Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly refuted claims by the Nigerian government that it created special visas for Nigerians to live and work in Kisarazu, insisting the reports are false and misleading.
The rebuttal came after a director of information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, announced on Friday that Japan would soon begin issuing visas to “highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu to live and work.”
Oladunjoye further claimed that the initiative, tied to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Africa Hometown program, would also benefit “artisans and other blue-collar workers from Nigeria who are ready to upskill.”
He said the move was aimed at fostering economic ties between the two countries, following Kisarazu’s designation as a Nigerian “hometown.” At the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), other Japanese cities such as Nagai, Sanjo, and Imabari were similarly designated for Tanzanians, Ghanaians, and Mozambiquans.
But Japan’s foreign ministry dismissed the reports outright, stressing that the claims were baseless.
“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 Japanese government said in a statement on Monday.
The ministry explained that the “hometown” designation was only meant to “promote exchanges between the four Japanese cities and the four African countries through various activities,” and had nothing to do with immigration.
Reiterating its position, the ministry declared: “There are no plans to take measures to promote the acceptance of immigrants or issue special visas for residents of African countries.”
