welcome to "newsline." japanese and african leaders are getting ready to sit down together and discuss how they can develop africa's economy. japan's prime minister shinzo abe sat down with leaders. japan is hosing ticad. they are gathering for three days in the city of yokohama. they include 50 african nations, the u.n. secretary-general and

other representatives of other international agencies. prime minister shinzo abe will give an opening speech. he'll lay out a plan for the coming five years. the government will contribute $14 billion, private companies the other $18 billion. $6.5 billion will go to infrastructure, such as roads between inland and coastal areas and power transmission lines. the package will include job training in japan for 30,000 african students. they'll get internships at japanese companies. the african economy has been growing by an average of more than 5% a year. delegates will discuss ways to maintain that growth, improve health care and education and foster peace and stability. japanese government officials and business leaders are not the only investors across the world who are trying to increase their presence in the expanding african market. foreign investment mass reached

nearly $40 billion in recent years. this has driven much of africa's explosive growth. china is pouring money in as well. it's attracted to the continent's mineral wealth and booming population. but u.n. figures say there is another asian nation that outpaced china in terms of investment in 2011. that is malaysia. malaysiaen investment has increased by the end of 2011. nhk has the story behind the numbers. >> reporter: people all over the world depend on palm oil in their daily lives. it's used in everything from cooking to transportation. the malaysian conglomerate is one of the world's largest producers. its palm tree plantations cover an area equal to 500,000 soccer fields. here in ma hayes yeah, palm tree

plantation is a major business. this plantation owner is now eyeing africa as a potential market. company officials are attracted to africa's large labor pool and abandoned palm land. the food used to make palm oil can be harvested almost all year round. so the company's always in need of workers. in 2009, officials expanded operations into liberia. government authorities there provided them with a large amount of land. the company built an entire community for local employees. it has homes, schools and even clinics. >> when we want to expand, africa is the next frontier with what do you call, ample land.

the climatic conditions and the e manpower that they have suits us. >> reporter: leaders in the educational sector are investing in human capital as well, by promoting student exchange programs. this university offers hospitality classes to african exchange students. school officials are helping them learn skills that they can use in africa's booming tourism industry. >> i would like to perhaps be a general manager and run my own hotel. >> reporter: about 20,000 exchange students from africa are studying in ma lace kran schools. the number is steadily rising. >> i think that's very important, human capital development. because you are going to be the policymake policymakers. they're going to be the leaders

in industries. >> reporter: malaysian government officials are working hard to build closer ties with africa. they believe investing in business and the human development will help their own economy. nhk world, malaysia. nhk is just one of a number of media covering the ticad meeting. many journalists from africa have come to report on the event. some spend part of their time before the start of the conference touring an elementary school in yokohama. they attended history and phys. ed. cation classes. the reporters asked the students what they foe about africa. the children replied the couldn't nents has plenty of natural resources. they also said it's not just a hot place and that some countries have four seasons like japan.

that won them some applause. >> translator: now i feel africa is closer than before. and i feel like traveling there. i want to help africa in what little way i can. >> education system here is good. so maybe we should, as african countries we should emulate that.

officials with the operator of the fukushima daiichi chuk hear power plant are asking for more public money. they say they are having to compensate people who had to leave their homes after the accident in 2011. officials with tokyo electric power company are asking for an extra $6.6 billion for mistake back public fund. they already have permission to receive about 31 billion. government leaders have tapped aid at $50 billion. tepco quo fissions estimate their costs will ultimately exceed that figure. they say local governments near the nuclear plant will likely claim pour more to cover the cost of decontamination. the defense ministers are joining hands to create a tool for the fight against terrorism. they are developing chemical protection suits. japanese defense minister and his british counterpart met on

the sidelines of the security summit. they agreed to exchange technical information about chemical protection suits. japanese and british officials agreed last june to chab rate on defense equipment. squp ease leaders relaxed their ban on arms exports in 2011. here's the three day world weather forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko keat gau what in tokyo. thank you for watching.