Japan was the largest provider of development aid in response to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis among the Group of Seven industrialized nations in 2020 despite the hit its economy suffered during the pandemic, according to an independent study.Japan committed $5.1 billion in new aid funding last year, compared to $4.4 billion pledged by Germany, $1.9 billion by France and $1.0 billion by Canada, the study by Kiyoshi Kodera, a former Japanese Finance Ministry and World Bank official shows, citing data from the Overseas Development Institute, a British think tank.Among other G-7 memb…READ FULL ARTICLE