The role of mercantilism, humanitarianism, and gaiatsu in Japan's ODA programme in Asia

Objective. Three competing explanations for the distributionof Japan's ODA in Asia are empirically examined in this paper.The first explanation hypothesizes that Japan reacts to US pressureand interests as it formulates its foreign aid policy. The competingexplanations argue that Japanese ODA is used to promote Japan'snational economic interests or humanitarian goals. Methods.We examine the determinants of Japanese ODA in 14 Asian countriesfor the period of 1979–1998. The effects of the independentvariables are estimated using ordinary least squares (OLS) withpanel-corrected standard errors. Results. US strategic interestswere found to have no effect on aid disbursements for the periodin question. Rather, we find that Japan's national economicinterests have shaped Japanese aid decisions in Asia. The disbursementpattern of Japanese ODA is also influenced by poverty in therecipient country. Employing measures from the Political TerrorScale, Freedom House, and Polity IV, we find no effect for democracyor human rights.