JAPANESE private companies are closely monitoring the development of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with a senior official revealing this week that the success of the bloc is crucial to their interests.
This attention highlights the immense potential for increased trade, investment, and collaboration between Japan and Africa.
AfCFTA, a free trade area expected to lift 100 million Africans out of poverty, is the world’s largest trading bloc since the establishment of the World Trade Organisation, according to a World Bank report.
The agreement will create a single continental market for a population of about 1,3 billion people, with a combined GDP exceeding US$3,4 trillion.
“Not only our government, but also many Japanese private companies, have a very keen interest on the accomplishment of AfCFTA," a Japanese foreign ministry official told the Zimbabwe Independent on Tuesday during an online press briefing ahead of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) ministerial meeting scheduled for tomorrow and Sunday in Tokyo.
"But in order to make AfCFTA work more in a dynamic manner, I think we need three infrastructures - hard infrastructure, soft infrastructure, and human infrastructure.
“Japanese private sector has a very strong interest and aspiration vis-à-vis AfCFTA."
Japan, in close cooperation with the African Union Development Agency, is working to design and implement projects that address these infrastructure challenges.
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TICAD, an international conference focusing on African development, has sparked growing enthusiasm and interest both in Japan and Africa. TICAD 9 is slated for August 2025 in Yokohama.
"I think, for example, in Japan, thanks to TICAD, Japanese societies are getting more and more familiar with Africa, including private sector and Japanese young people," he noted.
"I hope that the same thing is happening in Zimbabwe too. TICAD is having its concrete roots represented by quite a lot of memorandum of understandings among concerned parties.
"Traditionally, TICAD has been having three pillars -- society, peace and stability, and economy.
“I think these will always be the three main pillars but when Japan does something, we try to be always in line with African honesty, represented by, for example, Continental Agenda 2063 or respective countries' national plan or five years' plan."
The official said Japan would like to co-create the solutions to address critical issues like climate change, food security, and energy transition in partnership with Africa.
The official said technological innovation would be a key priority at this week’s ministerial meeting.
During the ministerial session, Japanese Foreign Affairs minister Kamikawa Yoko will hold bilateral and other meetings with African ministers to strengthen ties between Japan and African countries.
Thematic events on topics such as youth, education, and health will also take place.
Since the first conference in 1993, TICAD has been a cornerstone of Japan’s efforts to deepen its relationships with African nations.
