August 19, 2025 — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has arrived in Tokyo, Japan, for the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), where global leaders will gather to deliberate on Africa’s economic transformation and sustainable development.
Tinubu’s presidential aircraft landed at Haneda International Airport at exactly 12:50 a.m. local time. He was received by Japan’s special representative for TICAD, Ambassador Hideo Matsubara, Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, and senior officials from the Nigerian Embassy in Japan.
The high-profile summit, scheduled to run from August 20 to 22, 2025, at the Pacifico Yokohama, is a flagship initiative of the Japanese government co-hosted with the United Nations, UNDP, African Union Commission, and the World Bank. The triennial event alternates between Japan and Africa, with the last edition held in Tunisia in 2022.
This year’s conference, themed “Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa”, is set to spotlight economic reforms, private sector investment, innovation, and strategies to strengthen Africa’s business environment. It will also focus on building resilient African societies grounded in peace, human security, and stability.
President Tinubu is expected to engage in bilateral meetings with world leaders and hold strategic discussions with Japanese corporate executives who have ongoing or planned investments in Nigeria. Analysts say his participation could deepen Nigeria-Japan relations and unlock fresh opportunities for economic cooperation between Africa’s largest economy and Asia’s technological powerhouse.
