Japan to provide $550mn to 'Gavi' vaccine alliance

Ishiba showed the plan at a meeting with Gates, who heads the Gates Foundation, at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Tuesday, Tetsuo Saito, leader of Komeito, the coalition partner of Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters.

Saito was also present at the meeting.

The prime minister will announce the pledge at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9, set to kick off in the city of Yokohama, south of the Japanese capital, Wednesday for a three-day run.

Gates thanked Japan for the donation and reaffirmed his commitment to strengthening cooperation with the country, according to Saito.

Gavi was launched in 2000 through the partnership between public institutions such as the World Health Organization and private organizations including the Gates Foundation.