Japan opened the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) on Wednesday in Yokohama, bringing together delegations from 49 African countries, including 33 heads of state and government, for a three-day summit co-hosted with the United Nations and the African Union. The forum, held every three years, is themed on the “co-creation of innovative solutions” and marks the first in-person TICAD hosted by Japan since 2019. In his keynote address, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba proposed the “Indian Ocean–Africa Economic Region Initiative,” positioning the area stretching from India through the Middle East to Africa as a single economic sphere. To underpin the plan, Ishiba announced a public-private impact investment programme worth about $1.5 billion and said Tokyo will seek up to $5.5 billion in co-financing with the African Development Bank for infrastructure such as the Nacala Corridor logistics network. Human-capital development formed a second pillar of the package. Ishiba pledged to train 300,000 people across Africa within three years—30,000 of them in artificial intelligence and data science—while expanding support for startups led by women and youth. He also promised up to $550 million for the Gavi vaccine alliance over five years to bolster health security. The prime minister has scheduled roughly 30 bilateral “marathon” meetings with African leaders and international organisations during the summit. Delegates aim to adopt a ‘Yokohama Declaration’ on the final day, while a parallel business expo showcases Japanese companies courting Africa’s fast-growing markets. Observers see the initiative as part of Tokyo’s broader effort to deepen economic ties and offer an alternative to Chinese-backed financing on the continent.