Diplomacy reached its crescendo in Tokyo when Hon. Advocate Jacob Francis Nzwidamilimo Mudenda, Speaker of Parliament of Zimbabwe, secured Japan’s unequivocal support for Zimbabwe’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2027 to 2028 term. The pledge, delivered with solemn conviction by Hon. Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the National Diet of Japan, was more than routine diplomacy, it was a profound endorsement of Zimbabwe’s place in the architecture of global peace and multilateralism.
Speaker Nukaga did not merely echo government policy, he gave the assurance the authority of a man who has himself walked the path of international development. Drawing from his years at the helm of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, he reflected on how development is anchored not in aid dependency, but in strategic cooperation and shared prosperity. It was from this vantage point that he extended Japan’s hand to Zimbabwe, affirming legislative support in tandem with Japan’s foreign ministry.
In his remarks, Speaker Nukaga hailed Zimbabwe’s strong presence at Expo 2025 Osaka, describing its pavilion as a masterful blend of cultural richness and modern economic ambition. He further commended the participation of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, at TICAD 9, underscoring that such exchanges reinforce people to people bonds and deepen parliamentary diplomacy between the two nations.
Hon. Advocate Mudenda, with characteristic eloquence, rose to the occasion. He reminded the Japanese Speaker that Zimbabwe does not seek a seat on the Security Council for prestige, but as a moral duty born of its guiding principle, a friend to all and an enemy to none. He pressed that Zimbabwe stands ready to contribute to global peace and justice under international law, and in so doing, to carry forward Africa’s collective voice within the United Nations. His words were received not as appeal, but as conviction, and Speaker Nukaga responded in kind, making it clear that Japan would stand shoulder to shoulder with Zimbabwe.
The discussion ranged beyond diplomacy into the hard soil of economic cooperation. Hon. Advocate Mudenda thanked JICA for its role in Zimbabwe’s infrastructure, regional integration, health and agriculture. Yet he did not shy away from calling for more. Energy deficits, mineral exploration, and beneficiation remain frontiers of opportunity, and Japan, he argued, is a natural partner to unlock them. He assured Japanese investors that Zimbabwe’s Constitution protects property rights and that their capital would find fertile ground in a nation poised for industrial resurgence.
Parliamentary relations also found centre stage. Both Speakers agreed to the establishment of a Zimbabwe Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association, a platform for sustained dialogue, benchmarking and digitisation of legislative processes. Here was the embodiment of parliamentary diplomacy, not ornamental, but practical, designed to retool parliaments for the digital age and to bind nations closer through legislative solidarity.
As the meeting drew to a close, the atmosphere bore the weight of history. This was not a casual courtesy call, but a moment when the destiny of nations brushed against each other. Speaker Nukaga’s pledge transformed Zimbabwe’s Security Council bid from aspiration into possibility. It was a declaration that in the theatre of international diplomacy, Zimbabwe is not a bystander but a participant with a voice worth amplifying.
And as Hon. Advocate Mudenda extended an invitation to Speaker Nukaga to visit Harare, an invitation graciously accepted, the arc of Zimbabwe Japan relations bent towards a future of deeper trust, stronger cooperation and shared responsibility for global peace. In parliamentary terms, it was a motion carried without dissent, Zimbabwe shall rise, not alone, but with Japan at its side.
