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View all search resultsFrom trust to Kizuna: 20 years of Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund
The next chapter of Japan-ASEAN relations will test whether the bond can endure amidst increasingly self-seeking and divisive geopolitical tendencies.
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(left to right) Foreign Minister Sugiono, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Laos' Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn talk before a group photo during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Pasay, Metro Manila on July 23, 2026. (AFP/Pool/Aaron Favila)
“ASEAN integration” emerged as one of ASEAN’s most popular buzzwords following the launch of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (AIA) at the 4th ASEAN Informal Summit in Singapore in 2000. Having just completed “ASEANization of Southeast Asia,” integration was the natural step for ASEAN.
Cambodia joined as the 10th member in 1999, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and before that was Vietnam, in 1995. The AIA was launched as a framework to narrow gaps in institutional capacity, infrastructure, and income between ASEAN Six and its newer four members.
In 2003, through the Bali Concord II, ASEAN stepped up its integration plan, declaring the formation of a three-pillared ASEAN Community by 2020. On that occasion, ASEAN called on external partners to support this aspiration.
Japan responded swiftly. In 2005, then-prime minister Koizumi Jun’ichiro made a pledge of around US$70 million earmarked specifically for ASEAN integration. In 2006, that pledge was institutionalized with the birth of the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).
In 2007, ASEAN decided to bring forward the schedule of realization of the ASEAN community from 2020 to 2015. JAIF, already up and running, was well-positioned to support the faster pace of community building declared by ASEAN.
Two decades after its inception, in 2026, the total disbursed amount under JAIF exceeded $900 million with over 620 community building and integration projects completed. This makes JAIF one of the largest, most enduring development cooperation programs by an ASEAN partner.
JAIF’s achievement stands in stark contrast to the situation five decades ago. In the 1970s, “economic animal” was the era’s infamous label, coined by ASEAN observers who watched Japanese trading houses and manufacturers pursue market share with little accompanying diplomatic, political or cultural engagement.
