Japan's 2020 development aid 2nd highest on record due to pandemic

Japan's official development assistance totaled about $20.3 billion in 2020, the second highest on record, as loans grew to developing nations due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Friday.The annual white paper on development cooperation issued by Japan's Foreign Ministry showed ODA in 2020 rose 7.3 percent from the previous year. After $22.4 billion in 2013, the figure was the highest for any year since 1960, when comparable data became available.Calculated by international standards under the "grant equivalent" method, Tokyo's aid amounted to $16.3 billion. Japan's ODA incl…READ FULL ARTICLE