TOKYO -- Japan will set up a permanent joint council between the government and private sectors to promote investment in Africa as it seeks to play catch-up with China, the U.S. and Europe in the increasingly promising region, government sources said on Thursday.
The launch of the joint council will coincide with the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD7, scheduled for August, the sources said. The event, which will be held in Yokohama, just west of the capital, will bring together Japanese and African leaders.
