JICA Scraps Japan-Africa Hometown Program After Immigration Rumors Overwhelm Cities

Four city partnerships undone by false immigration claims

Japan's international aid agency has withdrawn an exchange program linking four Japanese cities with four African countries after false claims about immigration triggered protests and overwhelmed municipal offices. In Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, calls reached roughly 200 a day at one point. Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, received thousands of opinions and questions, while officials in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, discovered graffiti opposing immigration in city hall restrooms.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency, known as JICA, scrapped the JICA Africa Hometown program after consulting the Foreign Ministry and the four participating cities. The initiative had been announced in August at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9, in Yokohama.

JICA intended the partnerships to encourage cultural, educational and economic exchanges. False claims instead presented them as a way for African nationals to move to Japan, obtain special visas or take over Japanese municipalities. Local governments continued receiving protest calls and emails even after officials explained that immigration rules were unchanged.

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka said at a news conference that the agency had moved quickly to correct the misinformation, but the disruption to municipal work and residents became decisive.

We decided to scrap the program, including its name, in view of the impact on the municipalities' daily operations.

The withdrawal ends the initiative and its hometown label. JICA apologized to the cities for the excessive burden they carried and said it would review the project's content while continuing to support international exchanges in another form. The immediate concern was protecting city employees and the public services that depend on their work.

What the four partnerships were meant to do

JICA's plan matched each Japanese municipality with an African partner country, with exchanges built around local strengths. The four pairings were:

• Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture, with Nigeria.
• Nagai, Yamagata Prefecture, with Tanzania.
• Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, with Ghana.
• Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, with Mozambique.

Participating cities could host training visits, arrange school and community exchanges, and connect small and midsize companies with partners overseas. Details of individual events and activities were still being developed.

Many of the municipalities already had relationships with their partner countries through education, business or civil society exchanges. The hometown designation was intended to draw attention to those connections and support practical cooperation.

Any internships would have lasted for a limited period, with participants expected to return to their home countries afterward. That approach was consistent with existing training programs involving foreign participants.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi explained how the proposed training would work and addressed the claim that it was an immigration scheme.

The JICA project envisions accepting interns from Africa, but the training is for a limited time, and it is based on the premise that they will return to their home countries after it ends. It is not a promotion of immigration.

How the visa rumor spread

A statement from the Nigerian presidency incorrectly suggested that Japan had designated Kisarazu as a hometown for Nigerians wishing to live and work there. It also said a special visa category would be created. The statement was later removed, but its claims had already spread widely online.

No part of the initiative created or promised special visas. JICA does not control immigration rules, which are set and administered by other Japanese government bodies. A visa is permission granted under those rules; a municipal exchange designation was simply the label attached to a partnership.

Around the same time, a headline in an East African outlet described Nagai as being "dedicated" to Tanzania. Online posts turned that wording into claims that Japan was handing a city to another country.

The two narratives reinforced the confusion: one suggested a new route to living and working in Japan, while the other suggested a transfer of a Japanese city. Corrections struggled to catch up once the claims circulated through social networks.

From the August launch to withdrawal

The controversy developed soon after JICA introduced the program at TICAD 9. The sequence shows how an announcement about local exchanges became a dispute that reached city halls and the agency's headquarters.

• August 2025: JICA unveiled the Africa Hometown initiative at TICAD 9 in Yokohama and designated four Japanese cities as hometowns for four African partner countries.
• After the launch: The mistaken Nigerian presidency statement and the headline about Nagai circulated, spreading claims about special visas, immigration and a city being given away.
• During the backlash: Municipalities posted explanations, JICA sought to correct false claims, and protest calls and emails continued. A crowd also gathered outside JICA headquarters in Tokyo to denounce the plan.
• By September 25, 2025: JICA had withdrawn the program, including its name, after consultations with the Foreign Ministry and the four cities.

JICA's decision followed continuing pressure on municipalities despite repeated explanations that the project did not alter immigration policy. Some local governments asked central authorities to resolve the confusion or end the designation so that their communities could regain calm.

Officials faced two immediate concerns: keeping international exchanges going and preventing the controversy from consuming staff time needed for ordinary public services. The withdrawal addressed the burden on city offices, while leaving officials to reconsider how future exchanges should be organized and explained.

City halls carried the heaviest burden

Kisarazu's roughly 200 calls a day at one point left staff struggling to answer inquiries while maintaining normal services. Across the participating municipalities, local leaders said misinformation was drowning out their explanations.

Sanjo received thousands of opinions and questions. Its city hall name was also temporarily changed on an online map to "Ghana City Hall." A planned visit by Ghanaian government officials was canceled while the situation was reassessed.

The Ghanaian delegation had been expected to tour farms and local manufacturers. The cancellation therefore affected a practical exchange involving the city's economy, alongside the administrative strain caused by the controversy.

Imabari officials discovered graffiti opposing immigration in city hall restrooms. The incident brought the backlash into the municipal building itself.

Local governments published clarifications on their websites saying they neither promoted immigration nor planned to accept interns under conditions that would lead to settlement. Those statements addressed the central fear circulating online: that temporary exchanges would become a route to permanent residence.

