The President Bola Tinubu‘s government has retracted the claims that Japan is creating a special visa category for highly skilled and innovative Nigerians who wish to move to Kisarazu to live and work.
Naija News recalls that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) announced the launch of the ‘JICA Africa Hometown’ during the 9th Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD9) in Yokohama, aiming to strengthen exchanges between African countries and Japanese local governments.
JICA designated four cities in four African countries.
A statement dated August 22 and signed by the Director of Information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, stated that the Japanese government would create special visas for skilled Nigerians and the development was widely reported both locally and internationally.
Part of the statement reads, “A special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu to live and work”.
“Artisans and other blue-collar workers from Nigeria who are ready to upskill will also benefit from the special dispensation visa to work in Japan.”
However, in a statement on Monday, the Japanese foreign ministry denied such plans.
Reacting to the latest development, Director of Information at the State House, Abiodun Oladunjoye, in a statement signed on Wednesday, clarified that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) designated Kisarazu as the hometown for Nigeria, with no mention of the purported introduction of a special visa category for Nigerians.
The statement reads, “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.”
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