Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will announce Japan's policy regarding Africa during a speech he is scheduled to give in South Africa in January, according to government officials.
Mori's trip in the new year will make him the first Japanese prime minister to visit sub-Saharan Africa.
He intends to call for political stability in Africa through development efforts and conflict prevention. He will also declare that 21st-century prosperity hinges on resolving the continent's various problems.