As the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) approaches in August 2025 in Yokohama, all eyes will be focused on what African countries will put on the table. Established in 1993, TICAD is the oldest mechanism of engagement between African countries and external powers. One feature that sets it apart from the other “Africa+1” summits (now numbering 10 since 2014) is that it is designed to facilitate sustained African input and agency. I know this first-hand from participating in two previous rounds of TICAD, including as Head of Delegation to the TICAD Regional Workshop for Southern Africa ahead of TICAD III in September 2003.

From the outset, Japan’s leaders championed an alternative model of engagement built on genuine partnership, mutual learning, sensitivity, and interdependence. They consciously avoided the donor-recipient dynamic that characterizes African relations with wealthier countries. The model TICAD created to realize this is captured in the old Japanese proverb, Hitosuji no yawa orubeshi tosuji no yawa origatashi (一筋の矢は折るべし、十筋の矢は折り難し),meaning, “a single arrow can be broken but not a bundle of ten.

During the first TICAD gathering in 1993, Former Japanese Prime Minister, Morihiro Hosokawa, described the new Japan/Africa initiative as a bundle of three arrows: “the efforts of African governments, active participation of African peoples, and the warm assistance of the international community.”

This was not a mere slogan. First, TICAD is a unique mechanism of multilateral co-partnership managed by Japan, various United Nations (UN) agencies (like the UN Development Program (UNDP)), African Union (AU) Commission, and World Bank. Second, TICAD has a multi-track system of engagement consisting of the Japanese and African governments on one track, and African NGOs, civil society, universities, and private sectors (and their Japanese counterparts) on the other.

TICAD is therefore more than a traditional summit of governments; it is a platform for multisectoral engagement for a wide range of stakeholders representing a multiplicity of interests.

The following three agenda-setting events are worth mentioning, among many others. One year ahead of every TICAD Summit, Japan invites applications from African professional groups to prepare and host policy debates to incorporate views and experiences from diverse stakeholders.

Another noteworthy initiative is “Africa-Converse,” a dialogue event on TICAD and African development co-hosted by UNDP and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). It has been operational since 2018. The 2024 edition brought young innovators from Japan and different African countries to explore ways in which innovation and co-creation between Japan and Africa can be enhanced through research, knowledge sharing, and technology transfer.

Finally, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) facilitates private sector interaction with TICAD through the Japan Africa Public Private Forum which also engages key civic institutions like the Africa Japan Association and Japan Africa Business Forum.

All told, there is no shortage of avenues through which African stakeholders can contribute to shaping the TICAD agenda. With this in mind, the African side should focus on the following:
  1. Develop a capacity-building program with Japan to understudy and adapt policies that contributed to Japan’s economic transition.
  2. Reach a consensus with Japan to support Africa’s bid for critical international reforms such as securing permanent African representation on the UN Security Council.
  3. Negotiate an economic compact with Japan to add value to African exports and secure preferential access to Japanese markets.
  4. Expand the Africa/Japan partnership to develop and harness Africa’s human resource capacity as a strategic resource. 

The idea behind these proposals is to take TICAD’s existing work to scale. For example, Japan’s Africa Business for Youth (ABE) Initiative offers scholarships to African youth to study in Japanese graduate schools and intern with Japanese companies, while the Japan Africa Dream Scholarship (JADS), which is co-managed by the Africa Development Bank, brings African undergraduate students to study in Japan. However, ABE has only reached 1,500 beneficiaries since it was launched in 2013, while JADS has only reached 17 since 2017. Both sides should explore how to increase these numbers.

However, African countries must do their own homework. They still lack a coordinated and coherent strategy for engaging Japan, a problem that is also evident in their dealings with other external powers. This undercuts their ability to make use of the resources TICAD has placed at their disposal to influence and shape the Japan/Africa strategic agenda.

Fortunately, TICAD is not limited to governments, making it possible for non-governmental professionals to inject fresh thinking and offer innovative proposals. They can build bottom-up pressure to make full use of TICAD to craft a continent-wide strategy for Africa/Japan relations. This unique TICAD attribute also makes Japan/Africa relations infinitely more transparent than other “Africa+1” arrangements and hence easier to evaluate, track, and monitor.

Since 1993, Japan has also placed youth exchanges between Africa and Japan at the center of much of its development work. This should be enhanced given Africa’s status as the world’s youngest continent, where 70 percent of its 1.4 billion people are under the age of 30. Africa’s majority youth population wants educational and training opportunities, greater democracy and respect for human rights, technological exchanges, and innovation. Above all, they want to be treated as active participants and equals in finding solutions to global problems. The added value of Japan’s experience and its willingness to work with African stakeholders on an equal footing could be essential in advancing these aspirations.