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Japanese Emigration, Nikkei Communities, and Forced Migration: A Study from the Perspective of Human Security and International Cooperation
Full text linkUsing a human security perspective, this article examines support provided by Japan to Japanese emigrants and their descendants, particularly in Latin America, since the late 19th century, and scrutinizes Japan’s international cooperation efforts to address forced migration since the 1970s. Japanese emigrants and their descendants have formed Nikkei communities and have contributed to their destination countries, despite various hardships. As the sending country, Japan and its agencies, such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and one of its predecessors, the Japan Emigration Service (JEMIS), have supported Japanese emigrants and Nikkei communities in strengthening protection and empowerment. Regarding forced migration, the Japanese government established a comprehensive humanitarian assistance implementation system in the 1970s. This system is comprised of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Self-Defense Forces, JICA, and NGOs to support the people, including displaced persons, in crises such as armed conflicts or natural disasters. Furthermore, the scope of international cooperation has expanded to promote empowerment in addition to providing protection. Although the periods and contexts of support for Japanese emigrants and Nikkei communities, and Japan’s international cooperation to address forced migration differ significantly, JICA has been consistently involved in these efforts. JEMIS, originally established in 1963 to promote Japanese emigration, was later merged into JICA, which expanded its role to include addressing the challenges of forced migration. In a world where migration is a significant concern, this article attempts to link those separate activities under the framework of human security, which is one of the missions of JICA, and provide a preliminary discussion of the findings that can be drawn from each experience. This article identifies several practices considered human security approaches: protection and empowerment with people-centered, context-specific, and comprehensive principles. The trust-based relationships between Japan and destination countries for emigrants and displaced persons make such practices possible.本稿は、移住と強制移住に対する日本の支援や国際協力を人間の安全保障の視点から論じた。移住については、1880年代以降の主に中南米への日本人移民とその子孫に対する、日本政府とJICA、JICAの前身の一つである海外移住事業団（JEMIS）の支援や国際協力を考察した。様々な苦難を経て、日本人移民とその子孫は移住先国に貢献した。日本政府の移住政策は長い時間の中で変化し、JEMISやJICAは文脈に即した移民の保護やエンパワメントを推進した。強制移住については、1970年代に日本政府が包括的な人道支援の実施体制を構築し始めて以降の国際協力を考察した。JICAは外務省、自衛隊や日本の国際NGOと連携し、難民等の強制移住者を含む被災者の、文脈に即した包括的な保護とエンパワメントを促進した。二つの例は期間も背景も異なるが、人間の安全保障に照らした保護とエンパワメントの実践が確認できた。日本と移民や強制移住者の滞在国との信頼関係が、こうした取り組みを可能にする。departmental bulletin pape
To Our Friends and Partners Fighting Against COVID-19 In Developing Countries
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Acquisition of Microfinance Institutions by Commercial Investors: Evidence on Its Impacts on Outreach of the Cambodian Microfinance Institutions
Full text linkRecent developments in the microfinance sector have attracted a large inflow of capital investment. At the same time, there has been an increasing number of cases of acquisition of microfinance institutions (MFIs) by domestic and foreign private investors, especially commercial banks. This study investigates the current state of acquisition of local Cambodian MFIs and examines the impact of the recent acquisition cases on the lending behavior of local MFIs. The analysis employs unique data on Cambodian MFI lending at the MFI-district-pair level, and applies a robust difference-in-differences approach to estimate the impact of acquisition. The study finds that the acquisition cases have contributed to increases in the loan portfolios of MFIs and a shift in MFIs ’credit allocation from rural to urban areas after acquisition. Thus, changes in ownership and organizational structures through acquisition by commercial investors could more or less cause mission drift among MFIs. The results of the analysis may suggest that investment by impact investors should be facilitated to ensure the sustainability of social lending to the poor.近年、発展が顕著なマイクロファイナンスセクターでは多くの資本投資が集まっており、それに伴い国内外の商業銀行を始めとした民間投資機関によるマイクロファイナンス機関（MFIs）の買収が多く発生している。本研究では、カンボジアのMFIの買収状況を調査し、近年の買収がMFIの貸出行動に与える影響を分析した。分析では、カンボジアのMFI貸出に関するデータをMFI-地区レベルの粒度で収集し、差と差の分析(Difference-in-differences analysis)を用いて買収の影響を推定した。分析の結果、買収されたMFIの貸出ポートフォリオは買収されていないMFIに比べ増加する傾向にあることがわかった。また、買収されたMFIの貸出が農村地域から都市地域へとシフトする傾向にあることも示された。つまり、買収を通じて所有構造や組織構造が変化し、MFIの本来の目的である貧困向け貸出の割合が縮小した可能性があることが考えられる。本研究の結果から、MFIを通じての貧困層貸出の持続可能性を確保するためには、より公的あるいは社会性志向の高い投資機関による投資が促進されていく必要があると考えられる。departmental bulletin pape
