Since 2004, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan, has been undergoing reorganization to improve efficiency and the delivery of ODA, among other matters.

To better coordinate the planning of ODA as a whole, on 1st August, ODA functions of both the Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Global Issues Department were brought together as the International Cooperation Bureau.

In addition, the position of Director General for Global Issues was created to coordinate policies for global problems, such as bird flu and environmental issues, within overall ODA strategy.

Organizations such as UNFPA and IPPF will now have their counterpart in the Global Issues Cooperation Division.

Nearly half of Japan's ODA goes to South and Southeast Asia, and the newly created Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, will now be responsible for this.

The reforms are being carried out as part of ongoing ODA reforms to strengthen ODA functions in strategy, planning and implementation. The International Economic Cooperation Council led by the Prime Minister was established in April 2006 to take a strategy role while MOFA is taking the main responsibility for planning. To strengthen the implementation functions, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the ODA functions of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) are to be integrated in October 2008.