2024 Volume 33 Issue 2 Pages 119-124
Japan is not an “emerging donor country” such as China, Turkey, or South Korea, and on the other hand, it differs from Western countries that are mainstream “traditional donor countries.” In this context, Japan has sought its identity in international cooperation through “Japanese-style cooperation,” which is “unique to Japan” and “only Japan can do.” However, there is no concrete evidence that this “Japanese-style cooperation” is clearly different from the cooperation of other countries and that it is superior enough to be chosen by recipient countries. In fact, there is no such thing that “only Japan can do,” and if there were such a thing, it would not be transferable to other countries, so while it may be something to brag about, it would not be an object of assistance.
On the other hand, Japanese society has experience in taking a pragmatic approach to the challenges facing the world and leading it to solutions. It is possible to universalize this experience not as a methodology that “only the Japanese can do,” but as a methodology that can be practiced by anyone and shared with people in the Global South. This kind of experience is possessed not only by governments and private sector, but also by civil society, and sharing civil society's experience with developing countries is vital for the development of Japan's development cooperation through “co-creation” with developing countries.
However, Japan's international cooperation has consistently marginalized civil society. The implementation rate of Japanese ODA by civil society is only 1% of the total amount of ODA, which is less than one-tenth of the OECD average. Japan's ODA and civil society “partnership” schemes are inflexible in their use of funds, making innovative activities difficult. There is also little cooperation with civil society in the Global South. Japan has been advocating “human security,” and it is a great loss not to be able to use the power of civil society in community empowerment, an important element of this security. The marginalization of civil society, which can even be called a “characteristic of Japanese-style cooperation,” needs to be changed as soon as possible.
