From The Financial Express.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe pledged a five-year, $32 billion package in public and private support Saturday for Africa at the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

The package includes $14 billion in development aid and $6.5 billion for infrastructure.

Resource-poor Japan has long been keen on Africa’s natural resources, especially since dependence on oil and gas imports surged after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster shut almost all of Japan’s nuclear reactors, according to The Financial Express.

Japan’s direct investment in Africa was $460 million in 2011, compared with China’s $3.17 billion, according to the Japan External Trade Organisation and China’s government data.

About 50 African leaders gathered for the three-day conference in Yokohama to discuss  economic development, peace-making and anti-piracy.

Aiming to catch up with China, state-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. has also  promised $2 billion in the next five years to help Japanese firms’ natural resource development projects.

Read more at The Financial Express.