Akihiko Tanaka, who assumed the top post at the Japan International Cooperation Agency earlier this month, has called for an increase in Japan's overall foreign aid, which has been cut for 13 straight years, saying that extending development assistance to poor countries would benefit Japan.
In his inaugural news conference Tuesday, Tanaka said Japan should continue extending aid to developing countries, referring to the "warm support offered by countries across the globe that appreciated aid from Japan in the past" following the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11 last year.
The JICA chief said official development assistance should play an important role in Japan's diplomatic strategy and pledged to effectively use the ODA budget by chopping wasteful spending and maximizing the effects of aid through the best mix of grants, technical cooperation and low-interest yen loans.