Development experts lament recent cuts in Japanese foreign aid and are calling for a reversal of the trend, saying such spending benefits Japan's interests in addition to helping millions in poverty.
Kiyoshi Kodera, executive secretary of the Development Committee, a joint ministerial panel of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, said Japan has already cut too much of its foreign aid budget.
"Of course, fiscal consolidation is very important for Japan," said Kodera, a former Finance Ministry bureaucrat. "But Japan should make a contribution to match its position as the world's second-largest economy."