JAPAN INTO AFFLUENCE
difficulty in financing them themselves, the Government finances them through the EIB or OECF but in this Special case, unlike the Government-to- Government direct loans, it is the individual Japanese supplier, technically, that extends the credit, and to the in- Outstanding dividual foreign buyer not his Government, Japanese credits to Southeast Asia at the end of last year aggre- gated $258 million (Table II). Another $320 million was committed but unspent. These figures represent about 40% and 70% respectively of total credits to all developing countries. But the Gaimusho refuses to give details of the breakdown of these credits by recipient country - reflecting the tough bargaining that has to go on, as well as Japanese guile.
When the EIB was formed in 1950 it was meant to help promote machinery exports at large, not merely to de- veloping countries, but the trend has now changed. And re- luctantly the Japanese have accepted the concept, in hard cases, of commodity aid and balance-of-payments support to India, Pakistan and Indonesia.
(c)
Grants and Reparations
War Reparations payments arising out of the agreements with Burma, the Philippines, Indonesia and South Vietnam are now running at the annual rate of $70 million. For clas- sification purposes the special economic co-operation pacts with Laos and Cambodia, the "Special Yen" settlement with Thai- land and the expected payments to South Korea when and if negotiations with Scoul are concluded
are usually considered alongside these reparations programmes, and Table III sets out the annual programme to which Japan committed. It stretches over twenty-three years, of which only just over one-third is completed and will involve, if the Korean pact is approved, a total of $2,067 million. Tak- ing all such payments, including repayment of U.S. loans, into account, the peak comes next year when $146 million has to be found (assuming Korea): thereafter the annual amount will gradually decline.
Table IV shows the overall situation of the reparations programmes. The Philippines is lagging in its utilisation (only 25% by this summer) because the new Macapagal ad- ministration wanted a full review of its predecessor's handling
-VI-Trainees and Experts-
Number of Trainees Received and Experts Sent Overseas under Japanese Assistance
(April 1954-April 1963)
Type of Assistance
Trainees Experts
Colombo Plan Scheme
1,026 455
Technical Co-operation
Scheme for the Middle East & Africa
185
Technical Co-operation
Scheme for Latin America
129
81
25
U.S.-Japan Joint Third
Country Programme
2.002*
Others
1.387
4,729 572
Total
* includes the number of trainees received under the ICA Third Country Programme prior to the inception of the Joint Pro- gramme in March 1960.
SouPage281 bfignaffairs, Tokyo.
more
of this programme before continuing last year, and then the Peso re- valuation made re- parations goods expensive. By the end of last year $175 million should have been given but only $135 mil- lion was actually disbursed. But now Philippine Government pro curements
are
stepping up.
Reparations dif-
fers from foreign
aid in that it is
technically a dis- charge of an
agreed obligation, although
it is now virtually in- distinguishable from other forms of aid, and in that Japan has no direct concern in the disposition of the goods and services-they do not have to contribute to the development of the recipient economy but may be spent at will. Thus about 8% of the Burmese amounts have been in consumer goods. But there is a natural desire nor- mally on both sides to have solid development activity where possible, and the Gaimusho points with pride to the Balu Chaung power project which in 1960 doubled Burma's electricity generating capacity, Rais- ing local currency for local cost is often a problem and consumer goods are some- times provided to generate counterpart local currency (in South Vietnam, for instance, in connection with
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REV -VII---Numbers of Trainees Received,
Experts Sent April 1954-June 1963
Trainees Experts Received Sent
Asia. South & East
Taiwan
835
11
Indonesia
693 37
Thailand India
692
67
481
50
Philippines
371
8
Pakistan
237
65
Cambodia South Korea
208
40
208
South Vietnam
181
25
Ceylon
157
79
Burma
120
28
Malaya
87
26
Nepal
57
8
Singapore
53
17
Laos
33
11
Ryukyus Sabah
20
15
Sarawak
14
4
Hongkong
5
Total
4,467
476
Other Countries 493 109
World Total
4,960 585
Source: Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency, Tokyo.
the important Danhim damproject, almost completed).
There have recently been renewed unofficial or official demands for 'blood deht' settlement in Singapore and Hong- kong following the discovery of mass graves of alleged victims of Japanese brutality during the war. Since Britain renounced her claims to reparations (as did Nationalist China) the Japanese technically are not liable. Some gesture is likely to be made in the case of Malaysia, however, and the Gaimusho rather holds its thumbs and hopes that the other possible claimant mainland China will not throw a spanner in the works by demanding similar payments. Japanese officials say flatly that there is little chance of more outright grants being made now that the reparations agree- ments have all been negotiated. And the Reparations Division of the Gaimusho's Economic Affairs Bureau will merge with the Technical Co-operation Division next April. The Economic Co-operation Bureau came into being in May 1962, having previously been for its first three years a mere Division under the Economic Affairs Bureau.
(d)
Technical Assistance
In June 1962 the Overseas Technical Co-operation Agency was formed by the Government to execute overseas technical assistance programmes. Formerly this work had been done by various bodies including the Asia Kyokai and similar organisations for Latin America etc, all formed by private firms but subsidised by the Government. Eight Government Departments are represented in the OTCA including Finance,
THE 1964 YEARBOOK of the Far Eastern Economic Review will be published on December 12, 1963,
Reviewing in 280 pages the 1963 developments and 1964 prospects for industry, trade, agriculture, politics, transport etc.
in the 28 countries of South and East Asia,
it sells for HK$15 and will be sent post-free anywhere in ti
for US$3 or £1 2së sterling.
Order now from P. O. Box 160, Hongkong.
world.
October 31, 1963
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Page 281.
241
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3
242
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