(When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Ethiopia in early January, he stressed that Japan’s priority focus in its engagement with Africa are “young people,” who, the prime minister said, will shoulder the responsibility for the future Africa, and women, who will give life to the continent’s future generations. Below are the formal statement and subsequent remarks that Prime Minster Abe made at a press conference at the end of his Africa tour.)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 14, 2014
Last year, Japan established the Japanese version of a National Security Council (NSC) and formulated the National Security Strategy. This year, under these frameworks, I will continue to promote “diplomacy that takes a panoramic perspective of the terrestrial globe” based on strategic approaches.
The starting point for this diplomacy is here, in Africa.
The 21st century may well be the African century. This was reinforced to me during this trip.
Fifty years ago, the athlete Abebe Bikila arrived in Japan from the distant land of Africa. He won the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first person in history to win two consecutive Olympic marathons. The persistence with which he ran towards the goal inspired many Japanese people, including myself.
Half a century has passed since then, and Africa is no longer a distant continent. At this very moment, African countries are blooming the largest potential in the world.
Indeed, Africa has changed. I saw that a variety of domains, including not only sports, but also culture and the economy, were infused with tremendous dynamism.
On this trip, I visited Cote d’Ivoire, which was the first West African country I have ever been to. Cote d’Ivoire is truly a growing country, achieving rapid growth of nearly 10 percent.
At the football World Cup this summer, Japan will first face off against Cote d’Ivoire. During my visit, the leaders of eleven West African countries, including President Ouattara, all went out of their way to come together and welcome me graciously.
I would like to once again express my appreciation for their heartwarming hospitality.
The leaders are all brimming with personality. While cherishing their individual characteristics, West Africa, with a population of 300 million people, is currently working towards integration and achieving an even more robust growth.
Japan possesses technologies that can contribute to growth in this region, including towards the development and improvement of roads and ports.
Japan can also make useful contributions in improving living standards, including in food and health.
Africa presents an opportunity for major growth for Japan as well. On this trip, I have asked the heads of nearly 30 companies, universities, and other organizations to accompany me from Japan.
Additionally, in Africa, many children today are still unable to attend schools for various reasons, including poverty. It is the truth that the rate of enrollment in school among girls is particularly low.
Japan has long extended support for teaching such girls how to read and write, and for establishing facilities of vocational training, such as sewing. “So that each individual, one by one, can earn incomes on their own.”
There are countless women who left the nest, escaped poverty, and became independent thanks to these facilities.
In a classroom, girls who were practicing sewing, using machines with Japanese flags on them, welcomed me with their brimming smiles. Their eyes were glittering. The sewing machines that Japan provided are indeed machines that stitch “hopes for the future” for these girls.
If women have active roles in society, there is no doubt that Africa will achieve further growth. To build an “Africa in which women shine,” Japan will continue to proactively support these efforts.
In Mozambique, I met members of the national women’s basketball team who visited the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake following the disaster. Japanese women too are working hard to educate children who are responsible for the future, through music and physical education.
Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) teach people living in rural farming communities how to harvest high quality honey, as well as methods for growing vegetables. An aluminum plant in which a Japanese company invested has created more than 10,000 jobs in the region.
Mozambique’s rich supply of resources, including natural gas and coal, presents a significant opportunity not only for Japan, but also for Mozambique itself. They must be capitalized upon for Mozambique’s sustainable growth and for improving the living standards of its people. The environment will be protected. New industries will be created. And human resources will be developed.
Japan will make investments not merely to acquire resources, but to be a partner that looks ahead to the future in order to grow together with Africa. That is the Japanese way.
Lastly, here, Ethiopia.
“Only Japanese companies have taught us what it means to ‘work’ and about workplace ethics.” This is what one of the African leaders shared with me during the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in Yokohama, last June.
Kaizen, a word that was coined by a Japanese manufacturing site, is harnessed for state-building even here in Ethiopia, a country which has a history of exchanges with Japan for more than 80 years.
Here in Addis Ababa, which can be called ‘the capital of politics in Africa’ and which is the home of the headquarters of the African Union (AU), Japan will establish a Human Resource Development Centre for Business and Industry, the first such center in the African continent. At this Centre, we will support young people and women in Africa to fully realize their potential.
Africa, a shining continent full of dynamic growth, is no longer a recipient of ‘aid.’ Whether it is with human resources development or infrastructure development, the entire gamut of Japan’s support is “investment” in the future.
However, I do not adopt the view that this is ‘investment only for Japan’s sake;’ namely, for the acquisition of resources and the securing of export destinations for Japanese products. Training young people and women, increasing agricultural incomes, creating new industries, and eliciting the array of potential that lies in Africa by drawing on Japan’s experiences and wisdom, are “investments for Africa and Japan to grow together.”
Africa is the frontier of Japanese diplomacy. I believe that this visit to Africa has served as a major catalyst for Japan and Africa to become ‘growth partners of the 21st century.’
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks in response to reporters’ questions
Many African leaders attended TICAD V. This visit was in response to the request of Africa, expressed on that occasion, for a Japanese Prime Minister to visit Africa.
Japan’s cooperation and business are of a nature which contributes to “each individual, one by one” in Africa making most of their strengths and to Africa growing through its own efforts.
Accompanied by business representatives from Japan, I met with the leaders of 13 African nations in total. During the meetings I asked for their cooperation in promoting Japanese businesses in Africa, while the African leaders expressed high hopes for Japanese private investment in Africa. For the sake of meeting these expectations as well, we will support the business activities of Japanese corporations by faithfully implementing the support measures proposed at TICAD V.
Moreover, should further opportunities arise, I myself would like to visit Africa as much as possible.
Japan supports other nations by developing human resources, sharing Japan’s knowhow, and also working hard together with our partners; thereby giving local communities a sense of ownership and helping them stand on their own two feet. Such efforts have been a huge boon to Asia.
It may take some time for us to see the effects of our efforts, but I am convinced that the people of Africa fully understand that this very method is the best for the future of Africa. As I said earlier, the fact that the leaders of 11 African nations, including Nigeria, kindly assembled to meet me in Cote d’Ivoire on such short notice, is truly a testament to this.
In the meetings with each of the leaders, I conveyed our determination to contribute more proactively than ever before to the peace and stability of the region and the world, in line with our stance of proactive contribution to peace, based on a belief in international cooperation. During the meetings, we also presented a Portuguese summary of our stance to the president of Mozambique and a French summary to the president of Cote d’Ivoire. Each of the leaders welcomed this, and expressed their support.
