The Nigerian government has retracted an earlier claim that Japan will create a special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who wish to move to Kisarazu to live and work.
The retraction was made public in a statement signed on Wednesday by Abiodun Oladunjoye, Director of Information at the State House.
Oladunjoye 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.
“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 Nigerian government had earlier asserted that Japan had designated the city as a hometown for Nigerians.
In a statement released on Friday and co-signed by Abiodun Oladunjoye, the government claimed: “The government of Japan on Thursday named the city of Kisarazu as the hometown for Nigerians willing to live and work in the country as part of its strategic efforts to deepen cultural diplomacy, promote economic growth and enhance workforce productivity.
“Under this new partnership, announced on the sidelines of the 9th Tokyo International Conference for African Development, the Japanese government will create a special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu to live and work.”
The latest denial comes after Japan dismissed reports that it planned to introduce special visa categories for skilled Nigerians. This rebuttal directly contradicted the Tinubu-led Nigerian government’s earlier claim that such a scheme had been introduced.
