Yen Loans: Between Norms and Heterodoxy

Yen loans are long-term, low-interest loans provided to developing countries as part of the Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA), mainly for infrastructure development as a foundation for economic growth of recipient countries. They have been a continuing object of criticism in light o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of International Development Studies Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 33 - 44
Main Author Shiga, Hiroaki
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Japan Society for International Development 28.02.2023
Subjects
development assistance
Japan
norm
Official Development Assistance
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Summary:Yen loans are long-term, low-interest loans provided to developing countries as part of the Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA), mainly for infrastructure development as a foundation for economic growth of recipient countries. They have been a continuing object of criticism in light of dominant norms, championed by the United States and European countries, that development assistance is a form of charity by rich countries for the sake of poor countries, and thus should take the form of grant and technical assistance. In other words, yen loans have been symbolic of the heterodoxy that flows through the history of Japan's ODA. This chapter questions the nature of this heterodoxy and examines how discord has been navigated between Japan as norm-taker and the norm-makers―the United States and European countries―who generally lack flexibility with respect to different way of development assistance.
ISSN:1342-3045
2434-5296
DOI:10.32204/jids.31.3_33