Japan has been one of the five largest contributors of development assistance in absolute terms in recent decades. Over the past several years, in particular, Japan has articulated a strong commitment to assisting developing countries in addressing climate change-related issues.

This assessment is one in a series of Open Climate Network (OCN) studies, developed by the World

Resources Institute (WRI) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in consultation with a range of experts that aims to shed light on how developed countries are defining, delivering, and reporting Fast Start Finance (FSF) using a common research methodology.

The objectives of the assessments are to:

• Clarify what major contributor countries have counted as FSF.
• Quantify FSF, by contributor country, in terms of the institutions through which it flows, the financial instruments it comprises, and the ends – particularly the objectives and recipients– it serves.
• Identify best practices and areas for improvement in reporting on climate finance.