アフリカ会議 日本の顔見える支援拡大せよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun June 3, 2013
TICAD 5: Opportunity to expand Africa aid that shows Japanese flag
アフリカ会議　日本の顔見える支援拡大せよ（6月2日付・読売社説）

The fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 5), a summit meeting of Japanese and African leaders, began Saturday in Yokohama. It is a wonderful opportunity for Japan to strengthen its partnership with Africa, an emerging continent.
　日本とアフリカの首脳級会合である「第５回アフリカ開発会議（ＴＩＣＡＤ５）」が１日、横浜市で開幕した。“成長大陸”アフリカと連携を強化する絶好の機会だ。

The conference is held every five years, and representatives from 51 of Africa’s 54 countries are attending TICAD 5.
　５年に１度の会合で、今回はアフリカ５１か国が出席した。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at the meeting that Japan and Africa have become partners who are helping each other grow. He also pledged to provide Africa with up to 3.2 trillion yen in aid from the private and public sectors over the next five years. The amount will include 1.4 trillion yen in official development assistance, the prime minister said.
　安倍首相は、「互いに成長し合う仲間になった」と述べ、官民連携により、今後５年間で最大３・２兆円をアフリカに支援すると表明した。１・４兆円は政府開発援助（ＯＤＡ）を充てる。

A wealth of resources

Africa is rich in natural resources, and its annual growth rate remains high at 5 percent or more. The continent has a population of about 1 billion and is a promising market in which the number of middle-income people is increasing.
　アフリカは天然資源が豊富で、５％台の高成長が続く。人口は１０億人と多く、中間所得層が増加する有望市場である。

However, electricity shortages remain a serious problem in Africa, and underdeveloped infrastructure such as roads, ports and railways is also a challenge.
　一方、電力不足は深刻だ。道路、港湾、鉄道などインフラ整備の遅れも課題と言える。

Africa has high expectations of Japan. We agree with the government’s plan to expand aid and investment for Africa in cooperation with trading houses, manufacturers and other private companies.
　アフリカの日本への期待は大きい。商社、メーカーなど民間企業と足並みをそろえ、アフリカへの支援や投資を拡大しようとする政府の狙いは妥当だ。

The growth strategy of Abenomics will be boosted if Japan can promote development of natural resources in Africa such as natural gas, which are essential for the country, and speed up the export of infrastructure to African countries.
　日本に不可欠な天然ガスなどの資源開発を促進したり、インフラ輸出を加速したりできれば、経済政策「アベノミクス」の成長戦略にも弾みをつけよう。

Be wary of China’s moves

However, Japan must be cautious about China’s moves on the African continent, where it is stepping up its presence.
　警戒しなければならないのは、アフリカでの存在感を増大させている中国の動きである。

Beijing has been sending its leaders to African countries one after another and rapidly increasing loans and investment on the continent.
　中国は、首脳らが相次いでアフリカを訪問し、アフリカ向けの融資や投資を急拡大している。

China last year announced it would extend a total of 20 billion dollars in loans to African nations over three years, but the reality on the ground is not clear. We cannot ignore China’s policy toward Africa, which is noticeably aimed at monopolizing natural resources there while focusing only on China’s own interests.
　昨年、「３年間で２００億ドル融資」という新たな方針を表明したが、実態は不透明だ。資源囲い込みや自国の利益を最優先する姿勢が目立つ点も看過できない。

Abe pledged at the conference to visit Africa as soon as possible. We think it is appropriate for the prime minister to lead Japan’s policy for Africa to vie with Beijing.
　安倍首相は、できるだけ早期にアフリカを訪問する意向も表明した。中国に対抗し、首相が先頭に立つことは適切だろう。

It is important for Japan to help Africa become more self-reliant and to build a mutually beneficial friendship with it through aid that shows the Japanese flag.
　重要なのは、「日本の顔が見える支援」を通じてアフリカの自立を促し、互いに利益になる良好な関係を築くことである。

Africa is still suffering from poverty and diseases such as AIDS. Japan should help Africans boost their agricultural productivity to alleviate poverty by teaching them Japanese skills to grow more rice.
　アフリカは貧困や、エイズなど疾病の問題を抱える。コメ作り支援で農業の生産性を高め、貧困を減らす方策を強化すべきだ。

The government should take strategy measures to help Africa that only Japan can do, by making effective use of its ODA. Such measures include supporting human resource development programs by helping 30,000 people find jobs and promoting transfer of technology.
　３万人の就業支援による人材育成や、技術移転を後押しするなど、ＯＤＡを有効に活用する日本ならではの戦略が求められる。

In Algeria, a hostage crisis involving Japanese nationals took place in January, and security continues to deteriorate in some parts of Africa. We think the governments of African countries should take the initiative in developing an environment in which Japanese companies will find it easy to invest.
　１月にアルジェリアで人質事件が起きた。一部では依然、治安が悪化している。政府の主導で、日本企業が投資しやすい環境を整備することが急務だ。

The government should not forget that it is significant for Japan, which aims to reform the U.N. Security Council, to expand the foundations of its diplomacy in a way that will redound to the country’s benefit as it enhances its ties with African nations.
　国連安全保障理事会の改革を目指す日本にとって、アフリカとの関係強化で外交基盤を拡大する意義も忘れてはなるまい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 2, 2013)
（2013年6月2日02時23分 読売新聞）