Foreign Minister Taro Kono is scheduled to visit Africa for five days starting Wednesday to attend a two-day ministerial meeting of a Tokyo-led African development conference in the capital of Mozambique, his ministry said Monday.
After joining the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Maputo through Friday, Kono on Sunday will head to Ethiopia to meet with officials of the African Union.
TICAD is a multilateral forum between Japan and African members aimed at strengthening their cooperation.
At the ministerial-level meeting in Maputo, Kono, who became foreign minister earlier this month, is expected to exchange views with his African counterparts on the fight against terrorism and North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions.