The Federal Government has retracted its earlier claim that Japan planned to introduce a special visa category for Nigerians.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information at the State House, explained that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) only designated the city of Kisarazu as Nigeria’s “Hometown” under its JICA Africa Hometown initiative — not as part of any special visa arrangement.
The clarification comes after Japan openly denied reports that it intended to grant Nigerians a dedicated visa pathway during the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9).
According to the corrected statement:
- On August 21, JICA named Kisarazu the Hometown of Nigeria as a way of strengthening cultural ties between both countries.
- Similarly, JICA designated Nagai (Yamagata Prefecture) for Tanzania, Sanjo (Niigata Prefecture) for Ghana, and Imabari (Ehime Prefecture) for Mozambique.
- The initiative is aimed at connecting Japanese municipalities with African countries to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
Nigeria’s Acting Ambassador to Japan, Mrs. Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, alongside Kisarazu Mayor Watanabe Yoshikuni, received the certificate from JICA at the ceremony.
Kisarazu has a history of hosting Nigeria’s athletes — the city served as the official host town for the Nigerian contingent during the COVID-19 delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the team held training camps before moving to the Olympic Village.
The government’s earlier statement, however, had gone further, suggesting that Japan would create a “special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians” who wished to live and work in Kisarazu.
Japan swiftly refuted this claim, stating there was no such visa plan under the Africa Hometown initiative and formally requested Nigeria to withdraw the misleading announcement.
