A council reviewing Japan's official development assistance programs agreed Monday to make some modifications to the Foreign Ministry's aid plan for China, ministry officials said.
The comprehensive strategic council for ODA, set up late last month to formulate policies on foreign aid and chaired by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, held its second meeting Monday.
Many of the panel members -- experts invited from outside the ministry -- remained cautious about revising the overall ODA plan for China because it was mapped out just last year, the officials said.
However, in response to persistent calls from Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers for a review of the plan, the panel agreed that the Foreign Ministry should attach addenda revising the amount of aid or other aspects, the officials added.
Calls for revising the ODA plan for China have cropped up in relation to concerns over the country's alleged sales of weapons to third countries and the seizure by Chinese police of five North Korean asylum seekers inside the Japanese Consulate in Shenyang in May.
The panel agreed to issue an emergency appeal against the government's plan to sharply reduce its expenditures on ODA for the second straight year for fiscal 2003, which begins next April 1, the officials said.
It decided to map out an ODA plan for Sri Lanka and review the plan for Vietnam that was formulated last year, they added.