A key focus at this year's Tokyo International Conference on African Development TICAD, much as it has been at previous events, is channelling Japanese investment into African infrastructure. Japan is, in theory, an ideal partner for African countries looking to develop their energy, transport and telecommunications infrastructure. Japan's largest financial institutions mostly have healthy balance sheets and are looking to invest in projects that deliver long-term returns.
Japanese investors are also often in a position to offer capital on relatively attractive terms, given low domestic interest rates. Progress has been made in fostering cooperation. At the previous TICAD in 2022, Japan announced a target to invest 30bn from the public and private sectors in Africa, with much of this sum destined for infrastructure projects. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in a report last year that it "remains on track" to achieve this goal.
Yet the reality is that Japan's role in African infrastructure development has been overshadowed by some of its geopolitical competitors.
Whereas Chinese construction teams have long been a common sight across Africa, with many high-profile projects funded and developed by Chinese state-backed companies, Japan has taken on a far less conspicuous role.
There is still a "lack of understanding" among Japanese companies of the risks and opportunities available in the infrastructure sector in Africa, says Airi Ikedo, strategy director at Index Strategy, a project management firm that specialises in public-private partnerships PPPs in infrastructure. "Whenever we have an initial discussion with a Japanese company, one of the reasons why they are not willing to enter the African market is basically the distance from Japan."