Narrator: Japan and the United Nations co-hosted the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD9, in Yokohama in August 2025. Japan established TICAD in 1993, and leaders and representatives from 49 African nations, including 33 heads of state, along with officials from international organizations, took part. With a sustainable future through co-creation as its theme, Japan and Africa reconfirmed their cooperative goals.
The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, which works to solve ocean issues, held a high-level panel discussion on the theme Sustainable Growth and Food Security Through Agriculture and the Blue Economy. The potential for international collaboration to strengthen Africa's food systems and regional economic resilience were discussed.
This program highlights how the nations of Africa can benefit from Japan's experience as a maritime country, to create a blue economy.
Host: Hello, I'm Jackie Enzmann and I'll be your host. I'm joined today by Dr. Sunami Atsushi, president of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Dr. Sunami, welcome.
Dr. Sunami: Thank you for having me.
Host: So today we'll be looking at Africa, but more specifically looking at the ocean. Can you describe to some of the commonalities that exist between Japan and countries in Africa when looking at the ocean?
Dr. Sunami: Basically, most of Africa and Japanese fisheries consist of the small-scale family based businesses, and most of it is really depending on the near sea, near coastal areas of fishery.
So it's very much similar to what's happening in Africa, and the potential for Africa’s future fisheries probably would be, some of the things that we have in Japan experienced in modernizing our fisheries in the past.
But also, some of the common challenges that we facing are also very similar,
because climate change and the crisis and all of the depletion of a fish stock along the coastlines of both Africa and Japan and how to cope with this different dynamics and the challenges are common to both Africa and Japan as well.
But also to modernize even farther to change the traditional practices of fisheries into using more IT, AI, data-based, science-based, mindset-based management that would enable the fisheries into more sustainable management.
Host: We'll be diving into all of those topics in the program today. But first, what is the current state of the ocean surrounding Africa, and what initiatives are underway in Japan looking toward the so-called blue economy? Let's take a look.
Narrator: Of Africa's 54 countries, 34 have coastal or island regions. The total length of the coastline and maritime zones exceeds 30,000 km, sorting millions of livelihoods through fishing and aquaculture, and serving as a major source of protein in diet.
Today, overfishing, illegal operations, habitat degradation, and the impacts of climate change threaten the sustainability of ocean resources. Aquaculture has also not yet realized its full potential. With Africa's rapidly growing populations soon expected to make up one in every four people on Earth, there are limits to the food that can be produced on land.
The blue economy is an economic model that sustainably uses marine resources while balancing economic growth, job creation, and environmental protection. Let's take Japan as an example to illustrate how this model works.
In the deep-sea tuna fishing and freezing hub of Miura City, local marine resources are being linked with multiple industries to compensate for declining catches and promoting regional development.
On the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, which did not greatly benefit from Japan's high economic growth period, modern art has been used to revitalize the islands, encouraged by inter-regional cooperation.
As urbanization progresses and marine resources decline, Hannan City is engaged in environmental education focused on the sea, with children taking part in seaweed bed restoration.
Host: We just heard about the blue economy in Japan, but what is the connection with Africa and what are some of the challenges and issues that they're facing?
Dr. Sunami: Well, of course, you know, for growing population, blue economy in Africa is a source of not only for food or protein, but also for jobs and economic development in a very sustainable way. And this is very important not only for Africa but also for the world.
As we try to approach this new concept of the blue economy, a sustainable way of managing economic development, Africa plays very important role. As we see more demand in Africa providing a very important role in production of the fisheries, much of the benefit, the economic benefit from that production doesn't really go into Africa itself. We catch the fish from off the African coast and then bring them over directly to the world market without much of the involvement of Africa itself.
That's another very important issue that we need to address. So that's why we have to co-design, blue economy with African people so that it will benefit African people, and at the same time, we support global supply chain.
Host: It seems like there's also this important element of learning from different experiences. So tackling, illegal fishing and things like that, but also regarding the environment. So what kind of shared experiences could be exchanged or how do you see that play into this?
Dr. Sunami: People don't really know much about what’s happening in the oceans surrounding you. So, in order to really, start really, thinking of how to manage this, first we need to make sure that we understand what's going on around us in terms of the oceans.
Africa, of course, you know, we always focus on the food based on most of the terrestrial activities like agriculture, but I think we need to really also focus our attention to more coastal areas and the oceans, our surrounding environment, and to be aware of what's happening. So literacy regarding ocean activities is very key in our addressing these issues.
Host: In advance of TICAD9, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation brought together experts and former leaders from Africa for wide ranging discussions. This included presidents and other high officials. Here are some of the perspectives that we heard.
Narrator: Tanzania in East Africa is home to Mount Kilimanjaro and has 40% of its land designated as national park reserves, conserving a wide variety of wildlife. Economic growth and urbanization are progressing, and the economy is expected to nearly double in size between 2020 and 2030. The population is projected to increase by 84% from 2025 to roughly 130 million by 2050.
Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete: Tanzania has a long coastline. It's about 1,900 km. And of course, when you when you add our territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone, we have a huge area on the Indian Ocean.
The fishermen, they use dugout canoes, meaning you get a big tree, cut it down and then they create a boat out of that. These are the kinds of boats that they use. They cannot go into the deeper waters because of the equipment that they have for fishing, so they live hand-to-mouth. There are catches mainly for subsistence, not essentially for commercial purposes.
So it is the kind of they these kind of – give them the skills, give them that the technology, give them the equipment that they can use. But also all of these require financing. If we can really make financing facilities available so that these artisanal fishers can access finance, buy bigger boats, buy better nets, buy better facilities, to be able to do the fishing in a modern way, but also to use the skills and education. And then of course, the cold chain systems, making sure that there are markets.
Host: It's apparent from these comments that the former president sees a vast potential in the oceans near Tanzania. But he also pointed to some challenges in some areas that require further development and support. I wonder if you could talk a bit about some of those comments that you heard.
Dr. Sunami: Sure. I mean, you know, a lot of, these, without this, cold chain and infrastructure, a lot of fish that they catch, some of it is really never used, because it was a very difficult to carry over from fisheries processing on to the table, so the market itself.
So we need to develop, of course, not only how to increase the catch, but also how to utilize more than 100% of those into actual product. And that requires really sustainable and strong infrastructure. So he needs to invest on, of course, not only refrigeration or any other things, but also the stable supply of electricity and also the logistics, and then create the market based on that. These are all holistic approaches that are required to really bring about this issue.
Host: It wasn't in the segment that we just watched, but he talked about the potential for how establishing and developing this seaweed farming industry has economic potential, but also specifically the potential for greater women's empowerment in the country. I wonder if you could tell us your thoughts about that.
Dr. Sunami: Without the, the women empowerment and there is no, you know, blue economy to begin with. So of course, Tanzania is and that probably could hope to be the leader in this in the discussion in Africa. But also if you look at the aquaculture or even seaweed production, and then you go out there in the ocean and do you know, the traditional fisheries.
So there's as we move away from the traditional to a more modernized and sustainable fisheries, we can see more women playing a bigger role in creating the basis for the blue economy.
Host: Next, we spoke to a leader from an island nation in West Africa.
Narrator: Cabo Verde is an island nation off the west coast of Africa, made up of 15 islands. Historically, it has had strong ties with Portugal and has served as a link to Europe.
Former President of the Republic of Cabo Verde Jorge Carlos Fonseca (translated from Portuguese): Cabo Verde consists of many islands. Although our land area is very small, only about 3,000km², our surrounding ocean territory is much larger. About 90% of Cabo Verde’s territory is maritime. Naturally, this has led to growing investment in the sea.
What we hope for is not just maintaining traditional small scale fishing methods, but the development of more industrialized fisheries. This is one of Cabo Verde’s biggest challenges.
Droughts caused by geographic conditions are severe, and water scarcity has consistently been a critical problem. Until just two years ago, there were three consecutive years without rain, making water the most urgent issue in the context of climate change as it affects both drinking water as well as our agriculture.
Desalination has now become quite widespread in Cabo Verde, with most islands in the nation having at least one local desalination station.
Host: In this interview, the former president outlined many of the challenges facing the country, particularly looking to the environment. What struck you about his comments?
Dr. Sunami: We often call this problem a SIDS problem, small island development states. They all share the same common challenges, particularly the vulnerability against the climate crisis. What's happening was the things like increasing natural disasters or rising sea levels, so they need – really challenge these vulnerabilities and how to create the resilience to these, natural, disasters is really key. At the same time, that requires, a lot of investment in infrastructure, a lot of investment that requires for them to be create the resilient economy itself.
So, blue economy is not just a blue economy for SIDS countries. It's the economy itself. So all the strategies, all the things that this needs to be addressed really has their own implications in the idea of blue economy itself.
When we discuss the, importance of blue economy globally, usually, SIDS, the leaders of the small island development states, place in the center stage because they're the one actually the real key in not only addressing the challenges, but providing the solution to it.
Host: One of the points that the former president brought up in the interview was also this idea about developing the ports, the maritime ports in the country, as a hub. Can you talk about how that might play into this idea of seeking out solutions in developing the blue economy?
Dr. Sunami: Well, Cabo Verde, of course, is no exception there. And, no exception, that that traditionally the global logistics or the even as the world developed into the world economy, the sea lanes that provides the lifeline of the all the trade and the basis of infrastructure for the economy or the economy is really looking at the sea lanes.
So, taking this as an advantage, for Cabo Verde or similar island states off the coast of Africa. It is very key for developing strategically, what their model of the economy. So having the ports that is very accessible in the global supply chain, and also, to make it a sustainable, that port has to be transparent. It's a way of really, making the traffic that is more visible and converting IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing) for instance.
