Author: Jun Morikawa.

The purposes of this article are twofold. The first is to discuss the factors that make inquiry into Japan's African diplomacy difficult, in connection with the elaborate publicity campaign run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), focusing on the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD). The second is to examine the current status of, issues in and future of Japan's African diplomacy in the post-Cold War, post-apartheid era and the meaningful participation of Japanese citizens in formulating and implementing foreign policy in reference to the regional power of South Africa. The article concludes that there is a significant gap between words and action in Japan's African diplomacy that has led to a loss of credibility and that attempts by MOFA to recoup the loss using aid or rhetoric are likely to rather result in heightened distrust on the African side and that securing trust will require structural reform and building foreign policy that is based on the wishes and interests of the people and subject it to democratic control.