As the 9th TICAD, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development concluded in Yokohama City, late last month, a seemingly innocent initiative to foster “hometown” partnerships was launched by the Japan International Development Agency (JICA) in four African cities. JICA announced that four partner countries, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania, would be matched with four regional Japanese cities, Imabari, Kisarazu, Sanjo and Nagai. Public reception was not as expected, and decidedly negative.
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