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TOKYO — 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 U.S. 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.

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Unhelpfully, the report added that ninja in Mie Prefecture can earn a US$85,000 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.