Under a new basic policy on official development assistance (ODA) adopted by the Abe administration last week, Japan will be able to extend aid to the armed forces of recipient countries on condition that the aid be used only for nonmilitary purposes.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said that the new policy has only clarified the past practice of providing help to other countries' armed forces in such matters as disaster rescue operations. But his explanation hides the risks it carries.

The new policy is in stark contrast with the nation's earlier policy on ODA, first adopted in 1992 and revised in 2003, which declared that Japan would not provide aid that would be used for military purposes or could help foment an international conflict. Under this position, the nation's aid programs focused on eradication of poverty and narrowing the rich-poor gap in developing countries.