Kisarazu City in Japan, has dismissed suggestions that its designation as Nigeria’s “hometown” under the JICA Africa Hometown Certification is connected to immigration or visa arrangements for Nigerians.

Mayor Yoshikuni Watanabe clarified in a statement on Tuesday that although the city received the recognition during the JICA Africa Hometown Summit at TICAD9, it carries no commitment to accept immigrants or establish special work visa programs.

“We have not requested or been aware of any measures to accept immigrants or relax the requirements for issuing special work visas in Nigeria, as have been reported on some social media platforms,” Watanabe said.

This follows a recent announcement by Nigeria’s State House claiming that Japan would introduce a special visa scheme for highly skilled young Nigerians to live and work in Kisarazu.

The announcement stated that Kisarazu was designated as Nigeria’s hometown, while other Japanese cities were paired with Tanzania, Ghana, and Mozambique under comparable initiatives.

“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 statement read

The statement added that Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires and Acting Ambassador to Japan, Mrs. Florence Akinyemi Adeseke, together with Kisarazu Mayor Yoshikuni Watanabe, received the certificate formally recognizing the city as the hometown of Nigerians.

The mayor explained that the recognition was based on Kisarazu’s role as Nigeria’s host town during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“Regarding the relationship between our city and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we will serve as a host town for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and through this connection, we have recently been certified as a hometown by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (hereinafter referred to as “JICA”).