The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has officially discontinued its ‘Africa Hometown’ initiative due to widespread misunderstandings and misinformation, particularly surrounding claims that the programme offered immigration pathways for Nigerians. In a statement released on Thursday, JICA clarified that the decision was made in response to the confusion generated by the initiative’s original concept, which involved designating certain Japanese cities as symbolic “hometowns” for African countries. According to the agency, this idea led to significant misconceptions within Japan and placed unexpected strain on the four Japanese municipalities involved.
The situation first gained traction in August when the Nigerian government announced that Japan would soon offer a special visa category for highly skilled Nigerians looking to relocate to Kisarazu, one of the cities participating in the programme. However, Japanese authorities swiftly refuted these claims, asserting that the initiative never included any immigration or visa provisions.
JICA originally launched the programme during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, aiming to encourage cultural and educational exchanges between selected cities in Japan and four African nations. The agency acknowledged that the finer details of the initiative were still being developed at the time, but the use of the term “hometown” inadvertently created unrealistic hopes and expectations about relocation.
The confusion deepened when Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires in Japan, Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, and Kisarazu’s Mayor, Yoshikuni Watanabe, publicly accepted a certificate naming Kisarazu the symbolic hometown of Nigerians. This act fueled further speculation about potential migration opportunities. JICA has since apologized to the affected cities and emphasized it has no intentions to facilitate immigration under such programmes in the future. Nevertheless, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to supporting non-immigration-based international cooperation and exchange with African nations.