Join JCIE USA for an online briefing that will introduce Japanese, African, and US perspectives on Japan-Africa partnership, following 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which took place in Yokohama, Japan on August 20-22, 2025. This webinar will explore how a “win-win” partnership can be strengthened through private sector investments, as well as how Japan can enhance its partnership with Africa in alignment with the United States, including ways to synergize US and Japanese private investments in areas such as health, clean energy, and critical minerals.
This event is particularly timely in the context of the recent global shift in Official Development Assistance (ODA). Although Japan was the largest provider of ODA to Africa among OECD countries when Japan first launched TICAD in 1993, its ODA has since fallen behind the United States and Germany, while China’s influence on the continent has been steadily rising in the 21st century. As Japan’s fiscal constraints increase, Japanese leaders are facing growing pressures to demonstrate how ODA serves its national interests and economy, and are increasingly relying on private sector investments to complement publicly funded efforts. Similarly, the United States under the Trump administration has prioritized a “trade, not aid” approach toward Africa with a focus on seeking commercial interests. In December, the G20 presidency will also be handed over to the United States from South Africa, whose presidency helped champion the development agenda and represent African voices.
Event details
Venue: Online (Zoom)
SPEAKERS
Scarlett Cornelissen
Professor, Political Science, Stellenbosch University
Director, Stellenbosch University Japan Centre
Scarlett Cornelissen is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University and director of the Stellenbosch University Japan Centre. Her research centers on Africa’s international political economy and the region’s relations with Asia. She was Katherine Hampson Bessell Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University and Leibniz Professor, Leipzig University. She is a current co-editor of Geopolitics and a former co-editor of Review of International Studies. She is a recipient of the International Studies Association Global South Caucus’s 2025 Distinguished Scholar Award.
Hiroki Ishida
Director, AAIC Partners Africa Limited
Hiroki Ishida is a seasoned investment professional with over 10 years of experience, specializing in the healthcare and innovation sectors across Africa. He has managed two healthcare-focused funds with a combined size of USD 87 million and a portfolio of 60 companies. Based in Nairobi for more than a decade, he oversees the funds’ operations and investments across the continent. He began his career at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, gaining experience in operations, sales, and corporate planning, before completing an MBA and joining Accenture Japan Ltd., where he worked on projects including offshore development in emerging Asian markets and the merger of foreign financial institutions. Hiroki holds a Bachelor of Arts in Managerial Accounting from Kobe University and an MBA from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Class of 2012).
Joshua Meservey
Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Joshua Meservey is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute, where he studies great power competition in Africa, African geopolitics, and counterterrorism. He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Zambia before working for an NGO based in Kenya. He has also worked at the US Army Special Operations Command, at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center, and as a research fellow for Africa at The Heritage Foundation. He has testified eight times before Congress and once before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission and is a frequent commentator on African policy issues in print and digital media outlets. He has a master’s degree from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a bachelor’s from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University.
Shuhei Ueno
Deputy Director General (Planning and TICAD Process), Africa Department, JICA
Since October 2023, Shuhei Ueno has served as Deputy Director General in charge of operations strategy, budget, and cooperation for the African continent, and the TICAD process at JICA’s Africa Department. Prior to this, he was Chief Representative of JICA Tunisia Office and Director of the Planning and TICAD Process Division, Africa Department, where he contributed to TICAD 7 (2019) and TICAD 8 (2022). His career also includes serving as Senior Deputy Director in charge of partnership with WBG/IMF, First Secretary at the Japanese Delegation t the OECD, Assistant Resident Representative at JICA Senegal Office, and UNV Volunteer at the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. He obtained an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in Educational Psychology from Waseda University.
Moderator: Kazuyo Kato
Executive Director, JCIE USA
Kazuyo joined JCIE USA as Executive Director in April 2021, after spending nearly two decades at nonprofit organizations dedicated to US-Japan relations and international affairs in both the United States and Japan. Prior to JCIE USA, she was Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Initiatives at Japan Society in New York. As a member of the executive team, she focused on developing funding support and expanding the society’s network across the country and in Japan through online initiatives and partnership programs, and she helped keep the Society active during the global pandemic. She also led the Society’s multifaceted program on the 10-year anniversary of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Read more…
The event was made possible by a generous grant from the Toshiba International Foundation.
