Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi recently visited Ethiopia and Ghana to underscore Japan's continuing efforts to help Africa fight AIDS and other diseases, eliminate poverty and solve conflicts. His visit to sub-Saharan Africa was the first by a Japanese leader since Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori went there in January 2001.
Unlike Asia, North America and Europe, Africa is remote -- both geographically and psychologically -- to many Japanese. But Africa's weight in the international community is increasing. In 1945, there were only four independent African nations. Now there are 53, which account for more than a quarter of the United Nations' 191 members.
Although economic development and democracy are taking root in Africa, the continent still suffers from serious poverty. Problems are conspicuous in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the United Nations and other organizations, 48 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa subsist on per capita income of less than $1 a day, and 32 percent are suffering from undernourishment. The average life span is 46.3 years, and 40 percent of the children do not finish elementary education.