Japan plans to boost its presence in Africa to counter the influence of Chinese and European countries, Nikkei Asian Review revealed yesterday citing official sources.

According to the media, Japan will create a joint permanent council of the government and the Japanese private sector to promote the country’s investments in Africa.

A new conference gathering officials and African business actors should also be created. Baptized B-TICAD, it would gather two or three times a year.

Let’s note that Japan’s investments are still light compared with that of countries like China and the USA. According to figures published in 2015 by the UNCTAD, Japan’s investments are seven times less than America’s and six times less than France’s. Its investments are far lower than those realized by China, which imposed itself as the leading business partner in Africa in 2017 for the ninth consecutive year with $170 billion worth of exchanges.

According to Japan, more than 440 Japanese firms operate in Africa while about 10,000 Chinese firms are in Africa according to McKinsey. To facilitate the establishment of its firms in Africa, Japan plans to initiate new cooperation agreements for bilateral investments tax exemption and safety improvement.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou