Japan's Aid Diplomacy and the Pacific Islands

Abstract

In the 1980s Japan rose to prominence as a leading aid\ndonor to the Pacific island countries. In this study the\nfactors that have motivated and shaped Japan's official\ndevelopment assistance towards the Pacific islands are\nexplored. The unique characteristics of this region and\nJapan's interests—primarily as a fishing power— are\nshown to have profoundly influenced and politicised\nJapan's role as an aid donor. Access to the region's rich\nresource of tuna has been the most enduring of reasons\nfor Japan's steadily growing aid program. But over time\nnew and competing agendas have emerged. The need\nto demonstrate allegiance to the United States in its\ncontainment of the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s\nintroduced a fundamental reorientation in Japan's aid\npolicies. More recently, the Japanese government has\nbeen compelled to address criticisms of its aid program\nfrom both donors and recipients, and to demonstrate\n'leadership' in the field of development assistance.\nThis Pacific Policy Paper reveals how Japan has\nresponded to these criticisms and challenges, and\nexamines the impact of competing interests and\nobjectives on Japan's aid policies. It provides insights\nthat are important not only to understanding Japan's\ninterests and role in the Pacific islands region, but also\nsheds new perspectives on what drives Japan's aid\nprogram, how its aid policies are formulated and the\npolitical outcomes of Japan's aid diplomacy.

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