Japan courts Africa in bid to counter Chinese influencey
10 January 2014
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's current tour of sub-Saharan Africa marks the first visit to the region by a Japanese premier in eight years.
Mr Abe's week-long tour includes stops in Mozambique, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.
The visit coincides with a trip to the region by Chinese dignitaries.
In the last decade, China has surged ahead of the United States, France and the United Kingdom to become Africa's leading trading partner. Chinese retailers and construction sites are now a common sight in cities across Africa.
"From 2000 onwards, we have seen very strong state capital deployment of Chinese enterprise -- state capitalism if you will -- coming into Africa in a very pervasive fashion. Chinese companies (are) predominantly… the single, largest financiers of infrastructure in Africa," said Dr Martyn Davies, CEO of Frontier Advisory.
However, China isn't the only powerhouse trying to gain a foothold in Africa.
This week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe touched down on African soil as part of a whistle-stop tour that includes stops in Mozambique, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.
But many think Japan is fighting a losing battle.
"Japan does not have the capacity to catch up to China in my view. China, given its scale, its sure demand for resources, the size of its population and its global footprint, is always going to pull ahead of Japan and other countries,” said Dr Peter Draper, head researcher at International Investment Agreement.
“What the PM's visit may nonetheless reflect is more the growing tensions in East Asia between Japan and China and a need to shore up support in non-Asian quarters."
Japanese officials say the purpose of the prime minister's visit is to offer humanitarian aid to Africa with almost $600 million in loans promised to build infrastructure in Mozambique.
However, analysts think that Japan's aid drive is motivated less by altruism and more by a tactical push for greater influence in the region.
"Last year, the Japanese government pledged over $30 billion in financing in Africa. Clearly this is not just aid,” said Dr Davies.
“I think politically, the government of Tokyo perhaps still uses that rhetoric of aid and development -- softer words rather than investment and just trade… Capital is no longer purely channelled for so-called aid development purposes but is being realigned with more strategic foreign commercial policy."
Japan's trade policies are already meeting with great success in South Africa, where Japan is currently the third biggest export destination and the fifth largest importer.
"In terms of Japanese business, South Africa is by far the greatest among the African countries. There are about 110 Japanese companies active in South Africa in areas such as mining, ... manufacturing and infrastructure building", said Yutaka Yoshizawa, Japanese Ambassador to South Africa.
Japanese influence is making its mark in South Africa, but it still has a long way to go before it can be a real threat to China.
The Japanese community in South Africa is the largest on the African continent, with most of them based in Johannesburg.
Establishments such as sushi restaurants are gaining momentum and popularity in the country.
Officials say they hope that South Africa will be included in the next leg of the Japanese prime minister's trip and that officials will not have to wait another eight years before visiting the continent again.
- CNA/ec