GRIPS Development Forum WORKSHOPHow can Japan effectively support economic growth in Africa?
- The African Perspective Japan’s support to Africa’s economic growth in the age of global climatic change- Challenges and opportunities –Prof. Dr. SANGA-NGOIE Kazadi
Dean, International Cooperation and Research
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University874-8577 1-1 Jumonjibaru, Beppu-City, Oita
Tel/Fax: 0977-78-1043, e-mail: sangank@apu.ac.jp
Abstract: In recent years, rapidly growing globalization has enhanced fierce competition not only for power andwealth, but also for resources, food and space, between countries and companies alike, especially now under thethreat of global eco-climatic changes. Under these circumstances, redefining one’s geopolitics becomes a matterof survival for every country within this globalized world. Japan can find a way out of this by developing anddeepening new types of relationships, especially with African countries, based on the acknowledgment of mutual
merits for both parties. Japan has what Africa needs the most: the green and environment-friendly technology andknowhow needed to gear its own development. Africa has what Japan lacks the most: untapped natural resources
and a big market of about 900 million people, of which more than half is in the twenties. Africa and Japan share apristine past, not spoiled by historically sad memories. Chances for creating such relationship between Africa andJapan have been wasted so far. We focus on this new type of Japan-Africa partnership, based on mutuallysustainable partnership, and discuss how this can lead to everlasting wealth and stability for both of them.
and trade cooperation. The cases of the USA economic

1. Introductionth

By the end of the 20 Century, humankind had enteredzone encompassing almost all the American continent,a new era of tremendously fast socio-economic changes

with Canada and Mexico as spearheads, the fast

on the global scale, following the end of the Cold War.

extension of EU membership to many countries formerlyThis globalization brings forth both the large benefits ofunder the Soviet Union control, the new aggressive

the new global order and the multitude of problems

advances of China and India in Africa, etc, are just someappending to it, as well. Harsh competition, not only

examples of this global trend for securing resources,

among companies or developed countries for leadershipenergy, water and even the space needed to sustain theand wealth, but also for dwindling resources and space, is

economic growth.

becoming a daily commonsense.

2. The global eco-climatic change issues

Countries all over the world, big or small, are now

A corollary to all this tremendous development is theinvolved in fierce “geopolitical realignments” in order tohigh speed deterioration of climate and ecosystems on theadapt, to remain competitive and or to survive in the new

global scale.

global order. Competition for resources and secured

Voracious factories and all our modern lifestyle aremarkets are pushing leading countries to creating “safetypowered by massive use of fossil fuels as main source ofzones” for their trades through new types of diplomaticenergy (95%), as well as mass production of exotic

chemicals, leading to those global issues as the global

where the Japanese technologies could be put at use.

warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, acid rains,

4. Africa: the perfect partner for Japan?

dangerous wastes and all their corollaries. Forests andFor many people, even for some dear sons of Africa

land development for forest products, for large scale

themselves, Africa is a wasted land, prone to misery.

agriculture or ranching, or even recently, for bio-fuelsLong lasting economic failures and political instability

production, are ripping away every single day vast

especially during the post-colonial era up to the end of theportions of precious tropical rainforests, that are known to

Cold War, are still living proofs for this. Moreover, withinplay a very important role in the stability of the global

the present circumstances, Africa will be, more than any

eco-climate as sinks of CO2, sources of O2 and plenty ofother place, negatively affected by the predicted changes

rainfalls. Destroyed forests mean destroyed habitats forin the climate for the years to come, if no steps are taken.

unnumbered living species that go extinct together withTherefore

theurgentneedforfinding

the forests, even before we had learned about their very

environment-friendly and sustainable solutions to its

existence or importance as food or medicinal resources.

development issues as a whole, even before getting into

Changes in the climate and the ecosystems often

the full-geared stage of intense economic development.

negatively impact on land productivity due to droughts,

Africa needs environment-friendly technologies for its

desertification and soil deterioration, leading to very

energy production, energy use for goods productions andserious concerns about hunger and famine for the poor

resources transformation. Africa needs to directly jumpand food availability for the rich, new and old alike.

onto the hyper-highway of global information andConsiderable efforts have been made to mobilize acommunication technologies. Africa needs to secure

global understanding on the issues, but still, very little has

highly integrated transportation systems to move goods

been done toward their sustainable solution so far.

and people across its vast territories. Africa needs the3. Japan’’s role in the global village

appropriate technology to develop its untapped resources,

One thing is certain: the climate and ecosystem change

through mutually profitable partnerships.

issues, as well all the new global order problems, areIn fact, Africa does have within its lands what is

global scale issues and inclusive. They have to be solved

needed for this type of partnerships: untapped naturalfrom a global approach, with the full commitment toresources and renewable energy resources, vast lands formobilize all the individual efforts in each country.

agriculture or other environment-friendly development

Sustainable development, involving the use of green

projects, a young and active population ready to learn andand environment-friendly technologies, and the adoption

participate in the country-building activities throughof environment-friendly life-style, is the golden key to all

human capacity building, and stable, accountable andthe issues. The future of the mankind, and not that of thedemocratically elected governments, eager for bringing

Earth, is in the balance!

their assets to the international bargaining table, for theJapan, as a leading economy, with well-known andworld-wide tested environment-friendly technologies inbetter living of their people…
5. Concluding remarks

the fields of energy production and consumption,

The role of Japan in helping Africa realize this smoothtransportation and communication, etc… has now todevelopment is enormous, and very beneficial to both, if

come out onto the stage, and help developing countries

considered from the new perspective of mutuallyleap frog straight forward into this new technological era,

profitable partnership. By opening these new avenues towithout the sad and erroneous steps of adopting old-stylebilateral cooperation, Japan will also secure for itself atransitional technologies for their development.

stable access to unlimited resources and new markets for

For this, Africa seems to be the most indicated place

the many decades to come. Before it is too late!