TOKYO (Bloomberg): Japan has scrapped a plan to promote cultural exchanges between regional cities and four African countries, after misinterpretations and disinformation sparked fears it would open the doors to mass immigration.
The reversal came amid heightened focus on foreigners in Japan, just two months after a surge of support for anti-immigration party Sanseito in Japan’s upper house elections.
"Reactions spread based on misunderstandings,” Dr. Akihiko Tanaka, president of the country’s aid body, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said at a press conference Thursday evening. The public uproar placed an excessive burden on local governments, he added. One of the cities was dealing with about two hundred phone complaints a day, the Asahi newspaper reported.
The "Africa Hometown” initiative was meant to pair four small Japanese cities with Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania in a plan for grassroots exchange. But a statement from the Nigerian government went much further, promising immigration through special visas, according to the BBC.
As the reports spread, Japanese citizens reacted online, many assuming it would lead to unlimited African migration into Japan’s countryside.
Non-Japanese including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also stepped into the fray. "If this continues, there will be no Japan, just some islands where Japanese people used to live,” he commented on a piece of misinformation posted on X.com. The original post wrongly claimed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba wanted to import "millions of Africans and Kurds.”
A correction by the Nigerian government and official clarifications from Japan failed to stem concerns. Barely a month after its announcement, the initiative has now been abandoned.
Immigrants represent a tiny minority in Japan at about 3% of the population. Still, a recent uptick and ballooning tourist arrivals have caused controversy. Political parties like Sanseito have tapped into the issue, and immigration policy is a point of contention in the ongoing race for leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
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