A cause for celebration: The Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers' 60th Anniversary

DIPLOMATIC POUCH

- ENDO KAZUYA

It is quite well-known that Japan has long been the Philippines' top source for official development assistance. In 2024, it remained to be the largest donor, followed by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, according to data by the DEPDev.

Japan's involvement in large-scale infrastructure projects, including the North-South Commuter Railway, the Metro Manila Subway and the Davao City Bypass, has also signaled its role in the country's development.

Beyond the scale of support, what has mattered equally are our experiences—shared joys and sorrows in walking side by side for the betterment of the local community.

Among our most enduring partnerships, the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers have walked alongside us for decades in our shared journey toward progress.

The Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, or JOCV for short, has enabled promising volunteers from Japan to work with local communities to address a variety of issues on a close, grassroots level.

With 2025 marking the program's 60th anniversary, let us reflect on their extraordinary stories and the truly equal partnership they embodied.

The Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers

JOCV started in 1965 as one of the programs managed by the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency, a precursor of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Together with Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Kenya, the Philippines was part of the JOCV program's inaugural dispatches to five countries. The Philippines received 12 volunteers—the largest share out of 29 total volunteers at the time.