AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies
IIPSRIPSInstitute for International

The Japan Institute ofResearch Institute for

Policy Studies

International Affairs

Peace and Security

Editorial Advisory Board:

No. 187

Akio Watanabe (Chair)
Masashi Nishihara
Yoshiji Nogami
Taizo Yakushiji

7 November 2013

Editorial Committee:

TICAD V: ESTABLISHING AFRICA AS A
CONTINENT OF OPPORTUNITIES FORJAPAN AND THE WORLD

Taizo Yakushiji
Hisayoshi Ina
Tsutomu Kikuchi
Shujiro Urata andToshiro Iijima
Editor & Online Publisher:

Akihiko Tanaka

Yoshji Nogami
President, JIIA

The fifth Tokyo International Conference on African
Development (TICAD V) brought historical successto Yokohama on June 1-3, 2013. The conference
was co-chaired by Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister ofJapan, and Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Ministerof Ethiopia and Chairperson of the African Union.
The heads of TICAD V co-organizers, Japan,African Union Commission (AUC), UN, UNDP and
the World Bank were all present at the event.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and should
not be attributed to The Association of Japanese Institutes ofStrategic Studies.

AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

We also welcomed representatives of 51 African countries, including 39 heads ofstates and governments, and those of 72 international and regionalorganizations, as well as 31 development partner countries, Asian countries,
privatebusinesses

andcivilsociety

organizations(http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/page2e_000002.html).
Japan has hosted this summit-level conference for Africa, TICAD, every
five years since 1993, and this year marks its 20th anniversary. During thislong-term and consistent process, TICAD has maintained its unique character as
an open and multilateral forum to discuss African challenges. The steady efforts
made by Japan and the co-organizers have successfully raised awarenessamong the international community on African development issues. They havealso provided important contributions to inform and enrich global development
discussions on topics such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
Poverty Reduction Strategies, and South-South Cooperation.
TICAD V highlighted Africa’s potential for inclusive and sustainablegrowth, as well as opportunities for Japanese and global business communities.
In his keynote speech, Prime Minister Abe announced the major Japaneseinitiatives to support African development over the next five years (2013-2017),
amounting up to USD 32 billion in public-private initiatives. The pledge includes
USD 14 billion for official development assistance (ODA), which JICA will play anessential role to implement (http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000006375.pdf). In thejoint press conference, Prime Minister Abe remarked as follows: “Growth existsin Africa. Africa will be a growth center toward the mid-21st century. Now is thetime to invest in a growing Africa.” Thus, TICAD V was a landmark event
spotlighting Africa as a promising continent for business and investment, inparallel with continuous development cooperation.
Yet Africa faces various development challenges, including education,
health, food security, adaptations to climate change, good governance, andpeace and security. While the poverty rate has started to decrease since the2000s, 40% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa still lives under the poverty
line of USD 1.25 per day. Access to electricity, safe drinking water, and public
services like education and health has improved by the unstinting efforts of both

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The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

Africa itself and the international community. However, the levels are much lower
than in other regions, and it will be difficult to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
Furthermore, there remain other challenges, including low agricultural
productivity, as well as peace and security threats in the Sahel region and theHorn of Africa.
In this context, Africa needs more varieties of investment by the private
sector to reduce poverty and to accelerate inclusive and sustainable growth.
This sort of investment would bring in technology transfer, infrastructure andhuman resource development, and job creation. It would also contribute totransforming Africa from a resource dependent continent to a dynamic continent
based upon a diversified economic structure with an increasingly skilledworkforce as the engine of growth. The Japanese commitment package of USD
32 billion is not just to provide financial assistance to Africa, but also to support
infrastructure and human resource development to facilitate greater private
investment and more public-private partnerships.
Japan has been achieving its commitments made at past TICAD
meetings. Its ODA to Africa doubled from USD 0.9 billion in 2008 to USD 1.8
billion in 2012 (On the annual net disbursement basis reported to OECD/DAC),
and Japan’s direct investment in Africa tripled from USD 1.7 billion to USD 5.2
billion, as pledged by then Prime Minister Fukuda in TICAD IV. To track andfacilitate the implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan adopted at TICAD IV,
Japan and the TICAD co-organizers have been organizing ministerial follow-up
meetings and issuing TICAD Annual Progress Reports since 2009 (See theTICAD

AnnualProgress

Report2011,

http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad/ticadfollow-up/report/annual/2011/report2011.pdf). This follow-up mechanism makes the TICAD process action- andresult-oriented.
Japan will carry out what it pledged and promised at TICAD V. Prime
Minister Abe expressed his intention to visit Africa at the earliest opportunity topromote a “win-win” partnership between Africa and Japan. The TICAD follow-up
mechanism will continue to ensure the implementation of the Yokohama Action
Plan 2013-2017. Achieving these commitments will strengthen the friendship

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AJISS-Commentary
The Association of Japanese Institutes of Strategic Studies

and diplomatic ties between the two partners and establish Africa as a continentof opportunities for Japan and the world. JICA will actively contribute to theconcerted efforts by the Japanese public and private sectors to achieve theseobjectives (JICA Research Institute released several research reports on African
developmentandthePost-TICAD

Vagenda,http://jica-ri.jica.go.jp/topic/jica-ri_releaseed_the_research_findings_on_african_
development_in_multifaceted_viewpoint.html).

Akihiko Tanaka is President, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

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