Society JICA 'Hometown' program sparking protests

Japanese govment don designate Kisarazu city as di hometown for Nigerians wey wan live and work for Japan. Nigeria Ministry of Information and National Orientation wey give di informate on dia X handle on Friday 22 August say dis na efforts to deepen cultural diplomacy, promote economic growth and enhance workforce productivity. According to di ministry, na for di sidelines of di 9th Tokyo International Conference for African Development, dem announce dis initiative. Dem say di Japanese govment go create special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians wey wan go Kisarazu to live and work.

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West African Pidgin English remained in use in West Africa after the abolition of the slave trade by Western nations and the decolonization of Africa. Many distinct regional variants of the language emerged. Looked down upon during the colonial era as a bastardization of proper English – a stigma still attached to it by some – Pidgin nonetheless remains in widespread use. In 2016, there were an estimated five million individuals who use Pidgin as a primary language for everyday use in Nigeria. As of 2017, about 75 million people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea speak the language. During the rise of African nationalism, it became a "language of resistance and anti-colonialism", and political activists still use it to criticize their post-colonial political leaders. [...] Because West African Pidgin English is a primarily spoken language, there is no standardized written form, and many local varieties exist. In August 2017, the BBC launched a Pidgin news service, aimed at audiences in West and Central Africa, as part of its World Service branch. As part of that effort, the BBC developed a guide for a standardized written form of pidgin.

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thomas said:

Anyhow, the news that four Japanese towns have been designated "hometowns" of African nations has stirred a lot of confusion and concern in the cities concerned: Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture, as the hometown of Tanzania; Kisarazu, Chiba, as that of Nigeria; Sanjo in Niigata as Ghana's hometown; and Imabari in Ehime as Mozambique's.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250826_05/

Misinformation over JICA’s Africa ‘hometown’ initiative sparks controversy

Media reports claiming the initiative would include a special visa category for skilled Africans who want to come to Japan exacerbated the confusion.

www.japantimes.co.jp

JICA even released a correction:

Correction Regarding Media Coverage on “JICA Africa Hometown” ｜ News＆Publication - JICA

Correction Regarding Media Coverage on “JICA Africa Hometown”

www.jica.go.jp

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Lothor said:

I sense the hand of Sanseito behind this confusion.

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Elon Musk has voiced support for an anti-immigration demonstration in Japan, where numbers of foreign-born residents are low and a "Japanese First" party did well in recent elections. The Tesla and SpaceX chief and former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump has backed far-right parties in other countries, such as Alternative for Germany (AfD). Commenting on Monday on a video of the modest rally in Japan posted on X by an account called The British Patriot, South African-born Musk said, "Good." The account, which describes itself as a "Proud white British man with indigenous roots," said the clip showed Japanese protesters "demanding the deportation of all illegal immigrants. From Australia to Europe to Japan, citizens are uniting for remigration," it said.

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thomas said:

The pendulum will swing back. We just need to sit it out. What's sad is that so much precious time is lost (thinking about climate change and the environment).

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The Japanese cities and their respective partner nations were: Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture with Nigeria; Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture with Tanzania; Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture with Ghana; and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture with Mozambique. The brouhaha over the program escalated when the Nigerian president's office issued a mistaken statement claiming the Japanese government had named Kisarazu as "the hometown for Nigerians willing to live and work," and that Japan "will create a special visa category." Protest phone calls and emails inundated the Japanese municipalities. Demonstrations even called for the dismantling of JICA. Despite repeated denials from the central and local governments that the program was related to immigration, the protests and criticism continued. Some of the cities ended up asking the central government for a complete cancellation of the project.

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