Japanese cities have been inundated with complaints from residents confused by an initiative to designate them the “hometown” of African countries, following false claims that this was a new immigration policy.
The complaints came after the initiative by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, this month to promote international exchanges between four Japanese cities and African nations.
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This prompted the Nigerian government to issue a statement saying Tokyo “will create a special visa category,” and some media reports and online posts claimed the program was designed for immigration settlement in Japan.
One post on social media platform X that claimed the city of Kisarazu “is seriously considering handing over the city to Africans” received 4.6 million views.
But top Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Tuesday that such claims were baseless.
“There are no plans to promote accepting immigrants or issue special visas,” he told reporters.
Foreigners make up just three percent of the workforce in Japan but last month, the “Japanese first” Sanseito party made strong gains with its calls for “stricter rules and limits” on immigration.
The four cities – Kisarazu, Sanjo, Imabari and Nagai – received thousands of complaints from confused residents, officials said.
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