Japan will actively address the priority issues stipulated in the "ODA Charter" and the "Medium-Term Policy on ODA" bearing in mind that gender is a cross-sectoral issue, for example, as follows. In these efforts, the perspective of "human security" *4 that places the focus on individual human beings is important.
(1) Poverty reduction
Poverty is an issue that requires a multi-dimensionsional response. Poverty is caused by economic factors such as low income and expenditure, but is also caused by social and political factors as exemplified by lack of access to basic social services such as education and public health and lack of opportunities to participate in the decision-making process. Gender inequality persists in many aspects such as economy, society and politics. It is said that among the 1.1 billion people who are poor about 70% are women, and women account for two thirds of illiterate population in the world. Therefore, in formulating policies and projects aiming at poverty reduction, Japan will give consideration to improve women's access to a variety of services and welfare opportunities and promote participation of women in the decision making process so that women and men can equally benefit.
With respect to education, Japan will support; equal access to education through creation of social and economic environment which enables girls to go to schools and through distance learning, elimination of gender disparity in literacy rate, enrolment rate (especially, in primary and secondary education) and completion rate; establishment of gender- sensitive education-related law, institution and educational policies; development of educational software (curriculum, teaching material etc.) to promote gender equality and empowerment of women; gender training to education administrators and teachers to promote understanding and teaching method concerning gender; and promoting awareness in communities including parents and the decision makers in region concerning importance of girls' education.
With respect to health, Japan will promote; elimination of disparity in health condition that originates in gender, such as disparity in access to medical and health services or vulnerability of women to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDs; response to specific health needs of women throughout their life cycle; and sexual and reproductive health/rights. More specifically, Japan will support; ensuring equal access of women and men to quality and affordable medical and health services; dissemination of information and education concerning family planning and reproductive health to women and men, families and local communities; strengthening of maternal and child health service for reducing infant and maternal mortality; establishment of institutions and medical facility/system for supporting women's lifetime health; promotion of research including statistics.
With respect to agriculture, forestry, fishery, and rural development, the role of women in production tends to be underestimated and there are problems of women not being able to utilise productive resources because they do not have rights to own or inherit land. Moreover, depending on the region, the role of women in agriculture increases further due to a decrease in male workforce that result from migration to cities or conflicts.
Based on the recognition of women's role in rural development as well as the different purpose for which men and women engage in agricultural production needs, Japan will support; establishment of facilities and extension of cultivation technology that contributes to reducing agricultural workload of women; dissemination of technology to raise women's incomes such as livestock husbandry and cultivation; participation of women in food-processing industry; strengthening women's producer associations and their management; training for the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizer. In addition, inhabitants in the rural areas in developing countries depend their livelihoods on natural resources such as spring water, rivers and forests, and in many cases fetching water and collecting fuel wood is assumed to be the role of women. Japan will support measures to conserve natural resources as well as to reduce such work burden of women.
(2) Sustainable growth
Economic policies and development of socio-economic infrastructure for achieving sustainable growth may affect men and women differently. Therefore, if such policies or projects are planned and implemented without incorporating a gender perspective, it may not bring benefits to women, and in some cases it may even worsen the situation of women. It has also become evident that infrastructure projects will become more effective and efficient by accurately analysing and taking into account the different living conditions and needs of women and men at the planning stage of projects. For these reasons, Japan will give consideration in the planning stage to have women and men participate equally in the decision making process and to have the benefits of its cooperation be shared equally by women and men.
In the area of infrastructure development, Japan will promote planning and implementation based on a gender perspective, and will take necessary measures to ensure that women benefit. For instance, consideration will be given to gender training for people involved in projects and expanding women's employment opportunities.
In the area of economy and labour, women are more likely to engage in the informal sector or work under part-time employment. Women's unpaid work in the community or household are not included in economic statistics. In view of such circ*mstances, Japan will provide assistance on; measures to redress gender inequality resulting from differences in labour conditions such as wages and occupational category; formulation of trade and investment policies that benefit poor women; capacity building of women to expand their opportunities in industries and employment; fostering women entrepreneurs and microfinance programs targeted at women; promotion of rights and legal protection of female workers in formal/informal sector; and making work and family life compatible for both women and men.
(3) Addressing global issues
Gender perspective must be incorporated in the actions to address global issues, including natural disasters that affect a wide area such as earthquakes and floods, environmental issues such as natural environment degradation and environmental pollution, human right issues such as trafficking in persons and violence, and spread of infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS. In promoting actions against global issues, Japan will analyse the different needs of men and women, provide support to eliminating factors which may threaten women's living environment as well as traditions/customs which are harmful and discriminatory for women with the participation of both women and men.
With respect to environment, rural people in developing countries tend to depend on natural resources for their livelihood and have daily contact with nature through such activities as collection of firewood or medicinal plants. Therefore, in order to conserve the natural environment, Japan will provide training on management of natural resources and environment protection, promote measures to protect the environment that give consideration to women's roles (e.g. afforestation and the promotion of improved cooking stoves etc.), and utilisation of experiences and knowledge of women for environmental measures such areas as biodiversity conservation.
With respect to human rights and violence, Japan will support efforts of developing countries to establish legislation as well as to achieve substantive gender equality based on the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" and other international human rights documents. Issues regarding violence against women which has its background in traditional gender stereotypes, and violence or human rights abuse against migrant women will also be addressed. In concrete terms, Japan will provide support to; dissemination of information for advocacy of women's human rights; elimination of prejudice and discrimination against minority women including indigenous women and handicapped women; rejection of traditional practices that violate human rights of women; development of laws and institutions for preventing and combating all forms of violence against women including domestic violence; development of comprehensive laws and institutions against trafficking in persons; and development of legal systems, organisations or shelters for the support and protection of victimised women and their children.
(4) Peace-building
Conflicts, which bring about various problems such as creation of a large number of refugees and internally displaced persons, sexual violence and abductions in conflict situation, deprivation of rights and freedom, and damages from landmines and small arms, affect women differently from men, as exemplified by the fact that women are more likely to be victims of violence. At the post-conflict stage, there are cases in which social integration of widows and discharged women soldiers receive lower priority, or women become victims of physical violence from husbands who suffer from post-war trauma. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately reflect the needs of women and men by taking actions that incorporate a gender perspective at all stages of peace-building assistance from emergency humanitarian assistance, post-conflict reconstruction and development assistance, to prevention of conflict and its recurrence. It is also important to treat women not merely as victims of conflicts, but also as a contributor to peace-building.
In the area of humanitarian assistance and reconstruction assistance, support will be provided for protection of women from sexual violence in conflict situation and recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Japan will also provide support to refugees and internal displaced persons, to their post-conflict repatriation, resettlement, and rehabilitation in a seamless manner. Japan will consider women's special needs at all phases of peace-building, and address the security of women and girls, women's capacity building and economic independence at the post-conflict stage.
On prevention of conflict and its recurrence, Japan will also support equal participation of women and men in decision-making in the peace process. Japan will support equal participation of women and men in politics as well as peace education targeted at women and men. In the process of social reconstruction after conflict, Japan will provide assistance on development of laws and institutions from a gender perspective, and on promotion of equal social participation so that a society can achieve security and permanent peace.
