¥5.8 Bil. ODA-Related Deposits Left Unused, Audit Survey Finds; Foreign Ministry Vows to Establish System to Track Usage

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, October 24, 2025

About ¥5.8 billion of funds accumulated by recipient developing countries using Official Development Assistance grants had been left unused for at least five years, a Board of Audit of Japan survey has revealed.

The board pointed out that the aid is not producing results and called for improvements.

Developing countries use the aid to procure commodities like grain and fertilizer, sell them on the market and deposit the proceeds. They need approval from Japan before deciding how to use these deposits. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they are generally used for such purposes like building kindergartens and buying agricultural machinery.

This mechanism enables Japan to provide long-term support rather than end with a one-time grant.

The board examined ¥92.6 billion provided to 48 countries by the ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) between fiscal years 1992 and 2017 and found that about ¥5.8 billion remained unused in 30 countries as of fiscal year 2024, five years after being deposited or more. There was no record of consultations to Japan for ¥1.6 billion of this amount.

A total of ¥428 million deposits in accounts of five countries, including Madagascar and Tanzania, was unknown to Japan.

The foreign affairs ministry said that it would “establish a system to track account balances and usage.” JICA argued, “We strive for appropriate use, but no deadline is set for spending. It is not necessarily good to spend fast.”