TOKYO, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's years of assistance to various African countries has not left much of an impression, even at the recent end of a Japan-led international conference on African development, the Japan News has reported.
According to the newspaper, China's reputation has been rising as the country aids Africa's development with substantial infrastructure investments.
Citing a public opinion survey of 34 African countries released in 2021 by Ghana-based research organization Afrobarometer, the newspaper said 63 percent of Africans gave upbeat assessments of "the economic and political influence of China in their country."
The figure was the highest among all choices, with the United States at 60 percent and the UN at 57 percent. The newspaper noted that Japan was not on the list of options for the question.
The Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) was held in Tunisia on Aug. 27 and 28. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attended remotely due to a COVID-19 infection.
TICAD is a Japanese-led aid conference for the development of Africa. According to the newspaper, the country launched the TICAD framework in 1993 to fully support Africa's development ahead of other countries. ■
