Online Reporter
Robin Muchetu in Osaka, Japan
Zimbabwe must accelerate its land densification efforts by borrowing from Japan’s development model, which seeks to conserve land for agriculture and infrastructure that is increasingly becoming scarce, Vice President Kembo Mohadi has said.
Speaking during his visit to Japan, where he admired the country’s urban development approach of constructing buildings vertically to save space and resources, Vice President Mohadi called for Zimbabwe to learn from the Asian country.
The skylines of Osaka and other Japanese cities are characterised by modern high-rise buildings, which have become necessary given Japan’s largely mountainous and uninhabitable terrain.
Vice President Mohadi stated that Zimbabwe should adopt similar strategies, emphasising the importance of densification to optimise land use.
He noted that this is critical given population growth and the need for such development strategies to be considered seriously and intensified.
“We have a programme of densification back home and we need to shift from horizontal expansion to vertical development,” VP Mohadi said.
“Constructing sewer lines over long distances, like 25 km, is expensive.
“When we densify and cluster our population, it saves resources and costs for the country.”
He further highlighted that other essential services — such as sewerage, electricity, and water — are more efficiently developed in densely populated areas.
“This approach applies across all infrastructure. We started discussing densification some time ago, but we need to accelerate our efforts,” VP Mohadi added.
Zimbabwe’s Human Settlement Policy aims to promote the construction of multi-layered buildings to preserve agricultural land, which forms the backbone of the country’s agro-based economy.
VP Mohadi also praised Osaka’s cleanliness as a reflection of disciplined civic culture and urged Zimbabweans to cultivate similar habits, particularly in managing household litter, emphasising the importance of instilling such values in younger generations.
“I was impressed by how clean this city is. It’s a culture that they teach their children from a young age—that they must never litter. We need to learn from their example and develop similar civic responsibility,” he said.
Vice President Mohadi called for continued collaboration between Zimbabwe and Japan to foster growth in tourism, education, infrastructure, and trade.
“We want more Zimbabweans to visit Japan and vice versa, especially businesspeople.
“We invite Japanese entrepreneurs to invest in Zimbabwe so we can strengthen our trade relations,” he stated.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Japan, Mr Stewart Nyakotyo, highlighted that participation in Expo 2025 in Osaka presents an excellent platform to showcase Zimbabwe’s culture, heritage, and economic opportunities.
It also offers a chance to learn and adopt innovative practices suited for sustainable development.
“Our national pavilion blends physical and virtual experiences, providing visitors with a vivid insight into Zimbabwe’s culture and economic prospects,” he said.
“Our pavilion has become one of the most popular and engaging. We have 150 countries participating in the Expo. It has been a successful run for Zimbabwe; we are receiving on average 8 000 visitors a day at our pavilion.
“In the Commons Pavilion, where we are located, an average of 20 000 to 30 000 people visit that pavilion daily. We are fortunate, as our pavilion is very unique, which allows visitors to experience Zimbabwe using virtual reality and 360-degree immersive video content.
“The video content was shot in different locations in Zimbabwe and introduces Zimbabwe to visitors in Japan who have never been there,” he added.
Ambassador Nyakotyo said many visitors were particularly eager to see Victoria Falls and explore other tourism opportunities in Zimbabwe.
