THE FUTURE OF JAPAN-AFRICA COOPERATION: TICAD

Abstract

Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) aims to “promote high-level political dialogue between African leaders and development partners”. Japanese-African relations are significant for understanding the Japanese strategy in Africa, confirming that its approaches are different from the Western approach, identifying the manifestations of eternal competition in Africa and the opportunities for Japan there, and embodying the framework of cooperation for development in Africa. The topic will be approached according to a theoretical framework that explains Japan-Africa relations due to their focus on the economic dimension of international relations. The study also proceeds from a basic assumption: that Japanese interest is linked to the system of economic interests that Tokyo seeks to achieve in Africa more than claims of development on the African continent.