Japan scraps exchange programme after ‘Kisarazu as Nigeria’s hometown’ distortion

Japan has denied claims that it designated one of its cities as a “hometown” for Nigerians, clarifying that a recently launched cultural exchange scheme was misinterpreted and has now been scrapped.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced on Thursday that it was withdrawing its ‘JICA Africa Hometown’ initiative, barely a month after its launch, citing “misunderstandings and confusion” around the scheme.

Read also: Japan names Kisarazu as hometown for Nigerians in new visa programme‎

The initiative, unveiled in August during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), was designed to promote cultural and educational exchanges between four African countries and four Japanese municipalities. Nigeria was paired with Kisarazu, Ghana with Sanjo, Tanzania with Nagai, and Mozambique with Imabari.

But the project quickly ran into controversy after Nigeria’s State House issued a statement on  August 26 claiming Japan had created a “special visa category” for young, highly skilled Nigerians to live and work in Kisarazu. The announcement triggered widespread interest and speculation about new migration opportunities.

Read also: No plans for “special visa” arrangements for Nigerians relocating to designated hometowns – Japan

Tokyo moved swiftly to deny the claim. Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the project was never intended as an immigration scheme. Instead, it was limited to exchange activities between local governments, with details still to be worked out.

In its statement on Thursday, JICA admitted that the very concept of designating Japanese cities as African “hometowns” had caused “misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities”.

Read also: Nigeria at TICAD9: Forging a stronger partnership with Japan

The statement read, “Originally, under this initiative, it was envisioned that exchange programs would be coordinated and implemented among the Japanese local governments, relevant African countries, and JICA. The specific details were to be determined later”

“However, JICA believes that the very nature of this initiative—namely, the term “hometown” and the fact that JICA would ‘designate’ Japanese local Governments as “hometowns”—led to misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities. JICA sincerely apologizes to the municipalities involved for causing such situation.”

“JICA takes this situation seriously. After consulting with all parties involved, JICA has decided to withdraw the “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative.”