Policy Updates

On August 8, 2023, the Japanese government announced that the 9^th Tokyo International Conference on African Development will be held in Yokohama, Japan, in 2025.

Japan has led TICAD since 1993. It is co-hosted by the UN, UNDP, World Bank, and AUC. The main priority of TICAD is to promote development and cooperation between Japan and Africa. TICAD9 is planned to continue the tradition of bringing African leaders and Japanese representatives together to discuss cooperation and development in the African continent.

TICAD8 took place from August 27–28, 2022, in Tunis, Tunisia. The conference saw the participation of 48 African countries, including 20 heads of state and government.

On July 7, 2023, UNFPA submitted a request for increased contributions for the population sector in FY2024 to the Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population.

Japanese health ministers and UNFPA representatives met in Tokyo to discuss population and SRHR issues. They expressed concern that a large portion of health funding had been permanently allocated to infectious disease control following the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to funding disparities in areas such as maternal and reproductive health, a key UN SDG In light of this, the 2023 G7 Leaders Declaration included a reaffirmed commitment to SRHR.

The meeting noted that investment in SRHR is essential for Japan’s Global Health Strategy, and Japanese representatives called for greater support for UNFPA and the IPPF.

Japan and UNFPA committed to addressing health and population challenges in order to achieve the SDGs, promote SRHR, realize UHC, and promote human security.

On June 25, 2023, the G7 Gender Equality Ministers met in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan to discuss eliminating the economic disparity between men and women.

In the statement, the ministers acknowledged the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in exacerbating disparities between men and women, such as decreased employment opportunities for women. The ministers also referenced the conflict in Ukraine and stressed the importance of international humanitarian law.

The joint statement also highlighted the threat of compounding international crises to gender equality, as well as the importance of achieving the SDGs, with particular reference to those related to women’s economic security. However, the statement did not include measurable targets or commitments for G7 members to meet.

On June 9, 2023, the Government of Japan released a revised version of its Development Cooperation Charter, the country’s blueprint for ODA.

The Charter, entitled Japan’s Contributions to the Sustainable Development of a Free and Open World, reflected the global geopolitical situation and placed a strong emphasis on mobilizing development assistance to uphold security and the rule of law. At the same time, the Charter set goals to shape an international environment that is favorable to Japan in terms of securing peace and security, as well as economic growth.

Japan outlined four basic policies that will guide its development cooperation:

• The first, “Contributing to Peace and Prosperity”, recommitted to contributing to peace and prosperity through non-military cooperation. However, Japan also introduced “Overseas Security Assistance” under the heading, which aimed to provide defense aid to like-minded countries;
• The second, “Human Security in a New Era”, positioned human security as a central policy feature, resulting in greater investments in people;
• The third, ‘Co-creation of Social Values through Dialogue and Cooperation with Developing Countries” set the goal of establishing shared social values with partner countries and leading to economic growth; and
• Finally, the fourth basic policy, “Leading the Dissemination and Implementation of International Rules and Guidelines Based on Inclusiveness, Transparency, and Fairness”, set out goals to support rule of law and fundamental human rights as a top priority for the government.

Moreover, the government identified three priority policy areas that require attention:

• First, “Quality Growth”, focused on poverty eradication, particularly on strengthening the Japanese economy through the expansion of private interests and the diversification of supply chains;
• The second priority, “Peace and Stability”, comprised another commitment to promote governance, humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding, and maritime security, particularly under the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific; and
• The third policy priority, “Addressing Complex and Serious Global Issues,” foregrounded international cooperation to address climate change, health, disaster prevention, and education in order to achieve the SDGs.

In terms of implementation, the Japanese government signalled its continued support for co-creation through private finance mobilization. Japan also identified implementation principles that will guide development cooperation including attention to democratization, non-military principles, attention to military expenditures, environmental impact, debt sustainability, and gender mainstreaming.

The recent update also included plans to expand ODA, while also recognizing difficult fiscal conditions that may prevent it from increasing the annual budget. The strategy notably focused on improving the quality of assistance and identified food and energy security and digital and quality infrastructure as priority areas for growth. The report also suggested Japan may take a more proactive approach to ODA with a new offer-type mechanism that enables Japan to make assistance proposals to recipients.

Experts commented that the Charter, deemed one piece of former-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s legacy, is expected to drive policy decisions for Japan’s ODA over the coming years and shape the international geopolitical and geostrategic environment.

On June 6, 2023, the UNRWA celebrated the 15-year anniversary of the UNRWA Maternal and Child Health Handbook in Gaza.

The handbook, introduced in 2008 with support from Japan, provided comprehensive care information for mothers and children. At the celebration, Japan announced a contribution of US$13 million for emergency education and food assistance, marking 70^th anniversary of Japanese support for UNRWA.\
The Japanese Ambassador and JICA Palestine's Chief Representative praised the handbook's impact on maternal and child care, which aims to provide equal healthcare services for all mothers and children, with over 1 million users in UNRWA health centers.

