TAKE TWO: JAPANESE FOREIGN AID AND CHANGING AID PARADIGMS

Abstract

Unlike most leading donors, Japan has taken its ODA into its repertoire of foreign policy tools. Starting with its inception after WWII, Japanese aid has figured prominently in Japan's quest for economic and political power. But as the international and domestic contexts changed over time, so did the Japan's treatment of its ODA. Beyond just using aid as a means to secure economic success, Japan has leveraged aid in its foreign policy agenda. To better understand how Japan approaches effectiveness in its use of aid, the Japanese ODA policymaking demands a careful rethinking. I argue in this thesis that we need to resituate our understanding of foreign policy and economic policy as being separate and recognize that effective aid for Japan involves a synthesis of both. The value of Japanese ODA policymaking lies in its institutions' ability to navigate across competing interests towards the pursuit of a strategic goal and recognizing ODA's flexibility as both an economic and foreign policy tool.