Photo/Illutration The Foreign Ministry in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan placed third in the world for providing foreign aid in 2022 after spending $17.4 billion (2.3 trillion yen) on official development assistance (ODA), according to the Foreign Ministry.

The preliminary figures released on April 13 show a drop by 0.9 percentage point from the previous year due to the weak yen.

In yen terms, the figure jumped 18.7 points to 2.3 trillion yen.

The increase was primarily due to high-speed railway and other projects in India and increased yen loans for reconstruction programs in Ukraine, according to the ministry.

The United States and Germany topped Japan on the list, as they did the previous year, according to data released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

However, in terms of proportion of gross national income (GNI), Japan was 15th with 0.39 percent, up 0.05 point, of the country’s total income spent to support developing countries.

The United Nations has set a target for nations to spend 0.7 percent of their GNI on official developmental assistance. 

In 2022, five nations including Germany met the goal.

The government has pledged to employ ODA as a vital diplomatic tool as Japan’s security environment has become increasingly challenging due to China’s military rise and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

In an update to its aid policies proposed earlier this month, the government said it plans to increase its ODA but stopped short of pledging to meet the 0.7 percent target, citing the nation’s severe fiscal situation.

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