Japan Cancels Africa ‘Hometown’ Initiative Amid Backlash Over Nigeria Visa Claims.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has cancelled its “Africa Hometown” initiative, citing “misunderstandings and confusion” surrounding the project.

JICA President Tanaka Akihiko announced the decision at a press briefing on Thursday, following controversy over claims that Japan planned to create a special visa category for Nigerians wishing to relocate to Kisarazu, the city designated as Nigeria’s “hometown.”

On August 26, Japan dismissed the reports, which had been circulated in a statement by Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information at the State House in Nigeria. The statement had suggested that Japan would grant special visas to “highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians” to live and work in Kisarazu.

JICA explained that the very concept of designating Japanese cities as “hometowns” for African nations caused widespread confusion in Japan, while also placing an “excessive burden” on the four municipalities involved. The agency issued an apology to the cities: Kisarazu (Nigeria), Nagai (Tanzania), Sanjo (Ghana), and Imabari (Mozambique).

The partnerships were first announced on August 22 during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9). However, the move triggered a wave of discontent in Japan, with citizens raising concerns online about public safety, resource strain, and potential visa overstays. Protests soon followed, demanding the cancellation of the agreement.

In a statement, JICA said it “takes this situation seriously” and, after consultations with stakeholders, decided to withdraw the initiative. The agency stressed that it has “never promoted immigration” and has no intention of doing so in the future.

Despite the cancellation, JICA reaffirmed its commitment to fostering international exchange and cooperation with African nations.

Presidency Gives Official Reason for Nigeria’s Empty Booth at TICAD 9 in Japan.

The Presidency has explained why Nigeria’s booth was empty on the opening day of the ongoing 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama, Japan.

The controversy began after a viral post by Idris Bello, co-founder of The Wennovation Hub, who expressed disappointment at finding Nigeria’s booth unmanned.

Bello, who said he was “ashamed” by the situation, noted that he had to personally step in to engage visitors and potential investors. The incident led to widespread criticism, with many Nigerians questioning the government’s preparedness for the global investment forum.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga dismissed the criticism as “misrepresentation,” stressing that Nigeria’s participation at TICAD 9 was focused on high-level engagements rather than trade exhibitions.

“The trending social media narrative about an empty booth labelled ‘NIGERIA’ totally misrepresented our country’s mission and activities at the conference,” Onanuga stated.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu is leading a delegation prioritising bilateral and multilateral negotiations with international partners in key sectors, including power, industry, and agriculture. The statement highlighted meetings scheduled with Toyota Corporation, CFAO, UN-Habitat, UNDP, and the International Finance Corporation, among others.

Onanuga also disclosed that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, is negotiating major JICA-funded projects, including the Lagos-Ogun Power Transmission System Improvement and renewable energy scale-up initiatives. The Bank of Industry is likewise engaged in financing talks with global institutions.

He emphasised that Nigeria’s official schedule does not include participation in the open trade exhibition, which has been mistaken for the country’s main platform at the event.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earlier clarified that the booth was not abandoned but simply “not yet opened” and was scheduled for inauguration on Thursday, the second day of the conference.

Olukoyede Calls for Enhanced Inter-agency Collaboration against Trans-border Crimes
 
The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ola Olukoyede has called for enhanced inter-agency collaboration in the fight against transnational crimes among the member states of West and Central African regions as well as adequate capacity building on the part of the personnel involved in the fight against such crimes.

He made the call on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at a three-day Regional Basic Training Workshop with the theme, “Strengthening Capacity and Coordination against Transnational Regional Financial Crimes,” organized by Interpol and Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA.

Commenting on the spate of crimes in the West and Central African regions and how criminal enterprises are funded, the EFCC boss noted that the security challenges in the regions are fueled by money laundering and illicit financial flows and pointed at a critical need for investment in training and capacity development of personnel in the fight against transnational crimes.
 
He stated that the poorly- regulated mining sector and largely cash-based economies of the West and Central African regions, coupled with increasing popularity  of a largely unregulated virtual assets ecosystem have compounded the regions’ vulnerability.

“Equally concerning are the evolving dynamics of organised cybercrime across our regions.  In Nigeria for instance, recent operations by the EFCC have revealed a notable shift, with an increasing number of syndicates involving foreign nationals, particularly from parts of the Southern Asian Continent.  Understanding how these groups work and are able to establish operational cells within our borders and effectively dismantling their global networks of collaborators necessitates a coordinated, multi-agency approach both locally and internationally.

“Doing this requires strengthening inter-agency coordination and enhancing the technical capabilities of law enforcement. There is a compelling need for collaboration by law enforcement organizations through intelligence sharing, joint tactical operations and training of the kind that we are having today to build capacity to deal with emerging typologies of cyber-criminality including cryptocurrency fraud and sextortion,” he said.

The EFCC Chairman added that through collaboration and coordination, law enforcement agencies can harness collective strength and resources in overcoming new challenges of criminality in the regions.

“As the president of NACIWA, my vision is to ensure sustenance of robust partnership by all the anti-corruption agencies in West Africa through training, joint operations and information sharing to make the region unsafe for money laundering and illicit financial flows. The EFCC believes strongly in capacity development and collaboration. The Commission maintains robust relationships with international and local law enforcement organizations,” he said.
The Chief Representative of JICA,  Susumu Yuzurio stated that JICA was implementing economic and social development projects in cooperation with partner countries around the world in areas of human security and contributing to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

“We are implementing economic and social development projects in cooperation with partner countries around the world, based on our guiding principle of human security. We aim at contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the international common goals to realize a world where no one is left behind,” he said.

Yuzurio noted that transnational financial crimes, especially money laundering remained a critical financial flow which posed serious risks to national and regional security, adding that the three day training workshop serves as an avenue to strengthen collective capacity to detect, prevent and disrupt financial crimes through regional cooperation, policy development and practical skills