Activities and Initiatives by Region
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a leader in promoting the stability and prosperity of this region, which borders on the Indian and Pacific oceans. It plays a pivotal role in advancing a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP),” a vision advocated by the Japanese government. While experiencing rapid economic growth, ASEAN is faced with disparities both in the region and within individual countries, and enormous development needs in terms of both socioeconomic infrastructure and human resources development.
Solving these issues and enhancing ASEAN's centrality and unity are important to Japan as well. The Japanese government supports the “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP),” a vision announced by ASEAN in 2019. It intends to promote cooperation in the priority areas outlined in the AOIP: maritime cooperation, connectivity, the SDGs, and economy.
Based on this background, JICA's cooperation covers the following focus areas:
Situated in geographical proximity, Japan and ASEAN enjoy a strong relationship. In extending development cooperation, JICA makes maximum use of the broad-ranging expertise and know-how of private-sector companies, universities and research institutions, and local governments. JICA's cooperation for Timor-Leste is designed to support the country's accession to ASEAN and its transition from reconstruction to development.
In fiscal 2020, COVID-19 spread gradually among many Southeast Asian countries amid the global pandemic, dealing a heavy blow to their economies. While strengthening its cooperation in health care in general, JICA collaborated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to extend co-financing to the governments of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Cambodia for budget support in addressing the pandemic
Indonesia: Some facilities at Patimban Port, the construction of which is progressing under an ODA Loan project, were completed in December 2020. The newly constructed car terminal was put into provisional operation. At the completion ceremony, finished cars for export were loaded onto an automobile carrier vessel.
Total length of the segments where road improvement—including road-widening and bypass construction—will be made under the Cambodia National Road No. 5 Improvement Project (ODA Loan) from fiscal 2013 through 2023 (planned)
The number of people trained for industrial development in Southeast Asia in fiscal 2020
Japan and Pacific Island Countries (PICs) share the Pacific Ocean, a valuable global public good, and have historically maintained close relations. Achieving the sustainable development of the Pacific region will not only help strengthen the relationship between Japan and PICs but also lead to maintaining and developing a regional environment conducive to realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
Meanwhile, PICs are faced with common challenges and vulnerabilities unique to island countries: they are small, isolated, remote, and oceanic. They have recently attracted global attention as one of the regions most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic made PICs recognize anew the vulnerabilities of their own health systems, raising development needs in this sector.
These circumstances have prompted JICA to focus on the following areas in delivering development cooperation:
Fiji: Training at the University of the South Pacific under the Project for Introduction of Hybrid Power Generation System in the Pacific Island Countries. Training participants are taught how the angle of solar panels and shadows on them affect power generation.
The number of people who participated in training programs or human exchanges conducted over three years (fiscal 2018–2020) under the commitment made at the 8th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting
