AfricaFocus Bulletin
Jun 9, 2008 (080609)
(Reposted from sources cited below)


Editor's Note

In recent years, Japan's role in Africa has attracted little attention from international media, in comparison to the high profile of China and, sometimes, India. Nevertheless, with the world's 2nd largest national economy, behind the United States, Japan's relations with the continent are significant - and growing. As host of the G-8 Summit in July, Japan will be in the spotlight and its record on global and African issues under scrutiny.

At the end of May, Japan hosted the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), receiving representatives from 52 African countries, including 40 heads of state or government. Government officials were consistently upbeat on the prospects both for African growth and for increased Japanese aid and investment. Civil society networks from Japan and Africa also welcomed increased Japanese involvement, but expressed disappointment at the level of commitment on AIDS funding and the dominant emphasis on private investment over direct support for development goals.

This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains (1) excerpts from the opening speech at TICAD IV by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, (2) a critical statement from Japanese civil society by the TICAD IV NGO Network and the 2008 G8 Summit NGO Forum, and (3) a statement on Japan's contribution to the Global Fund, from Project RING and the Japan AIDS and Society Association.

For additional official information on TICAD IV, see Tokyo International Conference on African Development
For ongoing coverage of African and Japanese civil society opinion on Japan/Africa relations, see the website of the TICAD Civil Society Forum (TICAD Civil Society Forum Home Page<).

Address by H.E. Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, Prime Minister of Japan at the Opening Session of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV)


[Excerpts. For full text visit http://www.ticad.net]

Today we are honored to have representatives from 52 African nations and from many Asian nations and donor countries. In addition, a number of international organizations, special guests, and representatives of NGOs are also participating. With all these participants, this TICAD IV has become a truly historic event.

...

If I were to liken the history of African development to a great narrative, then what we are about to do now is to open to a new page, titled the "century of African growth." In the future, Africa will become a powerful engine driving the growth of the world. Through preparations for TICAD IV, I believe that we have come to share a common intuition about Africa's prospects for the future. ...

Here at this juncture, Japan wants to walk alongside the African people, shoulder to shoulder.

In order to boost the momentum for African growth, the most important thing is the development of infrastructure. In particular, the experiences of Japan and other Asian countries tell us that improvements in transportation infrastructure play a critical role in attracting private investment.

While there is progress now underway in Africa's road network, there are still many missing links, and this is one of the reasons why it has not yet reached a point where it sufficiently performs the functions of a full-fledged network. The Government of Japan wishes to engage in efforts to diligently join these unconnected road networks. Japan also wishes to combine these efforts with improvements to ports in order to form a network - a network that will enable Africa as a whole to move forward with greater dynamism.

With that in mind, the first pledge that I would like to make today is that over the next five years, Japan will proactively and flexibly provide up to 4 billion US dollars of soft loans to Africa. It will certainly help increase momentum for infrastructure improvements. Japan intends to do its utmost in this area in cooperation with the donors of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA).

...

Networks of road systems fulfill their intended purpose only when they transport people and goods smoothly. Therefore our objective must be to enable crossing and inspections at national borders as quickly as possible. The Government of Japan hopes to assist with building "one-stop border posts," which are facilities designed to make crossing national borders more efficient in the areas of customs and immigration procedures. Japan hopes to assist in training the personnel who will work there.

Activities by private companies are crucial for African growth. This is another reason why it is imperative for us to improve infrastructure. Japanese companies will have greater interest in Africa as infrastructure is enhanced. When direct investment from Japanese companies increases, transfers of technology and managerial know-how will also increase accordingly. If we are able to utilize Africa's plentiful resources more fully by harnessing Japan's technologies, this will surely be a major trigger for growth and benefit Africa.

