The Japanese government has recently announced a plan to renew an important component of its diplomacy -- a plan aimed at not only checking but reversing the downtrend in Japan's official development assistance. Specifically, in its basic policy program for the nation's financial and fiscal operations as well as structural reform, the government has made clear that it will attain a sufficient level of ODA.
By doing so, the government intends to make continuous efforts to achieve the goal of raising ODA expenditures to 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI).
In 2003, Japan revised its ODA guidelines to use it more strategically and to enhance Japan's national interests. In the guidelines, the government attached importance to increasing the efficiency of ODA. Due to concern about the nation's deteriorating financial situation, Japan's ODA decreased for six years in a row, registering a 30 percent drop from the peak.
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