As Japan cuts back on aid to many developing countries because of corruption, it has selected five African states for continued economic help over the next five years.
The president of the Japanese Society for International Development, Ryokichi Hirono, told journalists attending a fellowship program in Tokyo that Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe had been selected, on an experimental basis, for continued aid beginning 1997.
We selected countries that were politically stable, perceived to be even remotely interested in development and seemed to have potential, he said.
He is also international aid advisor to Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto.
Aid projects in the selected countries are expected to focus on increasing food production, broadening education, promoting a good economic climate and training civil servants.
Japan has cut its spending in government departments and foreign aid by 10 percent due to an economic downturn which has affected most East Asian economies.
Half of Japan's foreign aid goes to Southeast Asia. Africa receives 15 percent.
The president of the Japanese Foreign Press Centre, Yoshia Hatano, said that most Asian countries -- such as Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea -- which benefited from Japanese aid no longer needed help. So, aid could now be directed to Africa.