Japan has been establishing its foreign aid contributors since the 1990s. The three government institutions involved in disbursing this are: the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC). This is now the nodal agency for all Japanese concessional loans, and replaced Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) in 1999.
While earlier attempts were criticised, more recently a concerted effort has since been made to increase spending and target specific areas of need. In the 2000s, the goals of national security were included for the first time.