Japan Hosts African Leaders for Development Conference

Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi (C) delivers a speech during the opening ceremony for the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo on August 20, 2025. (Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin / POOL / AFP)

Japan hosted African leaders on Wednesday for a three-day development conference, offering itself as an alternative to China as the continent reels from a debt crisis exacerbated by Western aid cuts, conflict and climate change.

Attendees at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) included Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, William Ruto of Kenya and UN head Antonio Guterres.

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by Eric Olander

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