Japanese International Cooperation Agency
 |
|
| Abbreviation | JICA |
|---|---|
| Formation | October 1, 2003 |
| Type | Government agency |
| Legal status | Active |
| Purpose | Official development assistance |
| Headquarters | 1F–6F Ninbancho Building Center, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan |
|
Region served
|
Worldwide |
|
Official language
|
Japanese and English (secondary) |
|
President
|
Shinichi Kitaoka |
| Affiliations |
Development Assistance Committee Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
|
Budget
|
¥1.478 billion yen |
|
Staff
|
1,845 (March 2015) |
| Website | www |
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (独立行政法人国際協力機構 dokuritsu gyōseihōjin kokusai kyōryoku kikō, "JICA") is a governmental agency that coordinates official development assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international cooperation. In October, 2003, Sadako Ogata, former United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, became the President. It has been led by Professor Shinichi Kitaoka, the former President of the International University of Japan.
JICA's predecessor, the previous Japan International Cooperation Agency (also known as "JICA"), was a semigovernmental organization under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, formed in 1974. The new JICA was formed on October 1, 2003. A major component of the comprehensive overhaul of Japan's ODA decided by the National Diet on November, 2006, is that the merger in 2008 will be between JICA and that part of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) which currently extends concessional loans to developing countries.
Since its completion on 1 October 2008, the new JICA has become one of the largest bilateral development organizations in the world with a network of 97 overseas offices, projects in more than 150 countries, and available financial resources of approximately 1 trillion yen ($8.5 billion). The reorganized agency is also responsible for administering part of Japan's grant aid which is currently under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and so all three major ODA components—technical cooperation, grant aid, and concessional loans—are now managed "under one roof." The new JICA will also strengthen research and training capacity in the years ahead, acting as a kind of ODA think tank, contributing to global development strategies, strengthening collaboration with international institutions, and being better able to communicate Japan's position on major development and aid issues.
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