Japan steps up diplomacy to avoid 'losing' Global South to China

Kishida plots Africa tour ahead of G-7 summit to compete for influence

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's tour of four African countries comes less than a month before the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)

HIROYUKI AKIYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

April 20, 2023 12:02 JST

TOKYO -- With the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima just a month away, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is about to embark on a trip meant to compete against China and Russia for influence in Africa.

Kishida departs next week on the first multicountry trip to Africa by a Japanese leader since 2014. His four stops -- Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique -- are all part of the Global South, a loosely defined collection of over 100 developing nations.