【By Observer News, Wang Yi】The Japanese government recently suddenly cut the budget for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (hereinafter referred to as the "Global Fund"), which has caused great concern among its own people.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on December 15 that scholars from a Japanese university openly stated that this not only deviates from Japan's "peaceful diplomacy" path, damages its credibility, but also provides an opportunity for China to further expand its influence in developing countries.

According to Japan's Asahi Shimbun on September 9, during the Global Fund replenishment conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Japanese government quietly reduced its financial support for the fund, only pledging to donate 81 billion yen (about 3.68 billion yuan) over the next three years, which is about half of the 155.8 billion yen pledged in 2022.

On November 21, Japanese Foreign Ministry official Oda Yoichi attended the Global Fund replenishment conference. Social media

Regarding the latest commitment, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement, "Global health is not only directly related to human health, but also crucial to the international community, including Japan, and constitutes major economic, social and security risks, so it is very important for Japan's health and medical security."

This move has drawn severe criticism from domestic public opinion in Japan. The Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE), which operates the Global Fund in Japan, issued a statement at the end of last month criticizing, "The sudden announcement of the donation amount reduction is far greater than that of other countries, damaging the credibility accumulated by Japan in international cooperation."

Michael Cucek, a political scientist at Temple University's Japan campus, pointed out that Japan's funding cuts were "quite shocking," but "this reflects the general aversion of Japan's emerging right-wing parties to international aid," "these parties adhere to the principle of 'Japan First,' opposing anything beneficial to foreigners."

Cucek further analyzed that the rising influence of conservative parties supporting Takahashi Hayato's government, and the prime minister's increased reliance on them when pushing legislation, is expected to drive increased spending on defense and military equipment.

"This marks a departure from Japan's 'peaceful diplomacy' path and the practice of using aid to gain security," Cucek said. Japan's retreat also creates an opportunity for China to "show African countries that it is a reliable and friendly partner."

He also said that official development assistance has long been an important tool for Japan to shape its image as a "peaceful nation," especially in East Asia, where Japan has tried to counter the continuous criticisms from China about its wartime history, "Japan has always emphasized that it provides aid in a peaceful way, but when this is weakened, the message of peace becomes unclear."

Japan has long been a major donor to the fund, but a source close to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Asahi Shimbun that one of the main reasons for the country's recent significant reduction in aid is "the Japanese public increasingly disapproves of overseas aid projects, including government aid, and this issue cannot be ignored."

A survey published by the Cabinet Office of Japan on November 28 showed that only 22.6% of respondents believed Japan should "actively promote" financial aid to developing countries, the lowest level in a decade; meanwhile, another 22.6% of respondents believed that "should reduce" or "should stop" foreign aid, reaching the highest level in the same period.

The Global Fund, headquartered in Switzerland, was established in 2002, and has made significant progress in the prevention and control of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through improving detection capabilities, monitoring systems, community networks, and medical training, saving about 70 million lives in over 100 countries.

In November this year, the Global Fund held its eighth replenishment conference in Johannesburg to raise funds for the next three years, but many major donors have reduced their latest commitments. Data shows that in terms of US dollars, the United States cut by 5.1%, Germany by 10.6%, the UK by 5.4%, while Japan cut by nearly 52%.

The Global Fund's budget target for 2026-2028 is 18 billion US dollars, but only 11.34 billion US dollars have been raised so far. The fund admitted that it will have to "do more with less resources" in the future.

In a statement, the Global Fund said, "Development assistance funds are decreasing, and discussions on reforming the global health system are accelerating," and called on Japan to fulfill "its due responsibilities" in order to "lead the discussion on global health issues at this critical moment."

Meanwhile, China's relationship with the Global Fund has shifted from a recipient country to a governance partner. Between 2003 and 2014, China received more than 800 million US dollars in funding from the fund to implement 19 projects. However, since then, China has pledged and allocated 99 million US dollars to the Global Fund, including 18 million US dollars pledged in the seventh round of replenishment. As of the end of 2024, China ranked 22nd among government funders.

Christy Feig, head of communications at the Global Fund, told China's First财经 in late October that China's participation reflected its evolving role in global health governance, and that in addition to financial support, China has increasingly made important contributions in technical cooperation and experience sharing.

She praised China's deep influence in Africa, sincere listening to the actual needs of African partners, and accurately meeting local development demands. This "needs-oriented" cooperation concept is highly aligned with the Global Fund's operational model and truly responds to the core concerns of African countries.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7584017738486694450/

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