Aid

Aid remains an important source of foreign finance for many countries. The CDI takes account of both aid quantity through their share of national income given as ODA; and of aid quality through their scores in the Quality of Official Development Assistance – QuODA exercise.

Japan’s aid performance

• Rank: 13

Strengths

• Small share of tied aid 
• Strong commitment to evaluation and learning

• Low net aid volume as a share of the economy 
• Not a member in the International Aid Transparency Initiative

Trade

International trade has been a force for economic development for centuries. The CDI measures trade barriers in rich countries against imports from developing countries. It also penalizes costly importation processes and restrictions against purchasing services from foreigners.

Japan’s trade performance

• Rank: 24

Strengths

• Low agricultural subsidies 
• Low costs to import a shipping container 

• High tariffs on agricultural products 
• High tariffs on rice
• High tariffs on wheat 
• Many limitations on the importation of services 

Finance

Rich-country investment in poorer countries can promote economic growth, help spread technologies, skills, and create jobs. Conversely, policies that permit secrecy can facilitate illicit activities and financial flows abroad. The CDI rewards policies that support healthy investment in developing countries and promote transparency in financial transactions at home as well as globally.

Japan’s finance performance

• Rank: 24

Strengths

• Political risk insurance agency provides wide coverage and screens potential projects for violations of human, labor and environmental rights
• Provides assistance to companies looking for investment opportunities in developing countries
• Low score in the Bribe Payers Index

• Scores below average in the Financial Secrecy Index for having few regulations in place to prevent illicit financial transactions within its jurisdiction 

Migration

Allowing people to move from poor to rich countries provides unskilled immigrants with jobs, income and knowledge. It also increases the flow of money migrants send home and the transfer of skills when the migrants return. The CDI also rewards countries for enabling students from developing countries to study at their universities, and for sharing the burden of refugees and asylum seekers.

Japan’s migration performance

• Rank: 23

Strengths

• Large share of foreign students from developing countries 

Weaknesses

• Small number of immigrants from developing countries entering Japan 
• Bears small share of the burden of refugees during humanitarian crises 

Environment

Rich countries use a disproportionate amount of scarce resources while poor countries are most vulnerable to global warming and ecological deterioration. The CDI measures the impact of policies on the global climate, fisheries, and biodiversity, all of which affect the lives of those far beyond one country’s borders.

Japan’s environment performance

• Rank: 25

Strengths

• Low greenhouse gas emissions rate per capita

Weaknesses

• Greenhouse gas emissions grew almost as fast as GDP over the last decade 
• High consumption of ozone-depleting chemicals per capita 
• Low gas taxes 
• Poor compliance with mandatory reporting requirements under multilateral environmental agreements relating to biodiversity
• High tropical timber imports

Security

Since security is a prerequisite for development, the CDI rewards contributions to internationally sanctioned peacekeeping operations and forcible humanitarian interventions, military protection of global sea lanes, and participation in international security treaties. It penalizes arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments.

Japan’s security performance

• Rank: 21

Strengths

• No arms exports to poor and undemocratic governments 
• Participates in major international security treaties and regimes

• Low contributions to international peacekeeping and humanitarian interventions over last decade

Technology

Rich countries contribute to development through the creation and dissemination of new technologies. The CDI accounts for this by rewarding government support for research and development (R&D), and penalizing strong intellectual property rights regimes that limit the dissemination of new technologies to poor countries.

Japan’s technology performance

• Rank: 5

Strengths

• Significant government support for R&D
• Restricts copyrighting of databases
• Provides patent exceptions for research purposes

• Allows patents on plant and animal varieties
• Allows patents on software innovations
• Imposes strict limitations on anti-circumvention technologies that can defeat encryption of copyrighted digital materials