YOKOHAMA — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda kicked off a major Africa development conference Wednesday by pledging to double Japan’s annual net official development assistance to the continent to $1.8 billion by 2012 and extend up to $4 billion in new yen loans over the next five years, in particular for road projects.

Tokyo will also set up a $2.5 billion investment fund to help Japanese firms do more business in Africa in accordance with a new target to help double Japanese private-sector direct investment to the continent to $3.4 billion by 2012, he said.

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