On May 24, 2023, Civil Society 7 released its review of the May 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit.

The report looked at six topics, including the nuclear disarmament, climate and environmental justice, the transition to a fair economy, global health, humanitarian aid and conflict, and a resilient and open society, and presented the following findings:

• Nuclear Disarmament: The G7 summit did not focus on nuclear disarmament, and its leaders did not show any commitment to starting time-bound negotiations. While condemning Russia’s nuclear threats, they justified their own nuclear weapons as being for defense and deterrence;
• Climate and Environmental Justice: The G7 summit acknowledged the need to strengthen adaptation measures, enhance resilience support for vulnerable groups, and increase support to the most vulnerable countries for avoiding, minimizing, and addressing losses and damages. It emphasized the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, including non-CO2 gases, and reaffirmed commitment to global methane reduction efforts. However, the report argued that the G7’s approach to climate change, in particular its descriptions of fossil fuels, is far from ideal;
• Transition to a Fair Economy: The G7 summit prioritized “economic security” from its perspective rather than focusing on resolving challenges faced by partner countries. It aimed to decouple supply chains from China, but such decoupling could impose additional burdens on developing countries. The summit lacked strong commitments regarding debt restructuring, international negotiations, and debt cancellation. It also weakened the organization's stance on business and human rights;
• Global Health: The G7 summit fell short of expectations due to time constraints and limitations imposed by Japan. It failed to address intellectual property rights as a key factor in addressing the pandemic and ensuring equitable access to therapeutics. The summit lacked specific commitments, and its focus was more on ordering and reaffirming previous pledges rather than providing the required funding and technological contributions;
• Humanitarian Aid and Conflict: The G7 summit's commitment of US$21 billion in support, with particular focus on addressing food crises and prioritizing education, was welcomed. However, apart from this financial commitment, the summit lacked clear and concrete commitments. It failed to mention the importance of strengthening local leadership and access to humanitarian aid and protection; and
• Resilient and Open Society: The G7 summit did not address the concept of an open society or democracy in its statements. It neglected to discuss civic space and shrinking civil society, and its focus on democracy mainly revolved around countering information warfare. The summit did not address issues like digital space safety, fake news, freedom of expression, or topics covered in previous G7 meetings. The treatment of non-regular immigrants and their dire situations was a significant problem. The summit lacked references to freedom of expression and did not improve citizen participation or support for civil society organizations.

C7 aims to achieve a society envisioned by the SDGs that leaves no one behind, and its criticism of the G7 Hiroshima Summit was presented as a means of holding leaders to account for their role in building a better world.

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) assembled in Hiroshima from May 19-21, 2023 to discuss a wide range of global issues requiring immediate and long-term attention.

On May 20, 2023, the leaders released a communiqué outlining their commitments to the international community. Among other issues, the communiqué focused on infrastructure, humanitarian crises, climate change, global health, and gender.

Key commitments included:

• Mobilizing up to US$600 billion by 2027 for the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, also known as PGII;
• Investing US$21 billion to address worsening humanitarian crises including the global food crises;
• Pledges to mobilize US$100 billion in climate financing annually from 2020 to 2025 for mitigation actions and transparency on implementation;
• Coordinating efforts to enhance governance for health emergencies, promote sustainable health financing, launch the Pandemic Fund, and support LICs and MICs in implementing health regulations; and
• Strengthening gender equality and the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people through effective, multi-sectorial policies.

The G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023 was held during a tense period for both Europe and Asia. The leaders took a strong stance against further aggression and reconfirmed their commitment to promoting sustainable ODA and international collaboration.

On April 26, 2023, members of the Global Conference of Parliamentarians on Population and Development Toward the 2023 G7 Hiroshima Summit issued a declaration urging governments to act on issues related to global health, human security, and the environment, among others.

The declaration was supported by of over 50 parliamentarians from 31 countries.

The document called on the G7 and G20 to implement finance mechanisms and innovation that would strengthen health for all, acknowledge the impacts of climate change, support women and girls, and promote inter-regional collaboration.

On April 11, 2023, Japan allocated over US$20 million to UNFPA to support its humanitarian efforts for women and girls.

In the announcment, Japanese officials highlighted that women and girls are often overlooked leading to violence, malnutrition, and a lack of health services during crises. In response, the funds from Japan were allocated across 18 projects in five regions in an effort to safeguard women’s health and uphold human rights. The funds were allocated to support projects in: Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Namibia, Madagascar, Iraq, Iran, Türkiye, Palestine, Libya, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

In recent years, Japan has increased its contributions to UNFPA making it one of the top ten donors to UNFPA core flexible resources.

On Feburary 13, 2023, Japan signed a JPY1.7 billion (US$13 million) grant with Pakistan to improve access to education for girls in the Sindh Province.

40% of the school-aged population in Pakistan is out of school, with girls facing the greatest barriers to education. The funds will be used to improve access to middle school education by constructing new facilities in rural areas throughout the province. The project is expected to contribute to SDG 4:quality education) and SDG 5:gender equality.