Suchergebnisse

JAPANESE OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) IS UNDERGOING A MAJOR TRANSFORMATION IN THE POST-COLD WAR ERA. AS TOTAL AID SUPPLY HAS STAGNATED IN THE 1990S, JAPAN HAS EMERGED AS THE NEW TOP ODA DONOR. TAKING THE LEADERSHIP IN THIS AREA, JAPAN HAS RECENTLY JOINED THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN SHIFTING FROM PROVISION OF TRADITIONAL "HARDWARE" INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT, TO "SOFTWARE" - HUMAN RESORCE DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING, EMPHASIZING SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE AIDS, WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT, POPULATION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. ALTHOUGH EXPRESSING STRONG POLICY SUPPORT FOR SOFTWARE AID ISSUES, JAPAN'S PRESENT BUREAUCRATIC COMPLEXITY, HUMAN RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS, PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION, AND GENERALLY CLOSED POLICY PROCESS LIMIT THE ODA ADMINISTRATION'S ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT THEM. THIS ANALYSIS SUGGESTS SOME CHANGES WHICH MAY BENEFIT THE PRESENT SYSTEM: STRUCTURAL REFORM, INCLUDING STREAMLINING THE ODA BUREAUCRACY AND STRENGTHENING ITS SOFTWARE AID ELEMENTS, AND OPENING ODA PROCESSES WIDER TO PARTICIPATION BY THOSE OUTSIDE THE GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING FOSTERING LINKAGES WITH EXTERNAL ORGANIZATIONS.