For that reason, the Japanese government will implement measures to promote the activities of Japanese companies in Africa while it improves African infrastructure. ... we will be inaugurating within the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) the Facility for African Investment. This Facility will directly finance businesses in African countries and guarantee the financing provided by Japanese banks for businesses in Africa. Financial assistance for Africa through the JBIC, including this newly-established JBIC Facility for African Investment, will be on a scale of 2.5 billion US dollars over the next five years. Through such public-private collaborative activity, we are aiming to double Japanese private investment in Africa.

Next, please allow me to touch briefly on the issue of agriculture. In order to fully ensure growth in Africa, the development of agriculture is extremely important, as some two-thirds of the total population of Africa is engaged in it.

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We are deeply concerned by the fact that many African countries are in great difficulty as a result of the recent sharp rise in food prices. The Government of Japan recently announced an emergency food assistance package equivalent to 100 million US dollars. I will promise you here that a significant portion of this amount will be targeted to Africa. On top of this, Japan is further considering various assistance measures, including relief measures for groups that have newly fallen into poverty as well as measures to support crop planting for next year and the year after.

I have been speaking thus far about the importance of infrastructure, private investment, and agricultural production for growth. Next, I would like to touch on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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Africa is facing a shortage of as many as 1.5 million health workers. In response to this, Japan will train one hundred thousand people in Africa over the next five years as health workers.
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Recently in the area of health-related measures, I decided that Japan would contribute 560 million US dollars to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the coming years, starting in 2009, to support the fight against these three major infectious diseases. As you are aware, approximately 60 percent of the Global Fund's total assistance goes to sub-Saharan Afric

In the fields of health or combating infectious diseases, Japan is also considering dispatching Japanese researchers to universities and research institutions in Africa. I would like for these researchers to engage in joint research with young African researchers to find solutions for various issues. I would also like to announce that we will be convening a Japan-Africa Science and Technology Ministers' Meeting in autumn this year.

Next I want to touch upon the fact that Japan intends to reward persons who have been active in the fields of health or medical services in Africa through the "Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize." It was launched in honor of Dr. Noguchi, who died while researching yellow fever in Africa. The prize's first awards ceremony will be held this evening.

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In order to bring about the range of measures that I have announced thus far, we will need to take bold steps in our ODA. I pledge that by 2012--five years from now--Japan will have doubled its ODA to Africa, increasing it gradually over these years to achieve this target. Just a minute ago, I stated that Japan would be providing Japanese ODA loans of up to 4 billion US dollars to Africa to improve African infrastructure. In addition, I promise that Japan will double its grant aid and technical cooperation for Africa over the next five years. Moreover, Japan will coordinate with the international community, acting in good faith to address issues of debt relief for Africa.

Finally, I would like to touch on the issue of climate change, which will also be one of the major themes for discussion at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit. I recently outlined a mechanism called the "Cool Earth Partnership." Under this Partnership, Japan intends to engage in assistance to developing countries, including African countries, that aim to achieve both greenhouse gas emissions reductions and economic growth in a compatible way. The scale of assistance is 10 billion US dollars over the course of five years, beginning this year. ...

As I conclude my remarks today, I would like to address Japan's fundamental approach to African development. This can be summed up in the phrase "self-reliance and mutual cooperation."

For Japan, a country with virtually no underground resources to speak of, the most important type of resources is human resources. First, we give our children a thorough education. Then, we make them self-reliant. On that basis, they live in harmony together with others, pooling their abilities to deal with any difficulties that their friends might face. This is the principle of "self-reliance and mutual cooperation."
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So many Japanese have made efforts side by side with the people of Africa. In particular, approximately 11,000 Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) have been dispatched to Africa over the years. This constitutes a truly tremendous track record. At this very moment there are 971 JOCVs working all around the African continent. More than half of these volunteers--570 of them--are women. I furthermore would like to increase the number of African students studying in Japan. I firmly believe that mutual exchanges of youth will form the foundation for the future of Japan and Africa.

NOTE TO MODERATORS THIS IS BOTH NEWS AND POLITICS I WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF YOU LEFT IT IN THIS SECTION.

Thanks

Tahliba