Japan and ASEAN: Partnership for a Stable and Prosperous Future

3. Japan’s ODA to ASEAN

6 Takaaki Kojima Now, how has Japan implemented this doctrine? Japan has provided development assistance totaling 221 billion dollars as of 2003. About 60 per cent of this was directed to Asia, and about 51.3 billion dollars, a quarter of the total amount of assistance, went to Southeast Asian countries. Japan has been the top donor to ASEAN countries, having contributed about three times more than the United States. This trend is little changed today. In fiscal year 2003, Japan provided ASEAN countries with about 25 per cent of the total bilateral assistance totaling approximately 6 billion dollars. As for Indonesia, about 70 per cent (9.2 billion dollars) of the total bilateral assistance which 3 Japan’s ODA to ASEAN 7 Japan’s ODA to ASEAN Indonesia received from 1994–2003 came from Japan, while China also received 61 per cent (9.7 billion dollars) of its total bilateral assistance from Japan. In the 1950s, GDP per capita in Southeast Asia had been no higher than that of subSaharan Africa. However, by the second half of the 1990s, despite the Asian Currency and Economic Crisis, Southeast Asia achieved a remarkable increase in GDP per capita. ASEAN, the main recipient of Japan’s ODA, achieved an average GDP per capita annual growth rate of more than 5.9 per cent from 1980 to 1999. Moreover, during 1990 to 2001, the percentage of the total population living on less than one dollar per day, decreased from 19.6 per cent to 10.2 per cent. Japan’s economic cooperation has largely contributed to the economic development of Southeast Asian countries. Certainly, the main factor has been the efforts by the countries of Southeast Asia. However, Japan’s assistance has played a crucial role. The particular features of Japan’s assistance to Southeast Asia are as follows: (1) much of Japan’s bilateral assistance toward the development of economic and social infrastructure including roads, 8 Takaaki Kojima ports, electric power stations, electric power transmission facilities, and water and sewerage systems, contributed in developing the investment environment of each country and brought out the vitality of the private sector; (2) such assistance was extended in a timely manner to fields that were suited to promoting direct investment and bringing about trade promotion; (3) human resource development, one of the fundamental factors for the economic development of Southeast Asia, received a boost from Japan’s active cooperation in education, human resource development and the training of engineers. On top of the bilateral assistance to ASEAN member countries, Japan-ASEAN regional cooperation such as the Japan-ASEAN Exchange Programme (JAEP), the JapanASEAN General Exchange Fund (JAGEF), ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment, and Tourism (ASEAN Japan Centre) were implemented. ...