The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has announced the withdrawal of its “Africa Hometown” initiative, citing widespread misunderstandings and concerns that emerged within Japan over the programme.
The scheme, unveiled in August at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, had paired four African countries with four Japanese municipalities to foster cultural, educational, and developmental exchanges.
Under the arrangement, Nigeria was linked with Kisarazu, Tanzania with Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture, Ghana with Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture, and Mozambique with Imabari in Ehime Prefecture.
However, controversy trailed the designation of the cities as “African hometowns” after local governments were inundated with enquiries suggesting that the programme included immigration or visa privileges.
The confusion intensified in August when Nigeria’s State House announced that Japan had designated Kisarazu as the “hometown” for Nigerians and would introduce a special visa category for young, skilled Nigerians wishing to live and work there.
The claim was promptly dismissed by the Japanese government.
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs later clarified that the initiative was strictly limited to cultural and developmental exchanges and did not confer any immigration benefits.
The explanation followed a public ceremony where Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Japan, Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, and Kisarazu’s Mayor, Yoshikuni Watanabe, received a certificate naming the city the “hometown” of Nigerians, an event that further fuelled migration speculations.
In a statement posted on its website, JICA admitted that the terminology of “hometown” and the designation of Japanese municipalities as such caused “misunderstandings and confusion within Japan, placing an excessive burden on the four municipalities.”
The agency stressed that it has never pursued immigration-related programmes and has “no plans to do so in the future.”
“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,” it said.
Apologising to the affected municipalities, JICA said, “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. JICA sincerely apologises to the municipalities involved for causing such a situation.”
“After consulting with all parties involved, JICA has decided to withdraw the ‘JICA Africa Hometown’ initiative,” the agency added.
