Japan’s new initiative would establish two-way partnerships between each of the four regional cities and select nations in Africa. Yet, this effort has fanned flames of confusion and xenophobia among locals. Japan’s foreign ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) jointly run the program. It encourages camaraderie and collaboration by helping coordinate personnel exchanges and creating community-building events. A series of incendiary and misleading media reports, fueling racial tensions, triggered the mass unrest. In fact, thousands of residents of Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo and Nagai have filed complaints.
The backlash began after several media outlets inaccurately suggested that the partnership would lead to a large influx of immigrants into these cities. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, denied the allegations in no uncertain terms. He continued to explain, “There are currently no plans to encourage accepting immigrants or granting special visas.” Mr. Harris put particular emphasis on the idea that the heart of the program was a cultural exchange, not immigration.
In the same period since the news broke, the town of Sanjo fielded 350 phone calls and 3,500 emails from outraged residents. Likewise, Imabari has received 460 phone calls and 1,400 emails from locals wanting to know more about the claimed new immigration policy. Sanjo’s mayor Ryo Takizawa took on the critics head on. In his equally bold denial, he announced on behalf of the city, “There is no truth that the city has asked to receive migrants or immigrants from Ghana, and we will never ask to receive them in the future.”
Amid the mounting uncertainty, Japan’s foreign ministry has moved to quell panic. They then contacted the Nigerian government to urge a retraction of the false information that was circulating in news reports. It’s not the first time JICA has pointed out that many of the articles reported misleading facts that fueled public panic.
JICA official Yoshikuni Watanabe explicitly stated the plan under the program. Looking ahead, he said, “Our efforts will include working together to teach youth through the discipline of baseball and softball. This program won’t result in moving or immigrating. This statement aims to dispel fears that the partnerships would result in a significant demographic shift within these Japanese cities.
In spite of these official reassurances, the impact on xenophobic sentiment due to social media coverage has been significant. One viral post claimed that Kisarazu was “seriously considering handing over the city to Africans,” which attracted 4.6 million views. The negative implications of such statements have led some social media users to question the capacity of local governments to handle potential immigration. As one anonymous user raised alarm by saying, “If [immigrants] come pouring in, who’s going to be accountable?”
Through the initiative, one of the key activities outlined is the creation of a new visa category tailored to skilled Tanzanians. This establishment was first covered by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. This very provision, which has fueled large-scale misconceptions everywhere, was the most misinterpreted provision by press and social media outlets. In fact, the word deduces, when originally translated into Japanese, was rendered as sasageru, implying that towns would be “sacrificed” along the way.