Masatu Kitera

Director General of African Affairs

Masato Kitera is a typical example of the dependable civil servants that Japan has assigned to its Africa projects in advance of TICAD IV, to be held in Yokohama on 28-30 May. Kitera has been the Director General for African Affairs at the Foreign Ministry since January 2008.

The Director General has increasingly found himself fielding questions of how TICAD IV will respond to the agricultural concerns of Africa. This year's conference, as originally conceived, was intended to make a strong stand on climate change, but lately matters of agricultural assistance and food aid have taken on unexpected urgency. At the same time, Japan must balance its tightening aid budget against grand visions for its 'Year of Africa'. Japan is now tinkering with the 'Yokohama Declaration', scheduled for the conference's conclusion, to produce a well-rounded and substantial set of initiatives.

Kitera has long been involved in the economic affairs of the Foreign Ministry since joining in 1976. A long stint in the Economic Cooperation Bureau saw him become Director of the Grant Aid Division. He has been a Minister to the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations and the UN Conference on Trade and Development. Foreign assignments have included Japan's Embassies in France and Thailand. As Deputy Director of the Economic Affairs Bureau, he maintained Japan's two-year ban on beef imports from the United States over health concerns.