As Tokyo overhauls Africa strategy, groundwork begins for next TICAD summit

This article was first published in Africa Intelligence on 23.07.2026

By Oumarou Barry and Paul Deutschmann

Oumarou Barry, a Prof. at Ritsumeikan University, is AI correspondent in Japan. We are grateful for his efforts to secure permission for us to reproduce this article as a JSAS Newsletter. (Editor).

Japan's Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi

Japan has begun preparing the next edition of the TICAD conference, scheduled for August 2028. The event is expected to be held in Abidjan, which would be its first edition in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. The preparations come at a time when Tokyo is renewing its approach on the continent, now targeted towards defence and strategic interests.

Following Nairobi in 2016 and Tunis in 2022, Abidjan has emerged as the frontrunner to host the 10th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in August 2028. While no formal decision has yet been taken, Ivory Coast's commercial capital is widely viewed in Tokyo as the preferred venue. For several weeks, Japanese and Ivorian oficials have been quietly working on the outline of the summit, which is expected to attract more than 30 African heads of state and government.

If confirmed, the decision would mark the first time TICAD has been held in francophone sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2016, Japan has alternated between hosting the conference at home and on the African continent. After Kenya and Tunisia, Ivory Coast would become the third African host of the summit, which was launched in 1993.

Ivory Coast has become Japan's leading partner in francophone Africa and hosts one of the largest Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ofices on the continent. The development agency has financed a series of flagship projects in recent years, particularly in transport infrastructure.

High-level engagement

Beyond development cooperation, bilateral ties have deepened markedly in recent years as the two countries prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026. Against that backdrop, Misako Takahashi, the new director-general for African afairs at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Afairs appointed in February 2026, travelled to Abidjan in mid-June, where she discussed plans for TICAD 10 with senior Ivorian oficials, including Foreign Minister Nialé Kaba.

Japan's ambassador to Ivory Coast, Junji Gomakubo, has also been particularly active in advancing the bid. Appointed to Abidjan in 2025, the French-speaking diplomat is already well acquainted with the country, having previously served as first secretary at the Japanese embassy between 2012 and 2016. He is regarded as a trusted interlocutor by the Ivorian authorities.

President Alassane Ouattara, who attended the Yokohama TICAD summit in 2019, has long advocated a closer partnership with Japan. He dispatched Prime Minister Robert Beugré Mambé to lead a sizeable Ivorian delegation to TICAD 9 in Yokohama in August 2025 and is now actively backing Ivory Coast's bid to host the next summit. Deputy Prime Minister Téné Birahima Ouattara is also closely involved in the process.

Culture Minister Françoise Remarck has likewise played a prominent role in strengthening ties with Tokyo, paying an oficial visit to Japan in 2025. The bilateral relationship increasingly extends beyond economic cooperation into the creative industries. Sony Music has expanded its presence through the production and development of Ivorian artists, while major Japanese trading houses and industrial groups, including Toyota Tsusho, Mitsubishi and Marubeni Corp, have strengthened their operations in Ivory Coast.

Competing bids

Ivory Coast is not the only country seeking to host the summit. Angola has also put itself forward. President João Lourenço, who was serving as chair of the African Union at the time, co-chaired TICAD 9 in Yokohama. Should African states fail to reach a consensus, the final decision may ultimately fall to the AU.

Preparations for TICAD 10 come as Japan undertakes a far-reaching reassessment of its engagement with Africa, following last year's summit (AI, 29/08/25).

The shift has accelerated since Sanae Takaichi became prime minister in October 2025. A leading conservative within the Liberal Democratic Party, Takaichi has sought to reshape Japanese foreign policy by placing economic security at its centre. In Africa, Tokyo is moving away from an approach focused primarily on development assistance towards one that gives greater weight to strategic partnerships.

At the G7 summit in Évian, France, Takaichi proposed a joint critical minerals stockpiling initiative among allied countries as part of broader eforts to secure supply chains and reduce dependence on China.

Critical minerals at the heart of policy

The new strategy is being implemented by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who has returned to the head of the foreign ministry after previously serving between 2019 and 2021. From 29 April to 6 May 2026, the veteran politician undertook a targeted African tour covering Zambia, Angola, Kenya and South Africa.

The itinerary reflected Tokyo's growing focus on securing supplies of critical minerals, notably copper and cobalt, while diversifying trade routes amid intensifying strategic competition with Beijing. In Angola, Motegi also discussed crude oil trade and cooperation on rare earths, explicitly framing the talks around Japan's economic security interests.

Within the foreign ministry, implementation of the new doctrine has been entrusted to Takahashi. Since taking ofice, she has stepped up engagement with ministers across the continent.

Her appointment illustrates the evolution of Tokyo's priorities. An Arabic specialist and former head of the foreign ministry's Economic Security Division, Takahashi has a markedly diferent background to that of her predecessor Toshihiko Horiuchi, a career Africa specialist and former Japanese ambassador to the African Union. Horiuchi was one of the principal architects of TICAD 9 and remains an influential figure in Japan's Africa diplomacy (AI, 18/04/25).

Balancing strategic interests and soft power

The shift towards a more transactional Africa policy, placing greater emphasis on Japan's strategic interests and broadly echoing the approach promoted by the Trump administration, an approach that has influenced Takaichi, is not universally supported within the foreign ministry. Among Africa specialists in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo's government district, some diplomats fear a more assertive posture could erode decades of Japanese soft power, much of it built through JICA.

At the same time, as African governments increasingly assert their strategic autonomy, Tokyo is seeking to avoid being perceived merely as an extension of the Western powers by emphasizing its own distinct approach (AI, 12/09/25). The reorientation builds on work begun under former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, whose administration had already sought to adapt Japan's diplomacy to the changing dynamics of the "Global South", where China has established itself as the dominant external actor.

One illustration of this shift is Japan's success over the past two years in establishing channels of communication with several Sahelian military governments belonging to the Alliance of Sahel States (AES, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger), signaling a more pragmatic and strategically driven approach to engagement across the continent.

Credits

Editor(s): Gérémy Charrier, Alexandre Larue. Translator(s): Jack Sims.

© Copyright Africa Intelligence. Reproduction and dissemination prohibited (Intranet...) without written permission. - 109827204