ABSTRACT
The chapter consists of three sections. The first section outlines Japanese diplomacy and politics. It aims to understand the circumstances and conditions that influenced Japanese diplomacy in recent years. The second section explores the Japanese domestic political process with reference to policy-making of the ODA. This will illustrate how the political process transformed those policies that favouring humanitarian considerations. The ODA has been a major source of governmental assistance, among other forms of Japanese assistance. Thus, a consideration of these policies, trends and changes will help us to understand Japan’s diplomatic stance, State interests (objectives) and even its moral considerations. The third section examines how humanitarian and political considerations came to interact coherently in relation to Japan’s political decisions. In so doing, the section considers two distinctive expectations that surround Japan and its role in the world. From these analyses, the chapter attempts to unveil contemporary Japanese humanitarianism.
