The government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Sunday to set up a council led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to work out strategies on how to disburse official development assistance, sources said.
The panel will have only a few top government officials, including the chief Cabinet secretary, the foreign minister and the minister of industry, trade and economy.
The panel, tentatively named "the external economic cooperation strategic council," will try to shift more power to politicians from bureaucrats in devising plans for distributing ODA -- an important diplomatic tool for Japan, the sources said.
Unlike many other government bodies whose functions are limited to endorsing policies, the panel will hold a forum for strategic debate on how to implement foreign aid, the sources said.
It is expected to oversee aid plans for China and other recipients where highly political decisions would be required, the sources said.
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