The March 2011 disasters have increased Japanese awareness of international cooperation, says Sadako Ogata, and the departing president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency hopes this will lead the government to play a larger role in assisting developing nations.
When Japan was hit last year by the worst natural disasters in the postwar period, offers of help poured in from all over the world. Nations sent messages of solidarity and donated money, food and relief goods.
It was a rare occasion that Japan was on the receiving end and not the giver.