Japan Seeks to Grow Africa Investments to Ease Reliance on China

Pedestrians in the Central Business District in Lagos, Nigeria.

Photographer: Benson Ibeabuchi/Bloomberg

Japan is supporting its companies to grow their business in Africa and develop trade ties across a continent where it’s mainly been seen as a key donor.

The second-biggest Asian economy’s emergence from a three-decade period of deflation has boosted its private sector’s risk appetite, Takehiko Matsuo, vice-minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told Bloomberg in Abidjan, the commercial hub of Ivory Coast.