Bono: Japan is at the Heart of World Affairs in 2008

01.25.08

“Japan is at the heart of world affairs this year" said U2 singer and anti-poverty activist Bono today, after a meeting with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Davos.
 
“The world spotlight is focused on the Japanese people and on Prime Minister Fukuda. Issues of extreme global importance: extreme poverty, extreme climate change and extremist ideologies need strategic and bold leadership in difficult times. Because 2008 is half-time for the Millennium Development Goals, Japan is the most important country in the world for the bottom billion, those living in extreme poverty, this year."

"The world expects practical programs from Japan’s G8, building on proven effective mechanisms like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, which was created in Okinawa the last time Japan hosted the G8.”

The Global Fund has now helped put 1.3 million Africans on lifesaving AIDS drugs and distributed 46 million life-protecting anti-malarial bed nets. Many of these bed nets are made with generous technological help from the Sumitomo Corporation.

“In these ways Japan has started leading but must now follow up with additional concrete steps on health, education and water for the poorest - the themes outlined today by the Prime Minister. The world is watching, supporting, encouraging a new Japan to deliver new aid in new exciting ways,” said Bono.

DATA*, the Africa advocacy group co-founded by Bono in 2002, monitors G8 commitments to Africa on aid quantity and quality, trade and governance.

According to DATA’s analysis, the G8 are not collectively on track to deliver an additional $25 billion annually in effective aid to Africa by 2010, as they promised at the G8 in Gleneagles in 2005.

Japan’s aid budget has also declined steadily since 2001. The government’s budget for 2007 saw a 4% cut in spending, which will result in a development assistance budget of ¥729 billion (US$6.7 billion), the lowest level since 1989/90. There was an increase for Africa but this may not be sustained in the 2008 budget.
 
DATA’s Director for Europe and Japan, Oliver Buston, said: 
 
“Japan must set a positive example by increasing its own effective aid budget. As G8 leader, it will also be Japan’s role to persuade all the G8 countries to do more to keep their promises to the poor, to leverage Japanese leadership.”

Japan is one of the few G8 countries that has not set a target for increasing development assistance.  For example the EU countries have promised to increase their aid budgets to 0.7% of GNI by 2015. The new Australian government has just announced that it will increase aid spending to 0.5% of GNI by 2015. Recently some politicians in Japan have called for tripling of Japanese aid over the next few years.

Japan has previously demonstrated great leadership on Africa and global poverty.  The 2000 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit was the first time that African nations were invited to participate in a G8 Summit and the resulting Okinawa Infectious Diseases Initiative led to the launch in the following year of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.

Such leadership is again critical. A stable, democratic and prospering Africa would not only help fight extremism, but will also bring long-term benefits to the Japanese and world economy.  This is only possible with a long-term G8 commitment to fight poverty and inequality in Africa and around the world.

“We sense a growing wave of support for these issues in Japan which will grow in the coming months to become a deafening call for action,” said Buston. 
 
Media contact:
Katy Cronin, DATA Media Manager  +44 7788 710 789