• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • News
    • In the news: JICA

    Japan to Africa: Learn from us

    Japan can offer African countries not only aid but advice on development based on lessons learned from its own past, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said ahead of a high-level conference at which Japan is expected to pledge at least $10 billion in fresh assistance for the continent until 2018.

    By Carlos Santamaria // 31 May 2013
    Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Japan is expected to pledge $10 billion in aid assistance for Africa until 2018. Photo by: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff / CC BY

    Japan can offer African countries not only aid but advice on development based on lessons learned from its own past, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said ahead of a high-level conference at which Japan is expected to pledge at least $10 billion in fresh assistance for the continent until 2018.

    “Growth is not simply fueled by natural resources. It is spurred and sustained by people — through skills, education, training, innovation and social cohesion,” Abe wrote in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

    The Japanese leader explained in the article that Japan lacks natural resources, but that didn’t stop the country’s modernization, even after the devastation of World War II. Africa, he added, can learn from this experience by developing its human resources, and not only through education and training but also “fostering democracy and recognizing the importance of human dignity and development at an individual level.”

    Abe’s vision was published ahead of the the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development to be held on June 1-3 in Yokohama and where Japan is expected to pledge at least $10 billion in aid for the continent over the next five years, and the total could reach up to 3 trillion yen (about $29.7 billion) including planned investments by the Japanese private sector, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.

    JICA’s new approach to Africa

    TICAD is jointly organised by Japan, the African Union, United Nations, the U.N. Development Program and the World Bank to bring together development partners, donor countries, private companies and NGOs to discuss the continent’s development.

    Participants will debate for instance how conflict-affected states like Sudan and South Sudan can benefit from Japan’s three pillars of cooperation in Africa: peace and stability, economic development, and social development, a top official from the Japan International Cooperation Agency told Devex.

    The forum in Yokohama aspires to do away with the traditional “top-down” donor-recipient model to push for African “ownership” and international “partnership.” Moving away from its traditional policy of only engaging with stable countries, JICA is now actively pursuing projects to deliver aid to hotspots outside Asia, even in fragile states like the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    JICA President Akihiko Tanaka recently concluded an official visit to several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, among them South Africa, which the agency will continue to assist despite the United Kingdom’s decision to pull out by 2015. Tanaka also met during the week-long trip with officials from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

    Japan is the 8th top donor to Africa with $1.07 billion, according to the OECD.

    Read more development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.

    • Banking & Finance
    Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

    About the author

    • Carlos Santamaria

      Carlos Santamaria

      Carlos is a former associate editor for breaking news in Devex's Manila-based news team. He joined Devex after a decade working for international wire services Reuters, AP, Xinhua, EFE ,and Philippine social news network Rappler in Madrid, Beijing, Manila, New York, and Bangkok. During that time, he also covered natural disasters on the ground in Myanmar and Japan.

    Search for articles

    Related Stories

    MalariaOpinion: Eliminating malaria is an economic rocket for Africa and the US

    Opinion: Eliminating malaria is an economic rocket for Africa and the US

    Devex DishDevex Dish: Africa’s message on agriculture — self-reliance isn’t optional

    Devex Dish: Africa’s message on agriculture — self-reliance isn’t optional

    Devex NewswireFfD4 special edition: The key takeaways from four days in Sevilla

    FfD4 special edition: The key takeaways from four days in Sevilla

    Devex NewswireSpecial edition: Germany steps into the void USAID left behind

    Special edition: Germany steps into the void USAID left behind

    Most Read

    • 1
      How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
    • 2
      Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
    • 3
      Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
    • 4
      How AI-powered citizen science can be a catalyst for the SDGs
    • 5
      Strengthening health systems by measuring what really matters
    • News
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Talent
    • Events

    Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

    A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

    • About us
    • Membership
    • Newsletters
    • Advertising partnerships
    • Devex Talent Solutions
    • Post a job
    • Careers at Devex
    • Contact us
    © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement