Japan will pledge to assist Africa to double rice production on the continent in response to the global food crisis propelled by Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a draft aid package to be unveiled at an African development conference in late August.
Japan will also urge African countries to ensure transparency when they raise funds for development in light of China's so-called debt-trap diplomacy toward developing countries, says the draft, a copy of which was made available on Thursday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will represent Japan at the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD8, slated for Aug. 27 and 28 in Tunisia.