The Nigerian government, under President Bola Tinubu, has withdrawn its earlier claim that Japan would create a special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians seeking to live and work in Kisarazu.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information at the State House, the government clarified that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) only designated Kisarazu as Nigeria’s “hometown” in Japan. The clarification stressed that no special visa scheme for Nigerians was mentioned.
The statement was titled: “Correction: JICA Designates City of Kisarazu as Hometown for Nigeria.”
“The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Thursday, August 21, named the city of Kisarazu as the Hometown for Nigeria under its newly announced initiative “JICA Africa Hometown,” as part of its efforts to deepen cultural ties between two countries.
“JICA, in a ceremony announced on the sidelines of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9), also named the cities of Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture the Hometown of Tanzania, Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture the Hometown of Ghana, and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture the Hometown of Mozambique.
“JICA aims to further strengthen existing relationships with the four African countries by connecting municipalities with those nations.
“Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires, Mrs. Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, also the Acting Ambassador to Japan, and Mr. Watanabe Yoshikuni, the Mayor of Kisarazu, received the certificate from JICA naming Kisarazu the Hometown of Nigeria.
“Kisarazu was the official host town of the Nigerian contingent for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The team conducted their pre-games training camps and acclimatisation in the city before moving to the Olympic village, in the COVID-19 delayed Olympic Games,” the statement reads.