Attempt to partner African countries with Japanese cities triggers xenophobic backlash | Japan
After the attempt to encourage friendship between countries in Japan and Africa, wrong media reports, the plan would lead to a “flood of immigrants ,, and after a migration of migration turned into a row of xenophobia.
The debate exploded after the Japan International Cooperation Agency or JICA, this month he said he appointed four Japanese cities as “African hometown for common countries in Africa: Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania.
The program, which was announced at the end of an international conference on African development in Yokohama, will include personnel changes and activities to promote closer ties between the Four Regional Japanese City – Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo and Nagai – and African nations.
Japanese references to the scope of media in four countries and articles were accused of triggering an ugly reaction on social media in Japan with the wave of angry calls and e-mails to the offices of Japanese cities.
Some critics meant that the status of “country” would be specially permitted to live and work in Japanese common cities from African countries.
“If immigrants are inundated, who will take responsibility?” A social media post said.
In X, Kisarazu’nun “the city seriously think of delivering to the Africans” claiming that an article drew 4.6 million views.
The four cities received thousands of complaints from mixed residents. “Our team of 15 officials spent a day by processing hundreds of phone calls and thousands of e-mails from the residents,” an official in Sanjo said to Agency France-Presse. He said.
Authority said that the town has received 350 phone calls and 3,500 E -mail since Monday, and that Imabari received 460 calls and 1,400 E -mail asking if the town accepts a new migration policy.
Japan’s Chief Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the allegations were unfounded. In his statement to journalists, he said, “There is no plan to accept immigrants or to publish special visas,” he said.
Cities also tried to flatten the record. Kisarazu Mayor Yoshikuni Watanabe said that the city hosts Nigerian athletes during the Delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games and added that this project would not lead to “accepting immigrants”.
“Our initiatives are not a program that will include cooperation in the education of discipline -based young people through baseball and volleyball and lead to this displacement or immigration.”
Sanjo Mayor Ryo Takizawa said in a statement: “It is not true that the city demands to accept immigrants or immigrants from Ghana, and the city has no plan to make such a request in the future.”
Some of them screaming, Tanzania Times “Japan Nagai City for Tanzania dedicated to an article on the title of an article.
The word “diicates” has been translated into Japanese words on social media SASAGERUAccording to the newspaper Asahi Shimbun, the town can be interpreted because it means that Tanzania was “sacrificed”.
The Nigerian government misunderstood the details of the program, which describes Kisarazu as a place open to Nigerians who are willing to live and work. [in Japan]”. The government of Japan added that it would create a special visa category for talented people from the West African country.
Japan reported that the Nigerian government asked the Nigerian government to make a correction, while a state institution, Jica – in question Many media organizations published articles containing “mistakes and potentially misleading information ..
“JICA is currently calling the local media and the African government. [sic] To immediately correct the mistakes in the scope of the scope. ”
