Western economic aid to reforming socialist economies is coordinated in a multilateral framework in recent years. In a multilateral aid regime, IMF and World Bank are taking leading roles, G7 meetings are often held as coordinating forum, and policies of Japan and the U.S. are very important as two major donors. While promotion of democracy and a market economy have become the two principal shared goals driving western donor countries in their aid policies, there have been significant differences in their perceptions and stances. If so, what are the differences between Japan's stance and that of other donors? How are their policies coordinated in a multilateral aid framework? What are the main factors which affect the cooperation and conflicts between policies of donor countries? These are the major foci of my research.