Japan has scrapped the “Africa Hometown” initiative, a plan to promote cultural exchanges between regional cities and four African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, and Tanzania, due to what it described as misinterpretations and disinformation.
Although it was meant to pair Japanese cities with African countries for grassroots exchange, the reports sparked fears of mass immigration, with the Japanese people rejecting the deal which was struck when President Bola Tinubu visited the Asian country in August this year.
A correction by the Nigerian government and official clarifications from Japan failed to stem concerns, leading to the abandonment of the initiative amid heightened focus on foreigners in Japan.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had designated Kisarazu as the hometown for Nigeria under the initiative as part of its efforts to deepen cultural ties between two countries.
“JICA, in a ceremony announced on the sidelines of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), also named the cities of Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture the Hometown of Tanzania, Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture the Hometown of Ghana, and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture the Hometown of Mozambique.
“JICA aims to further strengthen existing relationships with the four African countries by connecting municipalities with those nations,” a statement by the federal government said last month.
The reversal came amid heightened focus on foreigners in Japan, just two months after a surge of support for anti-immigration party Sanseito in Japan’s upper house elections.
“Reactions spread based on misunderstandings,” President of the Country’s Aid Body, the JICA, Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, said at a press conference yesterday evening. “The public uproar placed an excessive burden on local governments,” he added.
One of the cities was dealing with about two hundred phone complaints a day, the Asahi newspaper, one of Japan’s oldest and most influential news outlets reported.
Before long, non-Japanese, including SpaceX Chief Executive, ElonMusk, also stepped into the fray. “If this continues, there will be no Japan, just some islands where Japanese people used to live,” he commented on a piece of misinformation posted on X.com. The original post wrongly claimed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wanted to import “millions of Africans and Kurds.”
A correction by the Nigerian government and official clarifications from Japan failed to stem concerns. Barely a month after its announcement, the initiative has now been abandoned, Bloomberg reported.
Immigrants represent a tiny minority in Japan at about 3 per cent of the population. Still, a recent uptick and ballooning tourist arrivals have caused controversy. Political parties like Sanseito have tapped into the issue, and immigration policy is a point of contention in the ongoing race for leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Emmanuel Addeh
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