Global Japan: Before BRI - Japan’s Overseas Development Assistance

Part of U.S.-Asia Law Institute's Global Japan Series 

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Beginning in the 1950s, Japan’s Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) has been an important instrument for Japanese diplomacy.  Its initial focus on economic development in Asia was characterized as being both nonmilitary and nonpolitical.  However, this cold war strategy has evolved over the past two decades, in large part due to the rise of China, to include both national security challenges and the promotion of universal values.  How will Japanese ODA policy respond to the current challenge of striking a balance between promoting universal values and avoiding offense to recipient governments?  Can Japan play a special role as the developed world’s “ambassador” to the Global South?  Hiroaki Shiga, a professor at Yokohama National University, will join NYU Law Adjunct Professor Bruce Aronson in a conversation on the evolution and current challenges of Japan’s ODA policy.

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About the speaker:

Hiroaki Shiga is a professor at the Graduate School of International Social Sciences, Yokohama National University, and a leading expert on Japan’s ODA policy.  His research centers on development cooperation strategy, informed by his experience working in development cooperation at the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Ministry of Finance of Japan. The results of his research have been published in international academic journals such as World Development and IDS Bulletin of Sussex University, and by research institutions such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).  Professor Shiga is a graduate of the University of Tokyo and has a Master of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University.