Ever since then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled his Indo-Pacific vision, much of the geographic focus has been on India.
That is understandable since the very notion of the Indo-Pacific emphasized the extension of the Asia-Pacific to India, and its logic rested on the inclusion of that regional power as a geopolitical counterbalance to China.
Understandable, perhaps, but it was mistaken. As important as India in this plan is Africa. Historically undervalued in Tokyo¡¯s foreign policy, Africa is becoming an increasingly important element of Japanese strategy. It is a work in progress, but it is proceeding. And the pace is accelerating.
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