Japan, keen to catch up with rivals China and India in accessing Africa's rich mineral resources, said on Friday that Africa has become an important partner and vowed to push the continent's development concerns at a leaders' summit of G8 rich nations it will host in July, according to Reuters. "There would be no stability and prosperity in the 21st century unless Africa's problems are solved," Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference ending the three-day Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, near Tokyo. "Africa has become an important partner for us politically and economically," he said. Tokyo has lagged some emerging economies such as China in accessing Africa's raw materials. Japan's trade with Africa is a meagre 2 percent of its overall trade. Asked if Japan's interests in Africa were based on its geopolitical strategy given rising competition from China, Fukuda said that when the TICAD process started 15 years ago the international community paid little attention to Africa. "Our country has been providing technical assistance that only Japan can provide. We want to build a long-term relationship with Africa," he said. During the five-yearly conference, which focused on the need for better road networks, ports and electricity systems, Japan vowed to double its aid to Africa by 2012 and offer up to $4 billion in soft loans to help improve infrastructure.
