Hiring of ninja was just a case of Japanese whispers

THE hopes of dozens of aspiring ninja have been dashed after officials in the Japanese city of Iga – the famed home of the assassins – said reports that they were hiring trainees were incorrect.

The confusion began last week, when a reporter with National Public Radio in the US claimed Japan was suffering from a shortage of workers due to the declining national birth rate. The report quoted Sakae Okamoto, the mayor of Iga, as saying the problem has even affected Iga’s ninja, who work for the local tourist association.

Unhelpfully, the report added that ninja in Mie Prefecture can earn a £65,000 salary, although it never claimed the city was looking to hire more. But the report was seized upon by social media and news sites that embellished the mayor’s words to suggest Iga was recruiting. City officials arrived at work on Monday to find 115 emails from would-be ninja asking when they could start.

Other applications were sent to a nearby ninja museum, the regional tourist board and a research institute at Mie University that documents ninja.

Applications were received from 14 nations, including Spain, Italy, India, Ecuador and the US.

Mr Okamoto eventually called a press conference to express surprise at the interest – but flatly denied the city was hiring.

“The news was totally groundless”, he said. “Iga city is not recruiting any new employees to work as ninja”.

In an attempt to cash in on the inadvertent advertising, however, the city’s website states that anyone interested in the warriors is welcome to visit to learn about ninja history and culture.