Word: aid
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...ecological guidance from a place that has managed to become an economic giant while still embracing a conservationist ethos. Still others gravitate toward Japan because of its trendy comic books and, not least, for its generous checkbook. Even though Japan has in recent years scaled back its foreign-aid commitments, the nation is still the top bilateral donor to many developing countries, including Cambodia and Nepal...
...internationalism is rooted in personal experience, a relative rarity among Japanese politicians. In addition to studying at Stanford University and the London School of Economics, he spent time in Sierra Leone and Brazil, where he ran family mining businesses. A vocal advocate of Japan's foreign-aid efforts, Aso calls assistance for developing countries "a respectable means to export Japanese culture [and] an important means to disseminate Japanese values...
...Although he has barely had time to articulate his leadership priorities, Aso appears committed to burnishing Japan's global influence. Over the past decade, the nation's foreign-aid budget has nosedived. In the early 1990s, flush with cash from its long boom, Japan was the world's largest donor. Now, it's fifth. Aso might reverse the trend. In August, Japan's Foreign Ministry requested a 13.6% increase in next year's foreign-aid budget. In October, Aso made headlines when he signed off on a record $4.5 billion loan to India. That commitment followed on the heels...
...Foreign aid, of course, isn't an altruistic enterprise. When Japan promises money for, say, a road in Africa, Japanese companies tend to profit from the lucrative contracts. But Japanese aid is about more than just helping Japanese businesses. Just as some in American foreign-policy circles believe that the U.S. has a mission to spread democracy around the globe, an increasing number of Japanese are keen to seed the world with their ideals. One key principle is an ability to modernize without losing its roots. "The history of Japan in modern times," says Kazuo Ogoura, president of the Japan...
...Most of these volunteers toil quietly. JOCV lacks the global aura of the U.S. Peace Corps. Karaoke may be popular in the developing world, but Japan's aid workers need to amp up the volume of their p.r. if locals are to recognize the source of all the largesse. Sadako Ogata, the former U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees, now oversees the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which, after a massive reorganization this year, has become the world's largest bilateral development agency, with more than $10 billion at its disposal. Up next on the tireless 81-year-old's agenda...