Follow-Up Activities to TICAD

Based upon the discussions at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Japan has identified the following sectors as targets for its assistance to Africa: (l) assistance for democratization, (2) assistance for economic reform, (3) assistance for human resource development, and (4) assistance for conservation of the environment. It has also announced its intention to make its African assistance more effective and efficient. Currently, Japan is actively following up in each of these areas, as described below.

(1) Assistance for Democratization

Japan recognizes that the establishment of democracy and a participatory political system are essential for African countries in raising their citizens' sense of ownership for further development and nation-building. Japan is providing active assistance for the democratization efforts in Africa in line with this thinking.
Specifically, in addition to dispatching election observers to support such democratization efforts in Africa, Japan has offered counterpart fund of non-project type grants as assistance for covering the expenses of elections. Moreover, since 1995, the Government of Japan extends grant aid for elections support.

(2) Assistance for Economic Reform

The structural adjustments that African countries are undertaking are necessary to strengthen the foundation for economic development. Japan has thus been actively assisting economic reform efforts in Africa. To date, Japan has provided a total of 37.3 billion yen(to 20 countries) in non-project grants, and offered yen loans worth 17.3 billion yen(to 4 countries) under the SPA-3 program (Special Program of Assistance for Low-Income Debt-Distressed Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa) .

(3) Assistance for Human Resources Development

Human resources development is an indispensable factor for nation-building and economic development. Japan has thus been energetically providing assistance for human resources development in Africa.
To cite some specific examples, Japan has coorganized the "Asia-Africa Forum" and the "Regional Workshop for Eastern and Southern Africa" with the objective of sharing development experiences among Asian and African countries. A "Regional Workshop for Western and Central Africa" is planned for July 1996. Japan has also invited young Africans to Japan since TICAD (FY1993:50 individuals, FY 1994:100 individuals, FY 1995:100 individuals) with a view to contributing to the training of talented young individuals who will shoulder the burden of nation-building in Africa in the future, as well as to deepening mutual understanding between Japan and the African countries and promoting friendly ties among them. The Japanese government has also been keen on sending Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) to that region. (Up to FY1994:4, 892, 33.5% of the total, FY1994:226 individuals newly dispatched, 26.2%) .

(4) Assistance for Conservation of the Environment

Japan has made clear its policy to place emphasis on the conservation of the environment. Its Official Development Assistance (ODA) Charter stipulates the basic principle of preservation of the environment and its policy to pursue environmental conservation and development in tandem. The Japanese government has also payed attention to environmental conservation in providing assistance to African countries. During the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) , the Japanese government announced its intention to provide between 900 billion yen and 1 yen trillion for environment-related assistance over a five-year period. So far 704.1 billion yen of this assistance has been disbursed. Japan has provided grant aid of 27.6 billion yen and loan aid of 10.1billion yen for water development projects in Africa.

(5) Effective and Efficient Assistance

Japan seeks to offer assistance carefully tailored to match the level of development of the recipient countries. Aware of the fact that to achieve that end it must strengthen its policy dialogue concerning aid and accurately grasp the diverse needs of African countries, the Japanese government has sent economic cooperation missions to 18 African countries since TICAD.