Mainichi - 23 August 2025

South Africa to explore possible free trade pact with Japan: president

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his government will explore a free trade agreement with Japan after meeting with Japanese business executives during his visit to the country.

"A number of Japanese organizations, business organizations...they would prefer a free trade agreement between South Africa and Japan," Ramaphosa, 72, said in a group interview with media outlets on Thursday in Yokohama. "We are going to work on that," he added.

South Africa is the largest business destination in Africa for Japan, both in terms of the number of firms making inroads and the balance of their outward direct investment, according to the Japan External Trade Organization data.

Ramaphosa visited Japan to attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a Japan-led forum focused on Africa. The latest meeting ran for three days through Friday in the port city of Yokohama, near the capital.

During bilateral talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of TICAD on Thursday, Ramaphosa said he will continue working with Japan to encourage more investment by Japanese companies. Japan and South Africa are both members of the Group of 20 major economies.

As for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the president said in the interview that South Africa will pursue a "nonaligned" path, which he believes would give his country "leverage" that could bring both Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table.