In recent years, many conflicts have been coming to end in Africa and compared to developed countries, Africa has been experiencing higher economic growth. However, in some region, conflicts continue and there are still great numbers of people suffering from poverty and infectious diseases.
　Under such circumstances, Africa is becoming increasingly important for Japan’s foreign policy from the perspectives that (1) it is Japan’s duty as a responsible member of the international community to earnestly work toward the resolution of the various problems facing Africa; (2) it is strategically important for Japan to strengthen the economic relationship with Africa, which is endowed with abundant natural resources and a growing population and therefore a potentially huge market with sustained high rates of economic growth; and (3) the cooperation with African countries is essential to further address global issues such as UN Security Council Reform and climate change. From this perspective, Japan continued to proactively advance its foreign policies toward Africa, focusing mainly on (1) contributions to peace and stability, (2) expansion of development assistance, and promotion of trade and investment, and (3) response to global issues.
　For peace and stability in Africa, Japan enhanced various cooperation with African countries in order to consolidate peace in unstable regions, such as Sudan and South Sudan, Somalia as well as Mali. Also, in an effort to assist the democratization processes in Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, Japan provided support for and monitored their elections. Furthermore, with the aim of contributing to the enhancement of the peacekeeping capabilities of Africa itself, Japan continued its support for the UN PKO training centers to foster peacekeepers in Africa.
　In the area of expansion of development assistance and promotion of trade and investment, the Joint Mission for Promoting Trade and Investment to Africa led by Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Kato was dispatched to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe in August and the Japanese Government aims to encourage business dealings with Africa through public private partnership.
　Furthermore, the Japanese diplomatic mission in the Republic of Djibouti was upgraded to an embassy. Through this development, Japanese diplomatic foundations in the country, from where the Japan Self-Defense Forces are operating to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, has been strengthened.