Friendship with Africa Ignites Controversy and Anger in Japan

SadaNews - An initiative to strengthen friendship between Japan and some African countries has turned into a heated debate with an anti-foreign character, following the publication of inaccurate media reports claiming that the project will lead to an influx of migrants.

The controversy began after the Japan International Cooperation Agency announced this month that it had chosen four Japanese cities to be "sister cities to Africa" alongside four African countries: Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania.

The friendship program was unveiled at the conclusion of an international conference on African development in Yokohama, aiming to enhance cultural exchange and joint events between the four Japanese cities (Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo, and Nagai) and their counterparts in the African countries.

However, media coverage in those countries, along with widely circulating Japanese translations of the reports, incited a wave of sharp criticism on social media in Japan, leading to a flood of angry calls and emails to the city offices concerned.

Some Japanese people believed that the designation of "sister city" meant granting residents of those African countries a special right to live and work in the partner Japanese cities.

Local authorities in Japan stated that they received thousands of complaints via calls and emails, all expressing residents' anger and fears about the influx of migrants.

For his part, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi described these claims as unfounded, stressing that there are no plans to enhance the reception of migrants or issue special visas.

Source: African Media