THE Japanese government has clarified that its new “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative did not involve offering special visas or immigration privileges to Nigerians or other Africans.
In a statement on Monday, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed claims that Nigerians relocating to Kisarazu city would receive a new visa category, describing such reports as “contrary to the facts.”
Recall that last week, reports indicated that the Federal Government, in a statement signed by the Director of Information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, announced that Japan had designated Kisarazu city as the ‘hometown’ for Nigerians.
The reports said the Japanese government would create a special visa category for highly skilled and talented Nigerians moving to the city to live and work.
The reports noted that the ‘hometown’ status introduced a new visa path that simplified living, working, and studying in Japan, enhancing cultural exchange and Nigeria–Japan relations.
It added that Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Japan, Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, alongside Kisarazu’s Mayor Yoshikuni Watanabe, received a certificate naming the city the ‘hometown’ of Nigerians.
However, in its latest statement, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that during the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) launched the Africa Hometown programme to strengthen exchanges between African countries and Japanese local governments.
“Under this programme, four cities in Japan are designated as ‘home towns’ for four African countries. Under this programme, JICA plans to promote exchanges between the four Japanese cities and the four African countries through various activities, including the organisation of exchange events involving JICA overseas cooperation volunteers.
“On the other hand, there are no plans to take measures to promote the acceptance of immigrants or issue special visas for residents of African countries, and the series of reports and announcements concerning such measures are not true. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will continue to make efforts to ensure that appropriate reporting and statements regarding this matter are carried out,” the statement read.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.