Between 20 and 22 August 2025, Japan hosted the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama. Japan has been organising this conference since 1993, alongside the UN, World Bank, and African Union, to strengthen ties with Africa and promote development.
Nigeria’s participation at the event was not exactly inspiring. Despite President Tinubu arriving early on 18 August, Nigeria’s booth was left completely unmanned on the opening day. Two Nigerians attending the event had to step in and represent the country, calling out the government in the process. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later claimed they planned to “inaugurate” the booth on 21 August.
These booths are not just for show. They are key platforms for attracting foreign investment and showcasing economic potential. Ahead of the conference, the Japanese Finance Ministry pointed out that Japanese investors have a very risk-averse attitude towards Africa. For context, just 0.5 per cent of Japan’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2024 went to Africa.
So, the booths offered an invaluable opportunity for each country’s representatives to answer questions from potential investors and hopefully ease whatever concerns they may have. Nigeria needed to make a strong impression. Instead, it stumbled out of the gate.
A Japanese Hometown for Nigerians
On day two of the conference, Japan made a surprising announcement: the city of Kisarazu has been designated as the official “hometown” for Nigerians who want to live and work in the country.
Nigeria was not the only African country to receive this gesture. Japan also named the cities of Nagai in Yamagata Prefecture the hometown of Tanzania, Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture the hometown of Ghana, and Imabari in Ehime Prefecture the hometown of Mozambique.
Sounds generous, right? But let us look closer.
Africa: your sure plug for labour shortages
Japan is not rolling out the red carpet to welcome Nigerians and other Africans out of goodwill. It is facing a severe labour crisis. With the oldest population in the world, 14 per cent of Japan’s workforce is made up of senior citizens.
Japan is also experiencing declining birth rates, and fewer births mean fewer future workers to replace the ageing ones.
Sectors like healthcare, construction, and manufacturing are struggling. For example, in the construction sector, there are about five jobs for every applicant. Japan needs workers fast. When developed countries need cheap labour for tough jobs, guess where they often look?
Is This a Win-Win?
Nigeria has one of the youngest populations on Earth. Half of the population is younger than 18 years.
But Nigeria is wasting its youth. Unfortunately, approximately 57 per cent of Nigeria’s youthful population that are able to work are unemployed or underemployed.
On paper, Japan’s offer looks like a perfect match. They need youthful workers; we have plenty, they have many jobs, we have few.
But history tells a different story. We have seen this before. Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada have opened their doors to skilled Nigerian professionals, only for Nigeria to suffer brain drain.
The medical sector is a damning example. According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, over 16,000 Nigerian doctors have left the country in the last seven years, while Nigeria suffers a devastating shortage of medical professionals. Currently, there is only one doctor for every 10,000 patients in Nigeria.
And now, some of these countries are tightening migration rules and making it harder for workers to send money back home.
The UK, for instance, has raised the skill threshold for migrant workers. Where A-level holders were once eligible for sponsored migration as skilled workers, a bachelor’s degree is now the minimum requirement.
In Canada, new restrictions limit the number of migrant workers that companies can hire in low-wage jobs to just 10 per cent of their workforce.
Meanwhile, in the United States, the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill” includes a 3.5 per cent tax on remittances sent by migrant workers to their families in their home countries.
So what is Nigeria really gaining here? If Japan follows the same playbook, we could lose our best talent with little to show for it.
The Japanese Red Flags
Let us talk about those “hometowns.” On the surface, it sounds like a warm welcome. But it also feels like segregation—a move to separate the incoming African workers from the Japanese population by neatly packing them into designated zones.
Rather than seriously addressing it, the Japanese government has essentially refused to acknowledge the existence of racism within its borders. Yet, reports of discrimination against Black people, such as catcalls, differential treatment, and rude stares, are not uncommon in the country.
The Japanese government has been taking steps to fill its labour gaps with foreign workers. The first notable effort was the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP), which allowed foreign workers to come to Japan for a period of up to five years.
In 2019, Japan introduced the Specified Skilled Worker System (SSWS). This framework created a pathway for foreign workers in industries facing severe labour shortages, such as nursing, manufacturing, and construction, to earn long-term employment and residency if they passed the required skills and language tests.
The Japanese government is now working on a new framework called the Employment for Skill Development (ESD) Program, scheduled to start in 2027. The ESD aims to increase foreign talent in Japan and ensure they stay in the country long term.
Even with these recent policy shifts by the Japanese government to attract foreign workers, only about 2 per cent of Japan’s labour force is non-Japanese. A think-tank commissioned by the Japanese government has projected that Japan will need around 7 million foreign workers by 2040 to keep its economy afloat.
But can Nigeria afford to send that many people abroad, especially when we are already struggling to keep key sectors running?
Has this become a pattern?
If you said this is becoming a pattern, you would not be completely wrong. In June 2025, Tinubu visited Saint Lucia as part of his administration’s commitment to strengthen diplomatic ties between Nigeria and Caribbean nations. That visit came with promises to export skilled Nigerian workers to the Caribbean.
Now, this visit to Japan is likely to be followed by a mass migration of Nigerians to the Asian country.
Sending Nigerians abroad appears to be a deliberate policy under the current administration. In 2023, during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Tinubu unveiled the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), an initiative aimed at boosting Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings by positioning the country as a global hub for talent outsourcing.
This seeming slave trader foreign policy of the Tinubu administration deserves serious scrutiny.
A Disappointing Outing
President Tinubu said Nigeria’s participation in TICAD 9 was meant to unlock over a billion dollars in trade and investment, drive green innovation, boost industrial growth, and create opportunities for Nigerian youth.
At the end of the conference, the African Development Bank and Japan’s JICA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to mobilise only 5.5 billion dollars for private sector projects in Africa. How much of that money Nigeria will get remains unclear.
What is clear is that Nigeria started the event with an empty booth and ended it with yet another plan to export its citizens—this time to Japan—where they may be worked to the bone for the benefit of a foreign economy.
In the meantime, I suppose it is time to reinstall Duolingo and start learning Japanese. Sayōnara.
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