Ishiba Vows Aid to Nurture AI Experts in Africa at TICAD 9

   Yokohama, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)--Japan will work on nurturing experts in artificial intelligence to help African countries to achieve economic growth and solve social problems, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday at the ongoing Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9.
   "The development of human resources in new fields such as digital-related industries, including AI, and creative industries will be one of the foundations for accelerating future growth," Ishiba said at a public-private business dialogue session of the summit-level conference running for three days through Friday in Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
   "Japan will help Africa diversify its economy" by developing 300,000 workers across the continent in the next three years, the prime minister, co-chair of the conference, added.
   The Japanese government aims to nurture 30,000 AI experts through the Japan Africa Co-Creation for Industry, a framework set up by the Japanese industry ministry to enhance cooperation between Japanese companies and African startups.
   Japan will also work with local universities and the U.N. Development Program to help trained AI experts start their own businesses or find jobs.

(2025/08/21-19:38)