Japan’s Foreign Aid Sanctions Policy after the End of Cold War

During the Cold War, Japan seldom showed an interest in the political conditions in aid recipients. However, after the Cold War, Japan has been actively imposing negative aid sanctions (the suspension or a decrease in foreign aid) on recipient countries where undesirable policy changes occur, while positive aid sanctions (an increase in foreign aid) would be applied to aid recipients that conduct desirable polices in the light of Japan’s ODA Charter. Overall, from 1986 to 2002, two trends can be observed in Japan’s aid sanctions policy. First, the Japanese government refrained from taking strict measures against countries that maintain strong economic and diplomatic relations with Japan. Second, even if Tokyo did take punitive measure against those countries it softened its stance as soon as a convenient pretext could be found. All this indicates that policymakers in Tokyo still give priority to Japan’s economic interests.