Japan’s Positive and Negative Aid Sanctions Policy Toward Asian Countries: Case Studies of Thailand and Indonesia

In this paper, Japan’s positive and negative aid sanctions policy toward Asian countries since the introduction of new aid guidelines will be examined and discussed. Japan can choose to impose negative aid sanctions (the suspension or a decrease in foreign aid) on recipient countries where undesirable policy changes occur, while positive aid sanctions (an increase in foreign aid) would be applied to aid recipients that conduct desirable polices in the light of Japan’s ODA Charter. The Japanese government implemented four positive aid sanctions in Asia, i.e. in Mongolia, Cambodia, Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union and Vietnam. However, Japan was reluctant to employ negative aid sanctions in the region despite various violations of human rights in Thailand and Indonesia.