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Africa Travel

Africa: No, Japan Did not Create Particular Visa Programme for African Migrants

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IN SHORT: A Fb submit claims that at a high-profile discussion board on African improvement in August 2025, Japan introduced a plan to resettle migrants from Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Mozambique. That is false – what was introduced was a plan to advertise cultural alternate and partnerships.

A submit circulating on Fb claims that on the Tokyo Worldwide Convention on African Improvement, also referred to as Ticad, Japan created a particular visa programme to resettle African migrants.

The declare alleges that 4 Japanese cities have been designated as “hometowns” for migrants from Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Mozambique, supposedly to fill labour shortages and revitalise rural areas.

In keeping with Japan’s Immigration Companies Company, as of 2023 slightly below 40,000 African nationals legally resided in Japan. They make up 1.2% of the nation’s complete overseas inhabitants of about 3.2 million.


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Most are college students, professionals or technical trainees. The biggest teams of overseas residents come from nations equivalent to China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The declare triggered a wave of backlash, together with xenophobic feedback and offended calls and emails to workplaces within the named Japanese cities. For instance, the town of Imabari reported a whole bunch of complaints, whereas officers in Nagai mentioned they’d been inundated with inquiries from apprehensive residents.

Related posts had been posted right here and right here. (Notice: See extra cases on the finish of this report.)

However is that this data correct? We checked.

Cultural alternate, not particular visas for African migrants

Ticad was launched in 1993 by Japan in partnership with the United Nations, the African Union and the World Financial institution, to strengthen cooperation with Africa. The ninth version was held in Yokohama from 20 to 22 August 2025, bringing collectively African leaders, Japanese officers and worldwide companions to debate commerce, improvement, expertise, peace and safety.

Whereas demographic change and labour mobility have sometimes featured at previous Ticad conferences, no visa programme or settlement scheme for African migrants was introduced on the 2025 discussion board.

The viral posts misread a brand new initiative unveiled on the summit, the “hometown” programme. Run by the Japan Worldwide Cooperation Company, it pairs the 4 Japanese cities of Kisarazu, Nagai, Sanjō and Imabari with 4 African nations: Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Mozambique respectively.

They had been chosen as a result of they’re smaller regional cities going through inhabitants decline and looking for methods to ascertain worldwide ties via cultural alternate. The cities additionally hosted athletes from the 4 nations through the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Video games.

Japanese officers swiftly moved to set the document straight. The ministry of overseas affairs dismissed these claims as “not true”.