Japan denies special visa reports for Nigerians to relocate to Kisarazu

The Japanese government has refuted claims that its recently launched “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative includes the provision of special visas or immigration benefits to Nigerians or other Africans.

In a statement released on Monday, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that reports alleging a new visa category for Nigerians relocating to Kisarazu city were “contrary to the facts.”

According to the ministry, the programme was introduced during the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) unveiled the Africa Hometown project as a platform to enhance collaboration between African nations and Japanese local governments.

The statement read …

“Under this program, four cities in Japan are designated as “home towns” for four African countries. Under this program, JICA plans to promote exchanges between the four Japanese cities and the four African countries through various activities, including the organisation of exchange events involving JICA overseas cooperation volunteers.

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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan will continue to make efforts to ensure that appropriate reporting and statements regarding this matter are carried out”