Kids Web Japan

Since joining the United Nations in 1956, Japan has played an important role as a member of the international community. Japan is also a member of the G8. Relations with other Asian countries are a particular priority for Japan.

Japan is actively involved in various activities aimed at achieving peace, prosperity, and stability in the world. Japan contributes to the resolution of global issues by, for example, combating terrorism, helping to ensure the growth of the world economy, and protecting the environment, and it also plays an active role in maintaining regional stability by strengthening ties and cooperation with the world's major powers.

Japan plays an important role as a G8 nation. (Cabinet Public Relations Office)

Japanese personnel on a peacekeeping mission in East Timor (Defense Agency)

As a way of contributing to the peaceful resolution of international conflicts, Japan actively participates in United Nations peacekeeping operations. It fulfills its international responsibilities by providing funds and personnel for UN peacekeeping activities, which involve such tasks as mediating between the parties in a conflict by helping to achieve a ceasefire and monitoring troop withdrawals. Japan began helping the people of East Timor in 1999 and continues to do so now that the country is independent, and it has been involved in peacekeeping in Ethiopia since July 2000.

Japan has been helping the people of Iraq to rebuild their country's hospitals, water supply, and other infrastructure since 2003.

Japan also actively extends official development assistance to developing nations to help with their economic and social development. The basic policies of Japan's ODA include supporting the self-help efforts of developing countries and increasing human security. Japan is one of the world's leading donors of ODA.

Japanese ODA is provided in several different forms. Grant aid, which does not have to be paid back, is given to help developing countries meet the basic needs of their people in such areas as food, health, and education. Loans, meanwhile, are provided for big projects aimed at helping a country achieve economic development, such as building bridges and roads. Another form of ODA is the dispatch of Japanese people - Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers - to developing countries to pass on their skills and expertise in fields like technology, health, and education to local people.