[TICAD at 30] Deepening Ties with Rising Africa: Interview with JICA President Tanaka Akihiko

Launched by the Japanese government in 1993, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has been held eight times over the past 30 years. It is a forum for discussion on development cooperation with the countries of Africa that has prioritized the wishes and aspirations of the African people. In the following interview, President Tanaka Akihiko emphasizes the importance of Africa, the meaning of TICAD, and JICA’s role in strengthening ties with the continent at a time when the world confronts such compounded crises as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

One Year After the Pakistan Floods: How JICA’s Cooperation Resulted in a Swift Response and is Helping Develop Future Risk Reduction Plans

Between June and August of 2022, intermittent monsoon rains in Pakistan —the heaviest in the country’s history—resulted in severe flooding, impacting an estimated 33 million people. There were unforgettable scenes of people left in despair, their homes destroyed and their lands, as well as their vast fields awaiting harvest, covered with muddy water as far as the eye could see. People in socially vulnerable positions, such as those known as Female Home-Based Workers (*1), whom JICA had been supporting, found themselves in particularly challenging circumstances, having suffered significant losses, including their homes. In the wake of the floods, however, JICA was able to leverage the collaborative networks that had been built to offer rapid support to these vulnerable individuals. One year after the floods, JICA is accelerating efforts to mitigate flood risks, aiming to prevent future disasters and support the economic development of Pakistan.

Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan met with returned Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) and Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers for Nikkei Communities (NJV)

Empowering Startups: IT Sector Key to Ukraine’s Recovery and Reconstruction

World Refugee Day: The Problems of Palestine and the Global Refugee Situation