TICAD9: Winning Public Recognition in Africa

The Diplomat

8 hours ago

Since 1993, Japan has been organizing the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) as a way to build relations with African countries through development cooperation. The conference's ninth iteration (TICAD 9) will be held from August 20- 22. At a time when the balance of power in the international order is changing rapidly and the political presence of African countries is on the rise, what stance will Japan take at this TICAD and what vision of cooperative relations will it propose?
Like other major economies, Japan has provided official development assistance (ODA) to Africa against a backdrop of political and economic interests. For Tokyo, the 54 African countries are strategically important as a potential source of support for achieving Japan's long-standing aspiration of becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Meanwhile, the Japanese business community has for many years had an interest in Africa's extensive mineral and human resources, while the continent's growing population is also a vast potential consumer market.
At the time the first TICAD was held, in 1993, Japan's ODA contributions stood at USD11.47 billion, making it the world's largest ODA donor. That was also the year when Japanese foreign aid, which had hitherto focused on Asia, began to expand to Africa in earnest. Since then, Japan has lost its standing as the biggest ODA donor, a reflection of its own economic struggles, but the proportion of Japanese ODA going to Africa has increased. According to OECD statistics for 2023, about 12.7 percent (about USD2.59 billion) of Japan's total bilateral aid (about USD20.4 billion) was allocated to countries in Africa.
However, the size of aid does not necessarily translate into trust and support from beneficiaries. China and Russia are been boosting their presence in Africa, at a time when the West and Japan are being viewed relatively less favorably. Especially in recent years, African countries have become more pro-Russian, with Russia's popularity growing not only among the general public but also among government officials in countries with close ties to the West.
Between 2003 and 2005, I lived in Burkina Faso as a volunteer with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). In the two decades since then, I have continued to observe relations as a researcher based in Ghana. Over this time, rural areas in West Africa have become increasingly electrified, meaning more people are watching news and TV series from distant countries via satellite TV. Their TV screens not only display the material wealth of the West but also how Africans living in Western countries are being subjected to violence, a phenomenon that has stirred emotional responses in locals. The proliferation of smartphones and social media has made the disparity with people in the economic powers more apparent in the information space, fomenting feelings of envy and suspicion among those who are suffering from overwhelming scarcity and hardship on the African continent.
Meanwhile, former French West African countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Niger have seen the emergence of international conspiracy theories. Information and political video clips about rich countries stationing troops on the African continent to get mineral resources, 'Western countries' threatening to halt aid to African nations that do not bend to their will even as they tout their humanitarianism, and the manipulation of the African Union have become popular topics on Facebook and TikTok. The local upper middle class likewise take a keen interest in this sort of content, although their position is different. In their own lives, they have experienced global inequalities firsthand in cross-border movement and trade as well as in financial transactions. Conspiracy theories criticizing Western countries are becoming entertainment in the form of irony and ridicule, irrespective of whether they are true or false.
This phenomenon is frequently explained as a result of information being manipulated by non-Western actors or as reflecting a lack of information literacy among the local public. However, something I have felt after many years conducting research on the ground is a deep-seated public distrust in Africa of Europe and North America, rooted in the slave trade and colonialism, as well as anger directed at local leaders who have enriched themselves by pandering to the West and obtaining aid, while widening domestic disparities. Many countries have not diversified their industrial base and have not been able to break away from colonial economies that rely on foreign currency generated by agricultural and mineral resource exports.
At present, with the general public taking such a strong interest in the actions of foreign powers, I suspect many local Africans will be watching reports about TICAD on satellite broadcasts and social media, just like they do other international conferences between Africa and Russia, China, and the West. Recognizing that, the Japanese government must keep in mind at TICAD9 that it is also addressing not only the government representatives in attendance, but also the ordinary African people who are not present. Tokyo must suggest cooperation that creates more jobs by diversifying and growing industries together with local private industry, to benefit those Africans who are now struggling to make ends meet. It is going to be difficult to win over the African people by prioritizing the values of the international community, asserting the superiority of Japanese technological capabilities as a 'developed country,' and continuing to offer only support that benefits only the elite.
TOMOMATSU Yuka is a professor at the Faculty of Economics at Hosei University.