Recruitment campaigns target people between the ages of 20 and 39, with the areas of cooperation spanning eight sectors and a diverse range of about 120 sub-sectors, including agriculture, forestry and fisheries, fabrication, repair operations, civil engineering, sanitation, education and culture, sports as well as planning and administration. In fiscal 2009, a total of 1,708 people were sent overseas, with a cumulative total of 34,956 people dispatched to 87 countries since the program was inaugurated in 1965.
In principle, JOCVs are assigned to developing countries for a period of two years*. As summarized by the phrase "together with the local community," JOCVs live and work together with the communities in the country to which they were sent, speak the same language of the community and carry out activities with an emphasis on raising self-reliant efforts while fostering mutual understanding.
* In addition to the regular volunteer dispatch period of two years (long-term volunteers), short-term volunteers can be recruited and dispatched for periods of less than one year in response to local requests.