Japan Launches Overseas Defence Funding Aid Scheme.

Japan has announced a new aid scheme, the Overseas Security Assistance (OSA), to offer financial assistance to developing countries to help them bolster their defences. The aid will be managed separately from the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) programme that has funded civilian infrastructure for decades. The OSA will not be used to buy lethal weapons, and only developing countries will be eligible for the aid given that it will be provided as grants. The move comes as Japan undertakes its biggest military build-up since World War Two in a marked shift away from pacifism.