Cities in Japan have received thousands of complaints amid confusion over scheme that was intended to foster closer ties
An attempt to promote friendship between Japan and countries in Africa has transformed into a xenophobic row about migration after inaccurate media reports suggested the scheme would lead to a “flood of immigrants”.
The controversy erupted after the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, said this month it had designated four Japanese cities as “Africa hometowns” for partner countries in Africa: Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania.
The programme, announced at the end of an international conference on African development in Yokohama, will involve personnel exchanges and events to foster closer ties between the four regional Japanese cities – Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo and Nagai – and the African nations.
Media coverage in the four countries, and Japanese-language references to the articles, have been blamed for triggering an ugly backlash on social media in Japan, along with a wave of angry calls and emails to the Japanese cities’ offices.