JICA also posted a contact number and asked people to direct questions to the agency instead of the municipalities. Its apology acknowledged that the cities had carried an excessive burden from a program intended to support their international relationships.

What JICA said about immigration and travel

JICA addressed the central rumor in its official public notice. The agency said its activities did not promote immigration and pledged clearer explanations of its work.

JICA has never undertaken initiatives to promote immigration and has no plans to do so in the future.

The agency also promised careful management of any travel connected with its programs. For readers trying to understand the dispute, the practical arrangement was straightforward: people could take part in defined exchanges or training, and any internship would be temporary and based on returning home afterward.

Immigration policy covers the rules governing who may enter, live and work in a country. JICA's role in the hometown initiative was to support exchanges, while authority over those rules remained with other government bodies.

Hayashi's explanation and the municipal clarifications addressed the same issue from different levels of government. Temporary training was the proposed activity; the special visa category circulating online did not exist.

Why the hometown name became a problem

JICA acknowledged that both the word hometown and the decision by a national agency to "designate" municipalities had helped create misunderstanding. In everyday language, hometown can suggest roots, belonging and a place to settle.

That meaning became especially troublesome when paired with online claims that the initiative offered a way to live and work in Japan. The announcement at a large international conference also contributed to the confusion, according to the agency's public explanation.

The headline about Nagai added a translation problem. "Designate" describes assigning a name or status. The use of "dedicate" helped fuel a very different story online, that the city had been given to Tanzania.

The mistaken statement from the Nigerian presidency added apparent official support to the visa rumor before it was removed. Together, an unclear label, a misleading translation and an incorrect government statement gave the false claims several ways to spread.

Japan's debates about labor shortages and immigration provided a receptive setting for those claims. An aging population and persistent shortages of workers sit alongside some of the strictest immigration rules among advanced economies. Within that debate, a program about exchanges quickly became a focus for fears about settlement.

A warning about the effect of online pressure

A senior Foreign Ministry official expressed concern about how the cancellation would be perceived. The official warned against allowing the outcome to look like a reward for the online campaign.

It would be problematic if this is seen as a victory on the internet.

The remark reflected the tension behind the decision. Officials were trying to protect municipal employees from harassment and disruption while preserving an exchange project whose content they considered worthwhile.

A Foreign Ministry official said the substance of the project had merit and that efforts to promote exchanges would continue after the withdrawal. The government had repeatedly stated that immigration policy was unchanged, yet those assurances had not ended the pressure on local offices.

Other rumor cycles have involved false claims that foreign operators would take the controls of Shinkansen trains and confusion about the role of public money in investment goals involving the private sector. The Foreign Ministry has said it will strengthen systems for detecting misinformation and improve how embassies and consulates handle communications connected with local announcements.

The hometown controversy also highlighted practical communication needs: plain labels, explanations and frequently asked questions ready at launch, and plans for responding when translations go wrong or unattributed posts spread rapidly. Those preparations matter especially when municipal staff may become the first people contacted about a national announcement.

Exchanges may continue without the label

JICA said it would carefully review the scrapped initiative and continue supporting international exchanges, including partnerships involving African countries. It also promised more precise public explanations and close management of travel associated with its activities.

The next approach could involve smaller, clearly defined projects run through cities, schools and chambers of commerce, without a shared label that invites confusion. The precise replacement format and its timing had not been announced.

Nagai officials indicated that exchanges with Tanzania would continue. They also asked central authorities to communicate facts promptly and clearly, reflecting a desire to preserve the relationship while avoiding another wave of confusion.

Sanjo's canceled Ghanaian visit could be rescheduled once conditions are calmer. Its planned tours of farms and manufacturers illustrate the practical cooperation that officials hope to retain even after the hometown designation has been dropped.

The Foreign Ministry has signaled that the substance of the exchanges is worth saving. JICA's review now concerns how to support those activities in a form that municipalities can manage and the public can readily understand.

For the four cities, the immediate change is the end of the disputed designation and an effort to reduce the pressure on municipal operations. Their existing educational, business and community relationships remain the foundation for whatever exchanges follow.

Key Points

• JICA withdrew the Africa Hometown program after misinformation about immigration overwhelmed participating municipalities.
• The initiative launched in August 2025 at TICAD 9 in Yokohama.
• The partnerships linked Kisarazu with Nigeria, Nagai with Tanzania, Sanjo with Ghana, and Imabari with Mozambique.
• A mistaken Nigerian presidency statement and a misleading headline about Nagai helped spread false claims about visas and cities being handed over.
• Kisarazu received roughly 200 calls a day at one point; Sanjo received thousands of opinions and questions; Imabari discovered graffiti opposing immigration.
• A planned Ghanaian government visit to Sanjo was canceled while the situation was reassessed.
• No special visas were created or promised. Any internships were intended to be temporary, with participants returning home afterward.
• JICA apologized to the cities, requested that inquiries go to the agency, and said international exchanges would continue after a review.
• The Foreign Ministry plans stronger misinformation detection, while officials seek clearer communication for future exchanges.