Reference News Network, December 27 report: According to Japan's Asahi Shimbun, in Japan's fiscal year 2026 budget, the "Office of Security Assistance (OSA)" project is allocated 18.1 billion yen, more than double that of the fiscal year 2025. The project aims to provide defense equipment and supplies free of charge to so-called "like-minded" countries' armed forces. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "Official Development Assistance (ODA)" budget has seen its first increase in five years after a period of stagnation.
When OSA was established in the fiscal year 2023, it covered only four countries with a budget of 2 billion yen, and then gradually increased. By this fiscal year, the number of target countries has increased to 12, including Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, some Pacific island countries, and Mongolia.
Initially, Japan mainly provided radar and patrol boats, but the variety of supplies has gradually increased. With the increase in the next fiscal year's budget, the project is expected to cover a larger area, mainly in Southeast Asia, and may also provide more advanced radars to them.
Regarding the OSA program, Japanese Prime Minister Takayoshi Kishida announced at the ASEAN summit held in October this year that Japan will expand the number of supported countries. This year, Cambodia and Vietnam are also expected to be included in the support list.
Many countries supported by the OSA program are located in strategic maritime traffic areas. A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "These countries are trying to protect their own interests in the Sino-US competition, and cooperating with them aligns with Japan's national interests."
At the same time, the budget for Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) program increased by 11.7 billion yen this fiscal year, reaching 449.7 billion yen. Japan's ODA has been continuously declining since reaching its peak in the 1990s, and has remained basically unchanged in recent years. However, this is the first increase in five years. With the Trump administration dissolving the United States Agency for International Development, public opinion in Japan has clearly tended to reduce foreign aid. However, as US aid decreases, the world's expectations for Japan's ODA are increasing.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' budget proposal for the next fiscal year reached a record high of 817 billion yen. Of this, the budget for "information warfare" on issues such as historical awareness with foreign countries increased by 20.7 billion yen compared to the previous year, an increase of 21.6%.
Translation by Chen Xi
Original: toutiao.com/article/7588490987082449417/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.