Nigeria, Sept. 8 -- A Morning in Tokyo

On my third morning in Tokyo, I sat down to a quiet breakfast overlooking the bustling streets below. As I unfolded a copy of The Japan Times, a headline caught my attention: Japanese citizens were voicing concerns about their prefectures being "assigned" African countries under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) exchange framework.

The programme was meant to deepen people-to-people ties, pairing African states with Japanese prefectures for cultural, educational, and economic exchanges. But misinformation had spread. Some believed Africans would soon be resettled in their hometowns. A misstep in Nigerian communication (suggesting special visas might be forthcoming) on...