Message from the Chief Representative

With a population of approximately 70 million, Tanzania is projected to exceed 100 million people by 2040. Its land area is about 2.5 times that of Japan. The country is richly endowed with mineral resources and world-renowned tourism assets.

What has impressed me most in Tanzania is its people. Tanzanians place great importance on greetings, mutual respect, and social harmony. In many ways, I find similarities with those of the Japanese people. I believe this is rooted in the spirit of mutual support and solidarity known as Ujamaa, which was championed by the country's founding President, Julius Nyerere.

Japan's development cooperation with Tanzania began in 1962, meaning that we have been working alongside the country almost since its independence. Over the past 62 years, Japan has welcomed more than 22,000 Tanzanian participants to training programs, while dispatching over 6,800 Japanese experts and more than 1,700 volunteers. The cumulative value of these technical cooperation efforts exceeds 2.1trillion TZS. In addition, Japan has provided more than 2.2 trillion TZS in concessional loans and over 2.7 trillion TZS in grant aid to support the country's infrastructure and development. The greatest achievement of this enduring bilateral partnership is trust. It is something of which I am deeply proud.

The year 2026 marks a historic milestone for Tanzania with the launch of Vision 2050. This 25-year national development strategy aims to raise per capita GDP to over USD 7,000. Building on the country's peace and stability, strategic geographic location, and abundant natural resources, Vision 2050 seeks to transform Tanzania into an industrialized, knowledge-based economy through advancements in logistics, energy, science and technology, research and development, digital transformation, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, mining, the blue economy, and the sports and creative industries.

At the same time, the Government of Japan is advancing its vision of a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) — Together, Stronger and More Prosperous." Grounded in the principles of freedom, openness, diversity, inclusiveness, and the rule of law, this vision emphasizes not only Japan's own growth, but also the creation of new value together with partner countries, the joint resolution of shared challenges, and the pursuit of prosperity through cooperation. By deepening collaboration in areas such as economic security, human resource development, science and technology, FOIP seeks to contribute to peace and prosperity across the vast region stretching from the Indo-Pacific to Africa.

Realizing the synergy between Vision 2050 and FOIP, and translating it into tangible value creation, is what I consider to be the mission of the JICA Tanzania Office. The extensive network of relationships that JICA has built with the people of Tanzania over many decades is one of our most valuable assets. Building on this foundation, we aim to connect diverse partners from government, business, academia, research institutions, and civil society in both countries. By bringing together our respective strengths, we hope to foster new ideas, technologies, businesses, and innovations that will benefit both Tanzania and Japan.

We warmly welcome you to visit the JICA Tanzania Office and to share your ideas, aspirations, and new challenges with us. We look forward to working together to create a brighter future.