The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japanese Foreign Ministry are considering renaming JICA¡¯s ¡°hometown¡± project, which is aimed at promoting people-to-people exchanges between African countries and partner Japanese cities, sources said Saturday.

The renaming plan is being considered after false information about the project spread on social media, claiming it would lead to an increase in the number of immigrants.

JICA and the ministry plan to consult with the four cities concerned and accelerate efforts to defuse the situation.

To coincide with the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 9, held in Yokohama in late August, JICA announced on Aug. 21 that it had designated four partnerships under the hometown project. Tanzania was partnered with Nagai, Yamagata Prefecture; Ghana with Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture; Nigeria with Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture; and Mozambique with Imabari, Ehime Prefecture.

The Nigerian government subsequently released false information suggesting that Japan would issue special visas, fueling misleading social media claims that Japan planned to increase its intake of immigrants.

After the Japanese government asked Nigeria to make a correction, the false information in question was deleted.

Still, the four Japanese cities and JICA continued to receive protest phone calls.

According to JICA, municipal government officials have called for the project name to be changed, arguing that the word ¡°hometown¡± has caused misunderstandings.

A senior ministry official, however, questioned whether renaming alone would suffice.

¡°We wanted to promote exchanges that would benefit both Japan and Africa,¡± another ministry official said, while acknowledging that ¡°our explanation may not have been sufficient.¡±

¡°Concerns are growing because citizens have not been told what exactly will be done under the project,¡± a senior JICA official said, adding that the agency will step up efforts to publicize details, including upcoming events.