The Imo State Union, founded in 2002, replaced it to become the largest and most active, and has formally applied for non-profit status under Japanese law.
[4] Later, after the end of the Japanese asset price bubble reduced opportunities for such work, they shifted into the night-life industry in Tokyo's entertainment districts such as Kabukichō or Roppongi, a line of employment with a high level of public visibility.
Richard's book, 'Every Human Intention: Japan in the New Century' (2021), includes a lengthy account of the community's experiences.
[10] In June 2019, long-term Igbo-Nigerian resident of Japan Gerald 'Sunny' Okafor starved to death during a hunger strike at the Omura Immigration Detention Center in Nagasaki.
[11] Although the government's investigation cleared the detention center of wrongdoing,[12] subsequent investigations by journalists revealed severe administrative negligence[13] by the detention center and Japan's immigration authorities, as well as a cover-up of this negligence carried out with the assistance of the Nigerian Embassy in Japan.