ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to rebalance economic concerns a consideration of the social problems that accompanied Latin American countries’ struggles with endemic violence in the 1980s. Latin America has occupied a special place in Japan’s official development assistance programs for historical and business reasons. Though in the sphere of America’s national interest, Latin America has often taken a secondary place in US development priorities, especially after the end of the Cold War and the refocusing of US programs to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. There is a range of historical and economic factors that shape Japan’s engagement and its balance of business and social development concerns. A trend in US and European non-governmental organizations and foundation funding has been the support of decentralized research centers and public intellectuals who will be able to develop their own research initiatives that document social problems on regional and community levels.
