Notes:
About a sixth of the world's population still live in extreme poverty, earning less than $1 per day, and nearly a seventh of the world's population face starvation
the widening gap between rich and poor and the growing ranks of "working poor" have been hotly debated in Japan lately, many Japanese seem to be more inward-looking than before, showing little interest in the acute issues of global wealth gap and poverty.
spending for public-works projects, widely seen as a main target for budget reductions, has been axed in recent years amid strong public criticism of pork-barrel projects.
The Liberal Democratic Party's select commission on strengthening Japan's diplomatic might, which was established last year with former prime minister Yoshiro Mori as its chairman.
