The Japanese Foreign Ministry is scrapping the initiative after struggling to contain the slew of misinformation that had spread after the Nigerian government falsely announced that the agreement would create a new visa category that allowed Africans to relocate to Japan.
The “hometown” agreement, announced by JICA at an African development conference in Yokohama in August, aims to strengthen Japan’s ties with Nigeria and other African countries.
It was intended to foster exchanges between four municipalities in Japan and four countries in Africa.
The Japanese cities and their respective partner nations were: Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture with Nigeria; Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture with Tanzania; Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture with Ghana; and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture with Mozambique.
However, President Bola Tinubu’s administration announced that the new partnership with Japan would create a special visa for Nigerians to work in Japan.
This announcement, however, created a flurry of misinformation online that eventually led to waves of protests in Japan, with citizens calling for the programme’s cancellation.
According to the Japan Times, the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Akihiko Tanaka, on Thursday said, “Taking the situation seriously, upon consultations with stakeholders, JICA has decided to cancel the ‘Africa Hometown Initiative.”
“We emphasize, however, that promoting international exchange, including with Africa, remains an important priority, and pledge to continue supporting such efforts despite withdrawing the Africa hometown project.”
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