Japan’s overseas aid agency scrapped an agreement Thursday that had aimed to strengthen ties with Africa after struggling to contain a slew of misinformation about the initiative.
The “hometown” agreement, announced by JICA at an African development conference in Yokohama in August, sought to foster exchanges that would help bridge four municipalities in Japan with four countries in Africa.
The municipalities — the city of Kisarazu in Chiba Prefecture, paired with Nigeria; Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture, paired with Tanzania; Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture, paired with Ghana; and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture, paired with Mozambique — already had strong relations.
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