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Japanese Foreign Minister in Africa
Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada declared this week that he will made a tour in Africa.Okada will take part in a forum on economic cooperation between Japan and South Africa during the first leg of the tour before going to Tanzania to attend a ministerial-level meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, which would highlight Japan’s steady commitment to African development, a Foreign Ministry official said.
In this Visit, the Japanese government will stress its commitment to African development at an aid meeting of about 50 countries in Tanzania from Sunday as China’s influence on the continent grows rapidly.
But Tokyo is expecting the mission getting more difficult. Despite of the good image Japan is enjoying through the development projects launched in several African countries by JICA and JBIC. But Africa in the eyes of several Japanese observers is already being in the scramble for influence of China’s diplomatic presence, investment funding and sheer numbers of people on the ground.
In this context, Okada has decided to visit Africa primarily to tell African leaders that Japan’s commitment remains very firm vis a vis Africa’s development.
This visit should be his first Africa visit since taking his post, Okada “will announce that Japan is on track to achieve its declared goal of doubling Japan’s ODA (official development assistance) to Africa by 2012.
Japan two years ago pledged to raise aid to Africa to 1.8 billion dollars by 2012. It gave 1.75 billion dollars that year and 1.65 billion dollars last year, said Asako Okai, director of the ministry’s Second Africa Division.