Next up for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe? Figuring out how to put official development assistance (ODA) to "strategic" use so the international aid program can help Japan make a more "proactive contribution" to world peace, one of Abe's pet policy goals.
Since the program was launched 60 years ago, Japan has provided ODA mostly to developing countries with the aim of building up their infrastructure and reducing poverty.
In what would be a major departure, however, Abe is looking to extend the permissible use of ODA to include security policy, possibly to fund noncombat operations carried out by foreign military forces.