(Update) Ishiba Unveils New Economic Initiative as TICAD 9 Starts

   Yokohama, Aug. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba unveiled a new regional economic initiative at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9, which kicked off in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Wednesday.
   At the opening ceremony for the summit-level meeting, to be held for three days, Ishiba, co-chair of the conference, proposed the initiative designed to enhance economic ties between the continent and regions linking it with India.
   He also announced that the Japanese public and private sectors will collaborate to increase investments in Africa.
   "From now, it is an era in which solutions originating in Africa will save the international society including Japan," Ishiba said. "Japan hopes that it will maintain reliable partnerships with the continent, providing each other with solutions."
   "Let Japan and the African leaders gathered here unite to co-create innovative solutions and tackle the challenges facing Africa and the world," he added.

(2025/08/20-20:21)