Japan's official development assistance has helped the country build friendly relations with recipients and contributed to its economic and social activities since it started providing the aid seven decades ago, the government said Friday.
Japanese aid has helped the country win trust globally, the government said in an annual white paper on official development assistance.
The paper said that the risk of a divided world is growing, referring to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Japan needs to engage Global South emerging economies more to help lead the world to cooperation, the paper said. Development aid is an important diplomatic tool with which to do so, it said.
Japanese foreign development aid increased 12% to $19.6 billion in 2023 from the previous year, making the country the third largest donor after the United States and Germany among members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee.
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