When the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development was held 20 years ago, circumstances in Japan and Africa were vastly different than they are today.

Japan, despite the implosion of the bubble economy by 1993, was still the second-largest economy and the biggest supplier of official development assistance in the world, while many African regions were struggling to alleviate staggering poverty and seeking vast amounts of foreign aid.

Fast-forward to the fifth TICAD summit that kicks off June 1 in Yokohama, and it is clear both sides have undergone drastic transformations.