Shinzo Abe pledges to support Japanese investment in Africa

Yokohama — Jockeying for a stronger position on a continent that critics say is too reliant on China, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to step up efforts to promote private sector investments in Africa.

“I make this pledge to you: the government of Japan will put forth every possible effort so that the power of Japanese private investment of $20bn in three years should, in the years to come, be surpassed anew from one day to the next,” Abe said. As it grapples with higher social security spending to support its ageing population and the cost of servicing the world’s heaviest public debt burden, Japan is not in a strong fiscal position to compete with neighbour China’s overwhelming presence and state-to-state lending in Africa. ​

“This target is an ambitious one, and we realise that in order to achieve it we need to offer much support to investors,” Ramaphosa told delegates at the port city of Yokohama.

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