficient implementation of international cooperation. This is also true for research activities conducted in order to appropriately assess the needs of developing nations and trends in the international community.

In 1990, the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID) was established to serve as an organization for promoting the concept of an international development university. FASID provides training and education for persons associated with assistance and also conducts survey and research projects. FASID also dispatches lecturers to various universities to teach development cooperation-related seminars and classes. In 2000, in cooperation with the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), FASID established a joint International Development Studies (IDS) program in the Master's course of this university.

In 2003, JICA established the International Cooperation Personnel Registration System in order to recruit and make use of motivated personnel with specialized skills. This system provides information on job openings; staff registration; information on various types of training and seminars; and career development consultations for international cooperation-related bodies such as JICA, NGOs, and international organizations. In addition, the Senior Advisor System is used to recruit human resources with high-level expertise and ample