In Osaka, Japan on August 30th, a protest against immigration took place, which caught the attention of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk reposted a video on the social platform X showing people waving national flags and holding signs opposing mass immigration, with one sign reading, “Don’t let Japan become like Africa.”
On Monday, September 1st, Musk reshared the video and simply commented “Good.” The original video account mentioned that “from Australia to Europe and to Japan, people are uniting to push for the return of immigrants to their original countries.”
The protest in Japan stemmed from authorities’ attempts to establish “homeland exchange cities” for people from four African countries. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) designated Imabari City, Kisarazu City, Sanjo City, and Nagai City as “exchange hometowns” for Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania.
The statement emphasized that the “JICA African Homeland Program” aims to strengthen cooperation between local governments and African countries, helping address challenges in Africa and revitalizing local communities in Japan through various collaborative activities and international exchanges.
The plans for promoting cooperation with “African homelands” in Osaka and Tokyo led to anti-immigration demonstrations, with the four related cities receiving numerous complaints from residents. Sanjo City received 350 calls and 3,500 emails within three days, while Imabari City received 460 calls and 1,400 emails, with residents questioning the implementation of new immigration policies.
In Tokyo, angry crowds gathered outside the JICA headquarters, protesting what they perceived as a relaxation of immigration policies. Protesters held signs saying “Protect Japanese People” and chanted “Stop mass immigration.”
Compared to other developed countries, Japan has a relatively low immigrant population. Several surveys have also indicated that immigration has not been a major concern for Japanese voters. However, political parties advocating for a “Japan-first” policy showed significant success in the July Senate elections, increasing their seats from 2 to 15. Some observers believe this reflects public anxiety about immigration issues.
As Japan faces an aging population, low birth rates, and labor shortages in various industries, the number of immigrants in Japan is gradually increasing.
Regarding the protests, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga clarified that the government currently has no plans to accept immigrants or issue special visas to residents of African countries. He stated that reports and announcements suggesting such measures are false.
Suga added that African nationals do come to Japan as volunteers but return to their home countries after completing training.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency pointed out that reports from local newspapers and African governments may have erroneously suggested that the “JICA African Homeland Program” would integrate Nagai City in Yamagata Prefecture with Tanzania or imply promoting immigrant acceptance or issuing special visas to facilitate exchanges with Japan and related countries, clarifying that these reports are factually incorrect.
(This article references reports from “The Japan Times” and the Daily Bulletin.)