The discourse on Japanese commitment to Africa: The planning process of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV)

Abstract

TICAD was held for the fourth time in 2008, raising unprecedented public interest about Africa in Japan attracting attention not only from aid, diplomatic, trade and research communities but also among the general public. Due to geographic distance and limited historical connection, it has always been a matter of debate as to why Japan should increase its commitment to Africa. The different interest groups that have participated throughout the TICAD process have always had varying answers to this question. Through analysis of newspapers, journal articles and various documents this article seeks to untangle the process of TICAD's policy making and its outcomes.

Keywords:

• Japan
• aid policy
• politics of aid
• Asia-Africa relationship
• discourse analysis
• diplomacy
• civil society
• business sector

Notes

1. Trade with Africa still constituted only a few percent of the total imports and exports of Japan and its amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was only one third that of China, which has dramatically increased its presence in Africa in various ways.

2. Nippon Keidanren (the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) dispatched an Economic Research Mission to Africa in October 2007 and came up with a set of recommendations. One of the main messages was to establish stronger public-private partnerships. The public-private partnerships in this case include: (1) supplementing projects by private firms with ODA (loans) to promote investment in Africa; (2) enhanced flexibility of ODA grant projects to encourage Japanese private companies to participate in the bidding; and (3) relaxed criteria o f eligibility for Japanese ODA loans. Keidanren also requested coordination among ministries and governmental bodies so that the government would be more effective and efficient in its promotion of trade in Africa. It was also hoped that industrial human resource development (skills training of African workers) would be enhanced by means of Japanese ODA (Keidanren 2007).

3. Such barriers are sometimes called ‘Africa risk’ and call for more governmental support for private sector investment (Ohno 2007).

4. JICA also organised a study group on ‘Asian economic growth and its implications for African development’. The report of this study group (JICA 2008) became the basis of the symposium organised by JICA as one of the TICAD events, whose title was ‘African development and Asian experience of growth: The roles of the government and private sector for sustainable economic growth in Africa’.