What was meant as a symbolic gesture of friendship at an international summit has snowballed into a national panic in Japan, after false reports circulating in Africa and online suggested that new visa schemes would allow large numbers of migrants to settle in the country.
In just a few days, a mistranslated phrase, an overzealous government statement and a flurry of social media posts turned a modest cultural exchange programme into a heated immigration controversy.
During the summit, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced that four cities – Nagai in Yamagata prefecture, Sanjo in Niigata, Kisarazu in Chiba, and Imabari in Ehime – would be designated as symbolic “hometowns” for partner countries Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and Mozambique.
The initiative was intended as a gesture to reinforce existing cultural and educational ties. But officials and media in several African countries misinterpreted the scheme, with Nigeria’s government issuing a statement on Friday that incorrectly claimed Japan was creating a new visa category allowing young Nigerians to “live and work” in Kisarazu. The statement promised that “artisans and other blue-collar workers from Nigeria who are ready to upskill will also benefit from the special dispensation visa”.
