Japan rushes to deny ‘Africa hometown’ special visa scheme

ISTANBUL

Japan denied on Tuesday the plan to issue special visas under the Japan International Cooperation Agency's (JICA) "Africa hometown" initiative, asking Nigeria to retract its statement claiming the "special visa" decision was made at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9).

Japan and JICA have requested that Nigeria correct the press release and issue a new press release to clarify the visa issue, according to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The statement was issued in response to the Office of the President of Nigeria's press release on Friday about the JICA initiative, which "contained information inconsistent with the facts, such as the issuance of a special visa" by Japan.

Nigeria had announced that Japan will "create a special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu (the city assigned to Nigeria as a partner) to live and work," according to Kyodo News.

Japan's reaction follows social media reactions to reports that Tokyo is launching a special visa program to welcome African migrants to help with labor shortages and revitalize its shrinking rural areas.

Under the "JICA Africa Hometown" program, four Japanese cities are designated as "hometowns" for four African countries, with the goal of promoting exchanges between the four Japanese cities and the four African countries through various activities, according to another ministry statement on Monday.

"On the other hand, there are no plans to take measures to promote the acceptance of immigrants or issue special visas for residents of African countries, and the series of reports and announcements concerning such measures are not true," the statement added.

Last week, the TICAD 9 hosted representatives, including presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers from nearly 50 African nations in Yokohama, near the capital, Tokyo.

Japan pledged $5.5 billion in loans to African countries to promote sustainable development at the TICAD 9.