Japanese authorities have pulled the plug on a planned initiative to improve bilateral relations between Japan and four African nations, including Nigeria, after the Tinubu administration lied about the details in a press statement last month.

“Reactions spread based on misunderstandings and confusion,” JICA President Akhiko Tanaka told journalists in Tokyo. “The Africa Hometown initiative will be withdrawn.”

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is yet to recover from a misinformation campaign led by Mr Tinubu’s foreign affairs information director, Abiodun Oladunjoye, after he falsely claimed that Tokyo was creating a “special visa category” for Nigerians seeking to relocate to Kisarazu in Japan.

JICA promptly denied issuing special visas to welcome African immigrants from Nigeria and Tanzania but the statement seemed insufficient to placate angry Japanese citizens who inundated city centres with hundreds of calls per day to lash out at Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government.

Despite releasing a rebuttal to refute Nigeria’s false claims in late August, concerned Japanese citizens have continued to criticise Mr Ishiba, accusing him of planning to welcome “millions of Africans and Kurds” to their local communities. 

In light of the situation, Mr Akihiko on Thursday cancelled the JICA Africa Hometown, walking back an earlier announcement to name Japanese communities: Kisarazu, Nagai, Sanjo and Imabari after Nigerians, Tanzanians, Ghanaians and Mozambiquans, respectively.