Japan asks Nigeria to correct statement on 'special visas' for Nigerians

Japan denied on Tuesday the plan to issue special visas under the Japan International Cooperation Agency's (JICA) "Africa hometown" initiative, asking Nigeria to retract its statement claiming the "special visa" decision was made at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9).

Japan and JICA have requested that Nigeria correct the press release and issue a new press release to clarify the visa issue, according to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The statement was issued in response to the Office of the President of Nigeria's press release on Friday about the JICA initiative, which "contained information inconsistent with the facts, such as the issuance of a special visa" by Japan.

Nigeria had announced that Japan will "create a special visa category for highly skilled, innovative, and talented young Nigerians who want to move to Kisarazu (the city assigned to Nigeria as a partner) to live and work," according to Kyodo News.

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