WPriorities in international development are evolving rapidly with humanitarian issues, climate change and security issues inter alia becoming much more important. What is the view from Japan and the UK on these priorities? Also, the UK is ever more budget constrained with an arguably receding profile in international development, while Japan is increasingly proactive, and expected to spend more on ODA. In practical terms, how will these evolving priorities, and changes in expenditure and proactivity, affect how the UK and Japan deliver Official Development Assistance (ODA)? Are there opportunities for coordinating and collaborating in the area of ODA? In this seminar Dr Carl Aaron and Professor Kuniaki Amatsu will analyse these issues from a Japanese, UK and international perspective.

About the contributors

Dr Carl Aaron

Dr Carl Aaron is a specialist in international development and foreign direct investment (FDI), as well as in Japan’s external relations. He is an independent advisor on international trade and investment, and researching/advocating for collaboration of like-minded countries with Japan around ODA and security issues. He was previously the UK Government’s Private Sector Advisor for MENA, and a Senior Official in G7 meetings working with Japan and other G7 members on joint development initiatives.  He has worked on economic development and foreign investment policy for the World Bank Group and various consultancies and NGOs. He has also been an industry analyst and equities trader in Tokyo. He has a DPhil in International Relations from St. Antony’s College, Oxford, with a focus on Japanese FDI and subnational economic development in the UK and the US.  He lived in Japan for many years, spending time in Tokyo and Hiroshima; and in the US for even longer!

Kuniaki Amatsu

Kuniaki Amatsu is the Resident Representative of JICA’s UK and a Visiting Professor at Yamaguchi University. He has worked for JICA for about thirty years including the three overseas posts, Vietnam, Nigeria and Tanzania. He has been involved in international development, including supporting Vietnam’s transitional development strategy, private sector development and public financial management. His publications include: “Differences in the Vision of State Leaders and Their Role in the Outcome of Industrialization: A Comparison of Meiji Japan and Post-Colonial Africa” (Industrial Policy, 1 (1), 2021) and “The Learning Process for State Leaders and the Ministry of Industry in the Early Industrialization Stage: The Experience of Meiji Japan” (JICA Research Institute, 2022). He holds an MA in International Economics from the School of International Politics, Economics and Business, Aoyama Gakuin University, and an MA in Public Financial Management from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK.

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