Japan To FG: No Special Visa For Nigerians In “Kisarazu” City

The Japanese government has debunked reports that the country is offering special visa for Nigerians as part of its new Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA Africa Hometown initiative.

The magazine had earlier reported that Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was in Tokyo, Japan between August 20 and 22 where he  joined other African leaders, international development partners and stakeholders at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD9.

During the conference, President Tinubu and other African leaders signed some economic and other bilateral agreements with the Japanese authority, including the Africa Hometown programme meant to strengthen exchanges between African countries and Japanese local governments.

Recall that the federal government had last week claimed that  that Japan had designated Kisarazu city as the “hometown” for Nigerians and would create a special visa category for highly skilled and talented youths  planning to move to the Asian country to settle..

In a statement issued by the Director of Information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, the FG said “Artisans and other blue-collar workers from Nigeria who are ready to upskill will also benefit from the special dispensation visa to work in Japan.”

The Japanese government, in a statement on Monday,  however denied such claim, saying the reports were contrary to the facts as related to the agreement signed under the  “JICA Africa Hometown” initiative.

“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,” the statement read.