Backlash in Japan after symbolic Africa ties misread as mass migration plan

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What was meant as a symbolic gesture of friendship at an international summit has snowballed into a national panic in Japan, after false reports circulating in Africa and online suggested that new visa schemes would allow large numbers of migrants to settle in the country.In just a few days, a mistranslated phrase, an overzealous government statement and a flurry of social media posts turned a modest cultural exchange programme into a heated immigration controversy.The confusion stemmed from...