Zambia’s Media Perspective on China, the US, Japan, and South Africa: Comparative Exploration through Private Online Media
Full text linkThis paper examines Zambia’s private online media perspectives on bilateral relations with China, Japan, the US, and South Africa. Methodologically, the study combines quantitative text mining and qualitative analysis using a five-factor model, which analyzes how domestic politics, economic conditions, peace and security, global international relations (IR), and regional IR shape Zambia’s bilateral relations with each of the four countries. The analysis revealed that economic factors are most influential, with media attention focused on attracting foreign direct investment from the four countries to stimulate national economic growth and strengthen regional connectivity to achieve the national goal of becoming a trading hub in Southern Africa. Key topics covered in the online media articles related to each country include debt restructuring with China, anticipated investments from Japan, discussions on the human rights of sexual minorities with the US, and a strong commitment to enhancing trade relations with South Africa. Zambian media have emphasized the current government’s political will to shape foreign policy based on national priorities and conveyed high expectations that the government will continue to exercise its agency in regard to each country. Domestically, the media coverage centered on the political divisions between the ruling and opposition parties, especially over foreign policy toward China and the US. While the current Zambian government seeks to exert its agency over both China and the US to resolve its debt problems, Zambia also aims to achieve two policy goals: first, balancing Zambia’s policy toward China and the US to avoid the perception of taking sides; second, balancing domestic views with US preferences on human rights. Through the analysis of discourses of local media, this study sheds light on the importance of gaining insights from the local media to develop a deeper understanding of the agency of smaller countries in relation to their larger counterparts in pursuing their interests in today’s changing international environment.本稿は、ザンビアの民間オンライン・メディアが、同国と中国、日本、米国、南アフリカとの二国間関係をどのように捉え報道しているか、その内容と論調を比較検証したものである。分析の結果、四カ国に関する報道内容には共通点があり、それは、南部アフリカの貿易ハブとなる国家の目標を達成するため、経済成長を後押しし、地域の連結性強化に貢献し得る直接投資をいかにして誘致するかという点である。また、各四カ国との間で、現地メディアが重視する開発課題には特徴があり、中国との間では債務再編、日本に対しては投資の期待、米国との間では性的マイノリティの人権問題、南アフリカに対しては貿易関係の一層の強化という分野に高い関心が向けられていた。本研究は、分析の対象がメディアの報道内容であることから、考察に一定の限界がある点を踏まえたうえで、今日の国際社会において、小国が大国に対し発揮しようとする自律性の理解を深めるにあたり、現地メディアの言説に着目することの有用性を示唆するものである。departmental bulletin pape
Public health-oriented response to COVID-19 in Bhutan: Addressing the shortage of human resources for health and medical facilities
Full text linkFollowing the detection of the first case of novel coronavirus (hereafter referred to as COVID-19) in the Kingdom of Bhutan on March 5, 2020, the country successfully implemented several measures. These included stricter border controls than international standards, recruitment and redeployment of human resources for health, mobilization of volunteers, use of ICT (information and communication technology), as well as the implementation of national COVID-19 vaccination campaigns and collaboration between the health sector and other sectors. Under robust leadership, Bhutan managed to prevent widespread community transmission of COVID-19 until March 2022, when the Omicron variant outbreak occurred.
The country kept the cumulative number of COVID-19-related deaths to a remarkably low 21, equivalent to 26.84 per million people, by September 2022. Recognizing the difficulty of treating severely ill patients in Bhutan due to a shortage of human resources for health and inadequate medical facilities and equipment, the response to COVID-19 focused on public health measures—including lockdowns—to control the spread of the virus until the population had received multiple doses of the vaccine. This approach was underpinned by a consistent philosophy among national leaders to prioritize the protection of people’s lives by all means. The leadership effectively united the people throughout the implementation of the public health response, despite the restrictions it imposed on daily life.
Although some health resources were initially difficult to obtain domestically (such as COVID-19-related information and technology, vaccines, and medical equipment), these were introduced through international cooperation. Within the country, resources that were available included the participation of citizens and volunteers in the response to COVID-19, cooperation between the health sector and other sectors, and the use of ICT applications developed domestically. Additionally, substitute medical facilities were established to compensate for the shortage of existing medical capacity.research repor