TOKYO. Sept 8: Japan was world’s largest provider of aid to developing countries in 1997 for the seventh straight year, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. but the amount declined in dollar terms, reports AP.

Japan's overseas development assistance fell 1.8 per cent to about 9.4 billion dollars in 1997. mainly because of the Japanese yen's steep depreciation against the dollar, the Foreign Ministry said in report.

It was the second straight year of decline in dollar terms in Japan's ODA commitment, the report said.

However. Japan's ODA in yen rose 9.2 per cent to about 1.14 trillion yen. That amount represented 0.22 per cent of Japan’s 1997 Gross National Product, ranking Japan 19th out of the 21 donor countries in terms of the ratio of ODA commitment to GNP.

Japan’s aid to specific countries fell 20.9 per cent to 6.61 billion dollars while its ODA to international institutions such as the ' Vorld Bank rose 125 per cent to 2.82 billion dollars.