Japan is prepared to contribute 10 billion yen to a new Asian Development Bank fund targeting poverty in Asia, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said here Sunday.
"By drawing upon this fund, we hope that the bank's loans for poverty reduction will become even more effective," he said in a speech delivered Sunday at the three-day annual meeting of the bank's board of governors, which began Saturday.
The ADB will use the money to establish a separate fund for poverty-reduction programs in Asia.
Japan is one of the two largest shareholders in the ADB. The other is the United States. Both countries hold about 16 percent of the bank's total shares each. Japan has been the top contributor to the ADB's special funds since it was founded in 1966.