And in order to do that, it requires more data based collection, more modern management of the sea ports, and much more required for these important ports than other ports that are on other coastal areas.
Host: The final leader we spoke with was a former minister and current university administrator in South Africa.
Narration: South Africa is located at the southern tip of the African continent. It is the only African nation to become a member of the G20. With abundant mineral resources and advanced industrialization, it drives much of Africa's economy. South Africa is also actively working toward SDG number 14 to establish protected marine areas. Meanwhile, the country faces a serious social challenge in the form of very high youth unemployment.
Nelson Mandela University Chancellor Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi: You know, the oceans and blue economy has been underdeveloped, if I can put it that way. There are areas with this quite a push to take this forward and I spoke about the fact that we have a number of chairs at Nelson Mandela [University] focusing on the research areas in the blue economy, but we want to look at areas where Japan, in view of decades of research, we will be able to learn and we see technology is one such area.
So technology in the blue oceans economy, in aquaculture, in dealing with the issue of illicit fishing, tracking of vessels, monitoring the type of fishing, preventing overfishing.
These are certain aspects and I'm being very general about it, but it's looking at where there are skills and where we have gaps on our side. We also believe that as we looking at cutting edge research, that will also have an impact in the future. This is probably where researchers can collaborate from Japan and South Africa.
We want to be able to develop scholarship jointly in instances. We want to, build the next generation of researchers, the next generation of marine researchers and all that. And if we look at the expectation and what we can do together, it is about looking into the future and how we will make an impact.
Host: Well, I think you can really hear the passion in her comments as she was speaking about the potential for developing more of these exchanges between researchers and really diving into joint collaborative research projects between South Africa and Japan, and the importance that this plays in really working to support the thinkers and the leaders of the future who are going to be taking on these challenges that we're facing today and tomorrow. Can you talk a bit about what you heard in her comments as well?
Dr. Sunami: What I call the engine of growth, the engine of the economy is, at the end of the day, it's all about technology, innovation and the people who drive that. So, investing in education and research should never be overlooked. Research in blue economy – we talked about the potential use of AI or data driven management – that requires a lot of these skills that are not traditionally available.
They're also, modernizing, you know, more traditional, way of fishing and, catching and other managing in some of the money supply chain, so on and so forth. Now, as I think of the future of Africa's blue economy is that they have a potential to leapfrog some of the experiences that we had as we are modernizing.
Now, of course, investing skills in computer science or coding, programming, AI, they have so much potential to do that. Investing in technology and skills, that leads to creation of jobs in a very different way from traditional way it would make jobs.
Of course fisheries are a very traditional economy. But by having new technology and new investment in these skills, that transforms what we call the sixth industry, which is transforming the traditional agriculture into a very modern industry in a way that combines logistics and IT and other things that creates new kinds of jobs and employment.
Host: We also spoke with SPF Senior Research Fellow Kobayashi Masanori, who moderated the TICAD9 side event and has been deeply involved on this theme. We asked him about the future of the blue economy for Africa as a whole.
Mr. Masanori: We think that in order to promote sustainable economies, we value innovation, social collaborations, international partnership, and in that respect, this social capacity movement really requires a kind of leadership and a kind of blue finance, a number of enabling factors.
To secure such enabling factors, think tanks like the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, would like to really work with African organizations and stakeholders to support such a leadership and social capacity development in achieving sustainable economies.
That is very important for Africa, but also important for the rest of the world, and we hope that Japan and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation can work together with the African government and stakeholder groups, to ensure that sustainable economies will be achieved for the benefit of Africa and also for the benefit of the international community.
Host: Looking back at all of the comments that we've heard, it seems that there's really a central core about this idea of really seeking out collaboration and working together on these shared issues and shared goals, and also this idea of the benefit of sharing experiences and really trying to raise awareness and get information out not only between the countries that are working together, but also to the broader international community. What were some of your main takeaways from this?
Dr. Sunami: Well, you know, today, as we are facing the last leg of the SDGs, towards 2030, it is very important to think about the blue economy, which addresses the key portion of SDG number 14 with the people of Africa to really co-design what would be the best solution to address the challenges that we already highlighted under the SDGs number 14.
So, to sit together with the people of Africa and envision the future and the future, bright future for Africa, which is sustainable and blue economy model that we co-design with Africa is going to be a sort of model for global challenges and to raise not only awareness but the shared value of all the people involved globally. That would be a very important task, effort, as we see towards 2030 and beyond.
Host: I really hope that we can continue this discussion, and I want to thank you so much for all of your perspectives today on this topic, and hope that we can continue this into the future. Thank you so much.
Dr. Sunami: Thank you. And I think what we need to do is to translate it into your action, so let's work together.
Host: Thank you very much for joining us, and we hope to see you next time.