Author: Howard Lehman.

The Start: Most of us could be forgiven for not knowing that one of the most important and unique meetings on African development was completed in Japan recently. This was the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), held last month. Although it is not widely known, Japan has taken a leadership role in the international community for several decades with regards to African development. While China has established very visible trade and investment ties to the African continent, Japanese relations to Africa are often carried out under the radar. Attendees at TICAD, sponsored and hosted by the Japanese government, included the Secretary-General of the UN, the President of the World Bank, over 40 African heads of state and many non-profit organisations. In addition to the notable participants gathered together for several days, another of TICAD’s unique traits is that the Japanese government has held these conferences every five years since 1993. Japan stands alone among wealthy countries that have sponsored such extensive discussions with African leaders.