Most of Japan's bilateral tsunami aid remains untouched

More than two thirds of the bilateral aid Japan offered after the Indian Ocean tsunami remains untouched, raising questions on whether the massive assistance met victims' needs, a report said Monday. Japan was one of the biggest donors amid the outpouring of global sympathy following the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami, disbursing US$ 500 million to governments of affected countries and international aid groups.

But nearly 70 percent of the 24.6 billion yen ($204 million) in bilateral aid to Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka remains unused nearly a year later, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Indonesia, the biggest aid recipient at 14.6 billion yen, did not start using the money until May 4 and as of Nov. 10 had withdrawn only 15.8 percent of the funds, the newspaper said.

Japan, the world's biggest aid donor in dollar terms after the United States, usually offers low-interest loans rather than grants and attaches the money to specific projects. But after the tsunami, Japan broke with its usual practice by giving cash handouts and letting governments choose what to spend the money on, although their plans still had to be approved by Tokyo. By contrast, Japan offered $20 million in aid after Kashmir's earthquake in October.


Source: The Jakarta Post