Overview of the 2026 White Paper on Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | Chapter 102026 MLIT White Paper: Overseas Infrastructure and Global Cooperation

The government established the Economic Cooperation Infrastructure Strategy Council in March 2013 and has promoted overseas infrastructure development through a whole-of-government approach. The international community faces intertwined challenges of climate change, fragmentation of order, humanitarian crises, country risk, economic security risks, and supply-chain disruptions.

The Infrastructure System Overseas Development Strategy 2030, formulated in December 2024, presents three pillars: (1) enhancing earning power and competitiveness through co-creation with partner countries, (2) responding to economic security and other issues while securing national interests, and (3) agile responses that treat GX and DX as opportunities.

International development in the land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism sectors is pursued not only to help companies win projects, but also as a policy that simultaneously addresses partner countries' challenges in national land planning, transportation, urban development, water, disaster prevention, housing, tourism, and other fields, while strengthening Japan's technological and industrial base.

For companies, intergovernmental dialogue, public-private funds, councils, surveys, matching, human resource programs, and international standardization can lower barriers to entering overseas projects and reduce financial, information, and human resource burdens. These measures are expected in particular to broaden participation opportunities for mid-sized and small businesses, regional companies, and startups.

For partner countries and regions, technical cooperation, human resource development, and institutional development in transportation, urban development, water and sewerage, disaster prevention, housing, tourism, and other fields support socioeconomic development, disaster resilience, reduced environmental impact, and sustainable urban development.

In policy implementation, Japan leverages EPA/FTAs, the WTO, APEC, ASEAN, the OECD, the United Nations, the G7, the G20, the World Bank, TICAD, and other forums to connect international rules and cooperation frameworks on free and fair competition, decarbonization, safety, inclusiveness, and resilience with Japan's strengths.

Under the MLIT Infrastructure System Overseas Development Action Plan, MLIT is advancing seven principal measures: upstream involvement from the stage of partner countries' high-level plans; development of legal frameworks and risk-sharing arrangements for PPPs; project formation that leverages Japan's strengths in long service life, low life-cycle costs, technology transfer, contract performance, and environmental, disaster-prevention, and safety measures; improved quality of consultant surveys; partnerships with local companies, establishment of local bases, and M&A; certification and training of overseas personnel; support for mid-sized and small businesses; and top-level claims and consultation desks after contract award.

Implementation tools for overseas development combine top-level sales efforts and intergovernmental dialogue at the political level; business support through JOIN, including investment and personnel dispatch; information provision, technology promotion, and business matching through public-private joint councils; acquisition of standards through ISO, IEC, United Nations bodies, and other organizations; establishment of international standards as de facto standards; and responses to standards not yet obtained. JOIN was established in 2014 and had supported 46 projects as of the end of March 2026.

By region, project formation, memorandums of understanding, expert dispatches, seminars, and public-private missions are being carried out in East Asia and Oceania, ASEAN, South Asia, North America and Europe, Latin America, Turkey, Africa, and Central Asia in railways, roads, ports, cities, smart cities, water, disaster prevention, reconstruction, shipbuilding, tourism, and other fields. In Ukraine, JUPITeR supports corporate participation in infrastructure reconstruction, including remote construction and housing reconstruction.

In economic partnerships, 22 EPA/FTAs and related agreements were in force or signed as of March 2026, and Japan is advancing liberalization in services and expanded opportunities to participate in government procurement to enhance the international competitiveness of transport, construction, and other industries. At the WTO, Japan engages in trade liberalization and rulemaking, monitoring compliance with agreements, and resolving trade disputes.

At international organizations and other forums, Japan discusses transport systems, tourism, and climate-resilient cities at APEC, and advances land, sea, and air transport cooperation, smart cities, and tourism with ASEAN. At the OECD, Japan participates in transport, shipbuilding, regional policy, development, and tourism, and shares expertise on digital twins including PLATEAU and disaster reconstruction. At the United Nations, Japan works on the IMO target of zero GHG emissions by around 2050, ICAO aviation standards, UN-Habitat urban policy, sustainable tourism through UN Tourism, and related matters.

Sector-specific cooperation covers water supply and sewerage, disaster prevention, roads, housing and buildings, railways, automobiles, maritime affairs, ports, aviation, logistics, geospatial information, meteorology and earthquakes and tsunamis, maritime security, and tourism. Globally, about 410 million people use wells, surface water, and other sources with sanitation and other issues, and Japan is advancing wastewater management and water-infrastructure improvements through AWaP and other initiatives.

In international standardization, Japan promotes the adoption of its safety, environmental, digital technologies, and systems through automotive WP.29; railway ISO/TC269 and IEC/TC9; maritime SOLAS, MARPOL, and STCW; geographic information ISO/TC211; ITS ISO/TC204; water supply and sewerage ISO/TC282, TC275, and TC224; logistics JSA-S1004; urban OGC and ISO/TC268; and water-related disaster prevention IWA50. In Vietnam, this led to the issuance of 10 national technical standards for ports.

In maritime affairs, aviation, and other fields, ODA projects to supply a total of 15 patrol and work vessels to six developing countries were under way as of the end of March 2025, alongside international cooperation on aviation safety and security, the environment, human resource development, and responses to new technologies. In tourism, based on the Sendai Declaration of November 2024, Japan has prepared guidelines and casebooks to prevent and minimize the impacts of crises and natural disasters, and is strengthening interregional resilience cooperation.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme's strategic plan for the 2026 to 2029 period positions national land and urban planning as solutions for securing adequate housing, land, and basic services. The G7 Transport Ministers' Meeting established a working group on transport supply-chain resilience, while the G20 Tourism Ministers' Meeting confirmed strengthened international cooperation and public-private partnerships for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient tourism.