The Tokyo International Conference on Development (TICAD) is one of the oldest Africa +1 summits that are still ongoing. Unlike other Africa +1 summits, TICAD is cohosted by the government of Japan, the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, and the African Union Commission (AUC). Its agenda consistently ties society, economy, peace, and stability together through a human-security lens.
The first TICAD conference (TICAD I) was held in 1993. Although TICAD used to be held every five years, it is now held every three years, starting in 2016. Throughout its history, there have been eight TICAD conferences, two of which have taken place in Africa: TICAD VI in Kenya (2016) and TICAD VIII in Tunisia (2022). This year’s TICAD will reconvene for the ninth time in Japan’s Yokohama City from August 20th – 22nd, 2025.
TICAD is unique not only for its number of cohosts but also for its diverse range of participants. TICAD attendees, include not only officials from African countries and Japan but also international organisations, the private sector, youth, and civil society.
The last conference, TICAD VIII, was the first one after the COVID-19 pandemic and had three focus themes: achieving sustainable and inclusive growth with reduced economic inequalities, realising a sustainable and resilient society based on human security, and building sustainable peace and stability through supporting Africa’s efforts. TICAD VIII also launched a USD 30 billion package over three years, including continuation of a USD 4 billion investment through Japan’s Green Growth Initiative for Africa. Of this, USD 10 billion was to be delivered through ODA. Since 2020, Japan ODA to Africa was approximately USD 5 billion, about half the target commitment. Moreover, there is no publicly available information on the progress of the remaining USD 20 billion, which was to be delivered through both public and private channels.
After nearly three decades of conferences critical questions emerge about TICAD’s continued relevance and effectiveness:
- Alignment: Are TICAD’s major themes well aligned with Africa’s development aspirations?
- Unique proposition: Whereas Japan’s support for Africa is welcome and should continue, financial commitments by Africa’s other major development partners are often larger than Japan’s. What unique edge can TICAD claim in its relationship with Africa?
- Trade relations: Japan is not one of Africa’s top five export destinations, but Africa still runs a trade surplus with Japan, primarily through value added exports, though total volumes remain modest. How can TICAD IX enhance trade volume between Japan and Africa?
- Accountability: While many significant commitments have come out TICAD, there is no accountability mechanism to follow-up on or enforce accountability on the commitments made. This makes it challenging to track progress on these commitments. Deeper institutionalization of TICAD to include an enforcement/accountability mechanism would further enhance its effectiveness and credibility.
- Investment outlook: Africa accounts for just 0.5% of Japan’s FDI outflows. Will TICAD IX see an uptick in the volume of Japanese investment flows to Africa? Which sectors are likely to drive this?
The fact that TICAD claims five institutional co-hosts, Japan, the UN, UNDP, the World Bank and the AUC, creates both strength and risk. A crowded stewardship structure can blur accountability and dilute the aim of an alignment with African priorities. This can make it easier for Japan to fall back on traditional ODA rather than more versatile policy tools such as trade facilitation agreements or investment risk insurance. Therefore, TICAD must take care not to lose sight of African priorities in the milieu of partners involved in the Summit. TICAD needs to clearly articulate a sharper, co‑created niche beyond aid, in its value proposition, or it will be weakened amid a very busy Africa + 1 summit calendar. Such a proposition must support both continental and national development priorities. TICAD should heavily lean into its partnership model of sōgokankei (相互 関係)—emphasizing mutuality and supporting African priorities such as Agenda 2063 and AfCFTA.
At Development Reimagined, we’re dedicated to transforming the global conversation on development by expanding the reach of innovative perspectives that put Africa first. Hence, we welcome and permit you and your media organization to quote, link to, and/or comment on our research reports and visual analytics on your organization’s website or social media posts under the condition that you provide proper attribution including reference by name to Development Reimagined and a link to the source on the DR website, for any text, charts, images, or other DR content you use.
To find out how Development Reimagined can support you, your organisation or Government to review key economic policies, please email the team at clients@developmentreimagined.com.
Acknowledgements: Special thanks go to Marry Ghenna, Trevor Lwere and Ivory Kairo for their work on the graphics, collecting/analysing the underlying data and sharing this accompanying report. The data was collated from various online sources and databases.
