CHARACTERISTICALLY, Japanese are humble people and do not like to publicise themselves. Yet Japan’s contribution to Jamaica’s development has been significant. The three main areas of Japan’s contribution to Jamaica are through development assistance, technical cooperation and grassroots and human security grant projects.

Jamaica has been benefiting under the development assistance, especially since October 1, 2008, when the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency merged to form the New JICA, making it the world’s largest bilateral development agency, providing Japan’s Official Development Assistance to developing countries.

The bilateral cooperation programme between the governments of Jamaica and Japan in 2009 saw the continuation of the project for capacity building of water maintenance. Under this programme, which is of critical importance since Jamaica suffers from a chronic shortage of domestic supply, the National Water Commission’s human resource capabilities are being strengthened. Six members of the staff were trained in Japan during 2009 under the counterpart training component of the project. Equipment valued at US$288,200 was handed over to the NWC. The overall goal of the project is to ensure that reliability of NWC’s water supply is enhanced both in terms of quality and quantity.

Efforts by the NWC to strengthen its institutional systems were supported by Japan to the tune of US$1,045,200. Ten JICA experts came to Jamaica during last year to support the project. In addition, nine study missions came to the island, including a mission to conduct preparatory survey for the Kingston Sewerage Development Project at a cost of US$1.076,600.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the technical cooperation programme under which Japan’s Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) serve in various areas. Since 1989, a total of 285 volunteers, both junior and senior, have served in various areas. The first three volunteers arrived in Jamaica in July of that year to work in two fields: health and education. Since then the fields have been expanded to include agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, information technology, marine engineering, handicraft, making bamboo furniture, youth and community development, HIV/AIDS control, special education, sports (gymnastics, judo and tennis), automobile mechanics, dyeing, geo-technical engineering, hydraulics engineering, swimming, productivity and carpentry. Last year a total of 30 volunteers served in Jamaica and a total of US486,930 was spent on the JOCV Programme in Jamaica.

Regarding external training, 27 participants from Jamaica pursued training in Japan last year in health, education, information technology, water resource and disaster management, environmental management, governance, social security, agriculture, rural development and tourism. For its part, Jamaica has been sending hundreds of volunteers to Japan for many years now mainly to teach English.

The Grassroots and Human Security Grant Projects began in 1995 and so far US$13,608,238 has been spent on 63 projects, including poverty relief, primary health, primary education, public welfare and environment. The recipient organisations must be non-profit and implementing development projects at the grass roots levels. Individuals and profit-making companies are not eligible.

Among the projects which have been implemented since 1995 are improvements to the medical eye examination programme and medical service for children, production of PALS instructional materials for conflict resolution curriculum, improvement of the Inner-City Community Project of Downtown Kingston, donation of fire trucks, Upper Rio Grande Sanitation Improvement Project and the Montego Bay Marine Park Environmental Education Project.

The other projects include the creation of sustainable development through training, empowerment, and the promotion of productive work for disadvantaged women in St Mary through the community-based Highgate Dolls and Craft Cooperative Ltd; creating community empowerment and sustainable development through income-generating sewing skills in Grant’s Pen, an inner-city community, and Maxfield Park Children’s Home renovation.

In a recent statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Dr Kenneth Baugh noted that the bilateral relationship between Jamaica and Japan has traditionally been characterised by a high level of technical cooperation implemented primarily by the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Kingston. He spoke highly of the increasing number of Jamaican nationals involved in the teaching of English in Japanese schools, and by extension, enhancing cultural cooperation, as participants of the Japan Exchange Teaching Programme.

Meanwhile, the Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica Hiroshi Yamaguchi has spoken of Japan’s financial support to Jamaica. He said that what is not well known is that Jamaica benefited partially from a US$100-million fund – the Japan Social Investment Fund, managed by the World Bank in some selected sectors, including education, crime and violence and poverty prevention. Exclusive Japanese funding exists at the Inter-American Development Bank, also for poverty prevention purposes.