Japan’s Official Development Assistance towards Myanmar: the role of the strategic use of Japanese aid in infrastructure development

Official Development Assistance (ODA) is one of the fundamental requirements for a developing country. Myanmar has received ODA from Japan since 1955 but Japan stopped its ODA loans in 1988, following the instruction of the United States because of the military’s human rights abuse and ignorance of election results. At that time China became a major supporter of Myanmar. Therefore, Japan has strategically used its ODA to maintain the relationship and reduce Chinese influence in Myanmar. Japan deploys ODA strategically as a diplomatic tool by sharing common values. Japan’s official policy towards Myanmar is to progress democratization, improve human rights and ensure peace and prosperity through economic and social development. Japan and Myanmar have reached an agreement on a formal bilateral partnership based on Japan’s economic and technical cooperation assistance. The cooperation between Japan and Myanmar has led to achievements in the areas of economic, social, and technical development. Up to the present, Myanmar always welcomes Japanese assistance. However, good results for Japan's strategic policies have not been coming out in Myanmar and a formal agreement as a strategic partnership has not been reached. It shows that Japan's strategic ODA is not working well in Myanmar. Therefore, this paper examines why Japan's strategic assistance does not work well for Myanmar's infrastructure development.