The 30th anniversary of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) signals Tokyo’s commitment to African development. Japan’s leadership in Africa may be obscured by major diplomatic events in 2023, including the Hiroshima G7 Summit, the Camp David US–Japan–South Korea Trilateral Summit, and the New Delhi G20 Summit. But Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s official visits to four African nations just before the G7 summit indicate Japan’s ambitious diplomatic agenda for Africa in a turbulent geopolitical era.
Six years after former prime minister Shinzo Abe announced Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision in Nairobi in 2016, TICAD 8 was held in Tunisia in 2022. It advanced initiatives around green development, human resources, health, and crisis management including food crisis and regional stabilisation. The Tunisian TICAD conference showcased a refined approach to Japan’s development assistance with a focus on public–private partnerships as the driver of development investment priorities.
TICAD distinguishes Japan’s development approach from Beijing’s lending practices and debt-trap diplomacy which are coming under increasing scrutiny. But TICAD 8 also marked the end of the Abe-era Japan–Africa diplomacy and the start of a new chapter under the Kishida government.
Over three decades, TICAD has demonstrated Tokyo’s growing confidence as a major donor and leader in the international community. Human security, ownership and quality growth — core elements of Japan’s development philosophy in the TICAD process — have been adopted as guiding principles at the United Nations, G20 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
As Chinese investment exploded across Africa and global crises emerged, Tokyo was forced to reassess its approach to official development assistance (ODA) and the relevance of TICAD. This led to Japan’s bold New Plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, which consists of four pillars — setting principles for cooperation, addressing challenges through partnership, establishing multilayered connectivity, and strengthening maritime and air security.
The subsequent reform of Japan’s Development Cooperation Charter in June 2023 consolidated the new ODA approach to enhance a ‘free and open international order’.
TICAD’s future depends on African nations’ ability to integrate with the principles of Japan’s FOIP Plan. While celebrating 30 years of TICAD engagement with African nations, Kishida showcased this new strategic approach to diplomacy.
Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa outlined a roadmap for establishing a Japan–Africa strategic partnership by the 2025 TICAD 9 conference. It aims to elevate African voices and Japanese values in a reformed international system. These refinements of Tokyo’s diplomatic vision have three major implications for Africa.
First, Tokyo’s ODA investments will draw on Japanese areas of strength that are ready for private investment and that build on decades of investment in healthcare, green development and human capital development. Infrastructure investments, such as the Mombasa Port development, will prioritise African nations’ integration into the global economy and drive Japan’s growth, energy security and supply chain diversification.
Over the past decade, Japan’s public–private financing has grown while traditional aid has been redirected towards multilateral institutions such as the World Bank. For TICAD to grow, African nations will need to improve their business environment and investment attractiveness.
Second, Tokyo’s plans for a multilayered Indo-Pacific network offer African nations and the AU an alternative to Beijing’s communications network, infrastructure financing and security protocols. Japan’s development of an ecosystem of like-minded partners is centred on maintaining diversity and inclusivity through hard power — supply chains and infrastructure — and soft power — information and knowledge networks. Here, Japan aims to align its burgeoning investment in Africa with India, the United States and the European Union.
Third, Japan aims to develop a new consensus on international principles and rules built around the FOIP model. Building on its development philosophy, Tokyo aims to increase coherence on foundational values of freedom, the rule of law and freedom from force or coercion.
Tokyo proposes rulemaking through dialogue and equal partnership as a core element of the FOIP system, as opposed to China and Russia’s unilateral attempts to change the status quo. Within this framework, Japan strives to lead the reform of the World Trade Organization, the global financing system and the UN Security Council.
Japan’s FOIP plan signals the importance of TICAD in a whole-of-region framework and the necessity for African nations to adopt the core values of cooperation. As China’s economy falters and the Belt and Road Initiative garners scepticism, Japan’s leadership may be a defining element in the new global consensus.
Japan’s enduring engagement and commitment to Africa’s development have enabled Africa’s growing prominence as a G20 member and a key global South partner. It has also helped grow an array of investment partners for the continent. At the same time, Africa stands at a development and normative crossroads. From infrastructure and internet standards to international law and human rights, ties with China and Russia are increasingly at odds with engagement with Japan and the United States.
As African nations move towards TICAD 9 and a strategic partnership with Japan, they can use these platforms to participate in Japan’s efforts to reform global governance and position themselves in Japan’s FOIP vision.
Brittany Morreale is Foreign Area Officer in the US Air Force (USAF), currently serving at NATO SHAPE. She holds a PhD in Asian Studies from the University of Adelaide.
Purnendra Jain is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide.