Japanese authorities now want to tap this soft power for tourism, amid an ambitious drive by the Abe administration to double burgeoning foreign tourist arrivals to 40 million by 2020. [...] The association, working with industry members and local governments, wants to create a whole suite of services and products, from shuttle buses to merchandising, to boost the experience for visitors - and bring in the yen.
 

Angela Merkel has become the first German chancellor to visit Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries. She has promised money and military vehicles to help the country fight human trafficking and the militant threat. She is on the second leg of a three-country African tour which started in Mali and will finish in Ethiopia.