Navigating the middle: Japan-Cambodia relations and the challenge of geopolitical competition
“Over the past three decades, Japan has helped build roads, bridges, schools, and institutions such as courts, ministries, and universities. Unlike China’s large-scale investments in real estate, ports, and casino zones like Sihanoukville — often criticised for their lack of transparency and ties to corruption — Japan’s aid has largely emphasised soft infrastructure: governance reform, human resource development, and institutional strengthening. This has earned Japan a reputation of trustworthiness and neutrality in Cambodia, though Tokyo has typically eschewed overt political pressure, even as Phnom Penh has slid deeper into authoritarianism, as documented by Human Rights Watch and Freedom House.”
“What Japan can offer, however, is credibility and capacity-building. Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) training of over 3,000 Cambodian civil servants since 1993, hundreds of scholarships for Cambodian students to study in Japan, and support for judicial and electoral reform have lasting effects. Cambodian civil society leaders, development experts, and international donors see these efforts are higher in quality and longer-term in orientation compared to the often transactional nature of Chinese assistance.”