Author: Chris Alden.

This article examines Japanese-South African relations in the period after the end of apartheid. Despite expectations of closer co-operation between a Japanese government anxious to expand its influence in Africa and a South African government intent on attracting foreign investment and playing a leadership role in African affairs, the two states have had difficulty in reconstructing the terms of their relationship. At the core of this anomalous situation are domestic bureaucratic and institutional conflicts within both countries that have served to obstruct and obscure the potential for greater co-operation.