Browsing: Japan

• The 2024 Henley Passport Index has revealed that African passports still pull teeth in global mobility powerplay, failing to reach the top ten or at least the top fifteen of the annual index.
• In contrast, oil-rich UAE has added 106 destinations to its visa-free score over the past decade.
• Overall, the average number of destinations travelers can access visa-free has nearly doubled from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024.

The 2024 Henley Passport Index has been released, and the passport power ranking has exposed several interesting issues, including the ascent of unprecedented nations to the top.

Despite massive investments in the aviation and inter-regional ground transport infrastructure sector by African governments such as Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, African countries still struggle to make it into the top ten or at least the top fifteen of the annual index.

On the other side of the aisle, the United Arab …

In the wake of the global economic slowdown, JETRO has opened a support desk to assist Japanese companies expansion in Africa and also helping African firms enter the Japan market, JETRO CEO Sasaki said.

The forum highlighted the importance of supporting startups, emphasis on green investment, development of human resources and Africa food security.

Through the JETRO forum, the Japanese business community launched an investment fund for startups in Africa valued at over 10 billion yen.

JETRO CEO Sasaki said the forum also catapulted launch of the Green Growth Initiative with Africa valued at 4 billion dollars that will finance public and private cooperation ‘toward a structural transformation to achieving net zero.’…

• Japan has announced plans of investing $42 billion in India over the next five years to boost trade and cooperation between the two Asian nations
• Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the investment would be spread across several industries, including green energy and urban infrastructure
• The two countries also committed to strengthening securities ties across the Indo-Pacific region during the visit

Japan will invest $42 billion in India over the next five years to boost trade and cooperation between the two Asian nations.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the investment would be spread across several industries, including green energy and urban infrastructure.

He announced the investment deal during his first state visit to India since taking up office.

The two countries also committed to strengthening securities ties across the Indo-Pacific region during the visit.

They also discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

“The Russian attack is a serious matter as …

The African Development Fund (ADF) which is a concessional arm of the African Development Bank Group (AFDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement worth $668.1 million (73.6 billion Japanese yen) which will help finance Africa’s low-income countries affected by the pandemic.

The loan will help support the 15th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF-15) which was approved in December 2019 by ADF donor countries. JICA is extending the loan – the largest to ADF-15 on behalf of the Government of Japan. Japan has been the fifth-largest contributor to the ADF in cumulative terms.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi A. Adesina and Kuramitsu Hideaki, Japanese Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire signed an Exchange of Notes, while the loan agreement was signed by Fujino Kojiro, the JICA Chief Representative in Côte d’Ivoire and Swazi Tshabalala, Acting African Development Bank Group Senior Vice President, in her …

The Japanese city of Yokohama prepares to host African leaders and business delegation during the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) will be held in Yokohama from 28th to 30th August 2019.

This is a Summit-level international conference on Africa’s development which was initiated by Japan since 1993. What is striking about TICAD is that rather than being a stage for bilateral relations between Japan and African countries, it uses a multilateral framework involving the participation of international organizations.

It is also broadly accessible to diverse stakeholders, including those from private enterprise, academia, and civil society, with the number of participants at TICAD VI held in Nairobi, Kenya exceeding 10,000. TICAD is also a place where African ownership is given serious regard.

In addition, follow-up meetings at ministerial level are held annually to enable the respective ministries to properly stay abreast of the status of ongoing projects resulting …

African nations that have been slow to develop disposal facilities while mountains of trash pile up at sites will begin receiving support from the Japanese government in the form of waste disposal management and human resources cultivation.

A nation with a high level of garbage disposal expertise, Japan is expected to declare its support for countries at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) taking place in Yokohama from Aug. 28. Japan will also show what waste management initiatives African nations will be able to take in the short term while keeping down costs.

In some African nations, waste produced by households and other places is not separated, and trash is often piled up at disposal sites with no planning or structure. Management of the sites is not thorough, and many impoverished people residing nearby make a living as “waste-pickers” who collect scrap metal and other items from …

The indicator in question in this column is figure 17.6.

17.6 of what?

According to published government statistics, the median weighted average age of an East African citizen is 17.6 years old. Among the 157 million East Africans alive today there are equal numbers of people over 17.6 years old as there are people under 17.6 years old.

So how do 17.6 years as a median age compare to other locales around the world?

If the EAC were a country it would be the 13th youngest country in the world with Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania bringing down the weighted average against the relatively older Kenya. To add perspective, the median age of both the #1 and #2 economies of the USA and China are more than twice as old at 37.8 years and 36.8 years respectively than an East African. Even more dramatic, ageing Japan has 46.5 years as median …