African Engagement with Japan through Tokyo International Conference on African Development 1993-2008

Africa, a continent known for its abundant natural resources and economic potentiality, in recent times has attracted considerable strategic interests from nations around the world. The continent has a dynamic history, shaped among other things by mass migrations, wars, slavery, colonialism, and even the Cold War. However, in recent years, Africa is reclaiming its place in the international arena.

Of late, Africa is attracting increasing attention from the international community, with more international companies setting up offices, increased banking interest, and strong stock market performances. Many regions in the continent have recently experienced strong economic growth, driven in part by its wealth of natural resources, and mainly by the unprecedented oil export boom. The current waves of engagement between Africa and Japan have been an upshot of these factors. Especially, Japan poorly endowed with natural resource, has began to approach Africa in order to secure its natural resources.

The historical relations between Africa and Japan were instrumental in shaping the modern era relationship between the two with the creation of TICAD. The post Cold War Africa was confronted by ‘aid fatigue’, as most of the Western aid was concentrated in the breakaway newly independent states of former Soviet Union. Hence, TICAD was created by Japan to provide a platform for donors to assist Africa in its development endeavours. Moreover, the failure of various economic reform measures in Africa including the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA) and Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) has left the African leaders with not much alternatives but to accept the TICAD’s developmental approach.

The transformation of Africa and Japan relations since the 1990s witnessed a marked departure from the preceding decades from the foreign policy outlook of Japan, perhaps, discarding its old method of approaching Africa through the colonial rulers. The TICAD was launched to apply successful Asian experience of development to the African continent as an alternative development model. Besides, in the aftermath of Cold War and the ensuing diminish of its ideology in the international relations, had convinced Japan to look for its own approach in external relations. However, there are several agendas on the formation of TICAD such as acquiring the rich resources of Africa and Japan’s international ambitions. Hence, the policies of TICAD exhibits this switch in Japanese foreign policy that of contributing to the international affairs.

The study is essentially premised on the question of how Africa is engaging with Japan through TICAD. The research will cover the period from the formation of TICAD in 1993 till the fourth TICAD in 2008.

The research seeks to study how the various historical events have facilitated in the culmination of the TICAD conference. It will also examine the politico-economic engagement of African countries with Japan. In doing so, the study will delve into the transition of African countries relation with Japan since the creation of TICAD.

It will also explore the NEPAD and TICAD initiatives and would examine their various agendas and objectives, besides, their progress and outcomes so far. The study will also examine the supportive role of TICAD in the management of African conflicts. In doing so, it will analyze the role of Japan in assisting the OAU/AU and subregional organizations in their role of managing the African conflicts. Moreover, the supportive role of TICAD conferences in the management of African conflicts will also be explored.