SECOND TOKYO INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT
(TICAD II)
**T. TICAD II
(1) Background
Japan believes in sub-Saharan African countries' potential and capability and continues to commit herself to supporting them fully. This commitment is clearly demonstrated by Japan's ODA to sub-Saharan Africa which amounts to $1.0-1.3 billion each year (depending on Yen-Dollar exchange rate ).

Japan's commitment is not only shown in the field of her bilateral assistance. In October 1993, Japan, together with the United Nations and Global Coalition for Africa (GCA), organized the First Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD I). The Conference emphasized the ownership of sub-Saharan African countries as well as the partnership with the international community as two important key words for African development. We are pleased to take some credit for these concepts being developed into The Development Partnership Strategy adopted by the DAC (Development Assistance Committee) of OECD and became a common language of the development community. G7 and G8 countries made a firm commitment to the concepts at the Lyon Summit in 1996 and to translating them into concrete action at the Denver and Birmingham Summits in 1997 and 1998.

Japan is free from certain aspects of sub-Saharan Africa's history, especially up to the previous century, and therefore, is in a position to commit sincerely to sub-Saharan African development and its prosperity. Japan genuinely believes that as a leading nation she must extend friendly hands to African people.
(2) TICAD II
TICAD II, scheduled for October 19-21, 1998, will build on the outcome of TICAD I and its follow-up activities and will formulate an agenda for action for African development. Recognizing that ordinary people's initiative and dynamism push forward the society and history, TICAD II aims to formulate an agenda for action to improve the lives of the people in such areas as education and training, health through all life stages, safe water supply, population control and the empowerment of women, who are not only important social actors but also have economic potential. These improvements are important for laying the foundation for democracy, too.

A new wind is blowing on the African continent and new leaders are now taking bold steps for the nation-building of their countries. TICAD II will invite these leaders to help them strengthen sub-Saharan African development and democracy.
(3) Agenda for Action
The tentative outline of the Agenda for Action is as follows;
(outline)
**T. Main Message and Key Concepts

**U. Approaches and Emphases

(1) Strengthening Coordination (among donors and international organizations)
(2) Regional Cooperation (among Sub-Saharan African nations)
(3) South-South Cooperation (between Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and North African and sub-Saharan Africa)

(1) Capacity Building (i.e. human resources are the basis of development)
(2) Gender in Development (i.e. women's empowerment will further materialize their great potential)
(3) Environment Preservation
**V. Areas of Cooperation (consisting of objectives and action-oriented guidelines)

(1) Education (an example of objectives: increase primary school enrollment ratio with emphasis on girls' education)
(2) Health and Population (increase the access to primary health care)
(3) Poverty Alleviation (provide safety nets to those suffering from extreme poverty)

(1) Private Sector Development (ensure environment for private sector development)
(2) Industrial Development (foster the competitiveness of domestic private business)
(3) Agricultural Development (promote environmentally sustainable agriculture)
(4) Debt (achieve a durable solution for external debt problems)

(1) Governance (ensure democracy, the rule of law, human rights)
(2) Conflict Prevention and Post Conflict Development (strengthen the capacity for conflict prevention, management, and resolution)
**U. Japan and sub-Saharan Africa
(1) Overview
Japan's ODA amounted to 17 percent of the total ODA provided in the world in 1996 ($ 9.4 billion out of $ 55.5 billion) and was the largest donor. This makes Japanese aid policy crucial in development assistance in general and more so for sub-Saharan African countries which received $ 1.1 billion from Japan in 1996. With respect to debt-relief, for instance, which is a very important element for sub-Saharan African development, Japan provided $ 12 million of grant aid for debt relief to sub-Saharan African countries.
(2) Some examples of Japanese support for human resources development
Japan's assistance to sub-Saharan Africa is not only peculiar, of course. She has worked actively with her African counterparts on human resources development, which is an essential prerequisite for development.

Here are some of the examples of Japanese initiatives for education and vocational training to mobilize ordinary people's potential as crucial resources for the socio-economic development:
(a) Agriculture and Engineering University in Kenya

Japan provided 4.8 billion yen to construct faculties of the Jomo Kenyatta College of Agriculture and Technology, which was opened in 1981. Quickly recognized by the local people as a first-quality and result-oriented educational institute, it was upgraded to an independent university in 1988 and renamed as the Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology. Since then, Japan has continued its supports by providing additional financial grant aid, totaling to 4.3 billion yen by May 1995, sending nearly 500 professors and experts from Japanese universities, and receiving 190 teaching staff for training and further education in Japan. More than 1,800 graduates are now working in various fields in Kenya, contributing to its economic and social development. Furthermore, the University receives about 180 trainees from other African countries and also organizes open class for 200 local female farmers.
(b) The Vocational Training Center in Senegal

In 1984, Le Centre de Formation Professionnelle et Technique Senegal-Japon was established as the first technical vocational school to educate middle-ranking technicians in electronic and electoro-technic, general mechanics and automobile mechanics. The Centre was constructed by Japanese financial grant aid amounting to two billion yen, including supplies of basic teaching materials. Teachers at the Centre are Senegalese who were trained in Japan, totalling to 53 persons by May 1995. During the first seven years, 53 Japanese experts were stationed in the Centre for the intensive transfer of technology. The Centre is now becoming the leading school of secondary technical education in Senegal. Furthermore, the Centre educates more and more students from the neighboring countries as well.
(c) Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in Ghana

Noguchi Memorial Institute was established in 1979 with two billion yen grant aid from Japan and has such units as epidemiology, virology, nutrition, parasitology, bacteriology, clinical pathology, and electron microscopy. This institute was named after Dr.H.Noguchi, a Japanese medical researcher, who literally devoted his life to research of Yellow Fever which threatens many lives in Africa. He was engaged in research activities in Ghana in 1927, but lost his life become of this very diseases next year. The institutes has placed emphasis on activities on major endemic diseases and evolved into a base for regional cooperation, carrying out seminars and training courses for other African medical experts. To support the region-oriented activities, Japan has been extending financial grant aid and technical cooperation, including the dispatch of 44 Japanese medical scientists in total.
(d) Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV)

JOCV are Japanese volunteers aged between 20 to 39 sent to developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is the highest priority region for JOCV activities, where 32.6 percent of the volunteers (5,872 persons) have been sent by April, 1998. JOCV volunteers work in a wide range of sectors including agriculture, fishery, forestry, manufacturing, maintenance of machineries, civil engineering, health, education, culture and sport. The volunteers live and work with local people. Paying due respect to local traditions, for example, they carefully show how fatal some customs may be to children's life, so that their understanding of hygiene becomes part of their daily life habit.
(e) Construction of classrooms for primary schools

Rapid population growth in sub-Saharan African countries necessitates an increase of classrooms especially for primary schools. To ensure nation-wide primary school enrollment, Japan has built thousands of classrooms in those countries. Since 1991, 15 billion yen were offered to construct badly needed classrooms (example: totaling 788 classrooms in Senegal).