Japan sells itself as Global South’s China counterweight with whistle-stop tour of Africa, South Asia

As well as stepping up engagement, Tokyo’s aim is to narrow the development gap among countries in the Global South – a term for a loose grouping of developing nations – according to Céline Pajon, head of Japan research at the French Institute of International Relations’ Centre for Asian and Indo-Pacific Studies in Paris.

Strategic considerations were front of mind during the visits, Pajon said, noting that Japan’s free and open Indo-Pacific plan was particularly relevant to Madagascar, given the island’s location in the western…