We are at a turning point in history. The international order based on the rule of law, which has fostered stability and prosperity around the world since the end of the Cold War, is buffeted by severe stresses due to increasingly unbridled global geopolitical competition. Moreover, the severity of climate change continues to escalate, and compounded crises—including the global spread of infectious diseases, sharp rises in food and energy prices, and debt crises—also impose a heavy toll. In addition to threatening all humankind, these complex challenges disproportionately impact vulnerable people in developing countries and therefore jeopardize achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the target date of 2030.

The fact that the world is in the midst of compounded crises means that the welfare of people in Japan is also threatened. However, they cannot be resolved by Japan or any other country acting alone; rather, the whole world needs to cooperate in overcoming them. As chair of the G7 in 2023, Japan is well positioned to vigorously drive forward required collective action in this regard. To be sure, the role of JICA, which is in charge of administering Japan’s development cooperation, is more important than ever in an era when the international community must cooperate to safeguard our shared well-being.

Recognizing this, we sought in fiscal 2022 to swiftly restore JICA activities to pre-pandemic levels. I myself visited 13 countries and met leaders of governments and international organizations to affirm that we will collaborate as reliable partners in pursuit of the SDGs.

For fiscal 2023, we will augment our efforts to bring the world a step closer to achieving the SDGs by 2030. Pursuant to Japan’s new Development Cooperation Charter, we will collaborate based on the mission of human security that underpins JICA projects so all people can live with dignity, free from fear and want. At the same time, we will support quality growth aimed at realizing sustainable economic growth that reduces disparities without harming the natural environment.

Specifically, JICA will strive to maintain international order based on universal values like the rule of law, freedom, democracy, and respect for fundamental human rights. As part of these efforts, we will proactively provide support to Ukraine as well as nearby countries and focus on extending development cooperation that advances the Japanese government’s foreign policy of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).

Furthermore, we will support vulnerable countries and those susceptible to the impacts of compounded crises while redoubling our efforts to address global issues; namely, climate change, health and medicine, and disaster risk reduction. We firmly believe that Japan, as a disaster-prone country, can offer useful knowledge in support of reconstruction and recovery in Turkey and other places affected by natural disasters.

To resolve such weighty issues, we will strategically promote projects according to the JICA Global Agenda (cooperation strategy for global issues), launched in 2021, and uphold peace, stability, and prosperity in the international community.

On the domestic front, as Japan’s birth rate falls and its society ages, acceptance of foreign nationals is necessary to maintain the country’s vitality. Utilizing the developing-country networks and talent that JICA has cultivated through our cooperation, we will help to create an inclusive society and make Japan a country in which people from abroad choose to work and live.

JICA also needs to reform itself to be able to most effectively support developing countries in achieving the SDGs. In line with this aim, we will reexamine our organizational management practices and implement sustainability management by swiftly making improvements where needed and undertaking various initiatives. To this end, in April 2023, we established an Office for Sustainability Management and are enhancing related internal systems.

JICA’s guiding vision is “leading the world with trust.” Through collaboration and the co-creation of knowledge and value alongside an expanding array of partners, we will not only restore and strengthen the connections between people and between countries that weakened during the pandemic, but also endeavor to create new bonds in the name of building trust with developing countries and contributing to a better world.