Last year was the Japan-CARICOM (Caribbean Community) Friendship Year, aimed at strengthening relations between Tokyo and this important 15-member bloc. Analyses about extra-regional nations with Western Hemisphere states tend to focus on the mainland, namely Latin America. Hence, Tokyo’s interest in engaging the Caribbean, an often-overlooked region, deserves praise and analysis.
The Japan-CARICOM Year had three pillars: cooperation towards sustainable development, including overcoming vulnerabilities particular to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which include CARICOM members; deepening and expanding bonds; and cooperation on global challenges. The Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year also commemorated the 30th anniversary of Japan-CARICOM relations and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Jamaica & Trinidad and Tobago.
Japan’s diplomatic engagement with the Caribbean is limited. “For Japan, Latin America, and the Caribbean are a lesser foreign policy priority than the Indo-Pacific and the broader Asia,” explained Margaret Myers, director of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia and Latin America Program, in a 2022 report on Japan-Latin America & Caribbean relations, published by the Wilson Center.
There have been some high-profile meetings. Guyana and Japan were non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council in 2024, so there were high-level consultations between the two governments. A visit to Tokyo by Guyana’s Foreign Secretary and High Representative for United Nations Security Council Affairs Robert Persaud included a meeting with Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Fukazawa Yoichi, aimed at “enhancing Guyana-Japan bilateral relations.” Since establishing diplomatic ties on 11 June 1969, Guyana and Japan have enjoyed “strong and fruitful bilateral relations through economic and technical cooperation,” praised the Guyanese government.
Trade also remains limited. Latin America and the Caribbean account for “only 4% of Japan’s total trade,” explained Myers. In comparison, “Latin America and the Caribbean represented 8% of Japanese foreign direct investment in 2022, but much of that was directed to the Cayman Islands.”
One particular interest of the Japanese government is to assist Caribbean nations, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is a major actor. Hence, it is no surprise that cooperation was a pillar of the Friendship Year. Japan has donated a grant of approximately US$12 million, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme for the 2022-2025 period, to improve national sargassum management capacities in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Barbados. Also, Tokyo provided in 2017 a loan to Jamaica worth US$15 million for an energy management and efficiency program. After Hurricane Beryl struck the Caribbean in 2024, Japan delivered emergency relief goods to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Jamaica.
Japan has contributed to efforts to restore peace and stability in Haiti. A virtual Ministerial Meeting chaired by Canada in June 2023 included the participation of Takei Shunsuke, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. The official noted, “Japan’s support to ensure Haiti’s stability, including the contribution of approximately 3 million US dollars in support of the Haitian National Police and the provision of Emergency Grant Aid to counter the cholera outbreak as well as food assistance.”
Japan has contributed approximately US$29 million to “restore peace and stability and improve the humanitarian situation in Haiti,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Specific projects include delivering vehicles to the Haitian National Police, rehabilitating police infrastructure, assisting during the cholera outbreak, distributing food supplies, and registering Haitian nationals for ID cards to provide “appropriate social services and secure the national election process.”
The December 2024 Conference
The year of the Japan-CARICOM Friendship concluded with a high-level conference in Tokyo on 14 December. The Eighth Japan-CARICOM Ministerial-Level Conference participants included Iwaya Takeshi, Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the foreign ministers and other high-level officials from 14 CARICOM member states.
Takeshi pledged to continue building new cooperation under the “Diplomatic Initiative toward Latin America and the Caribbean,” focusing on maritime issues, disaster risk reduction, climate change, and human security. Takeshi assured the Caribbean states that Tokyo would continue cooperating with CARICOM to overcome vulnerabilities particular to SIDS, such as “the environment, including climate change, disaster risk reduction, and maritime issues, and achieve sustainable development.”
The role of think tanks and cultural diplomacy
Research centers are essential in conducting research, holding events, and other initiatives to inform the general public about timely issues and lesser-known topics that deserve greater attention.
In Washington, DC, where the author of this commentary is based, the Inter-American Dialogue (IAD) has done work on Japan’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. For example, this past October, the IAD held an event titled “Bolstering Latin America-Japan-US Cooperation on Energy Transition and Critical Minerals Supply.” In 2022, the IAD interviewed Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (JALAC) Ambassador Akira Yamada and Akira Kudo, executive director of JALAC. Yamada noted that Tokyo has strengthened its cooperation in the Caribbean since the first Japan-CARICOM Summit in 2014. “In addition to long-standing assistance in the field of fisheries, cooperation is progressing in areas such as disaster prevention and renewable energy, bearing in mind the vulnerability of small island nations,” he explained. To promote Latin America and the Caribbean in Japan, the Japan-based JALAC publishes interviews with Latin American ambassadors assigned to the country.
Extensive analyses on Japan-Latin American & Caribbean relations exist but are scarce. Research for this commentary in English and Spanish found only two significant reports. The first was the aforementioned analysis by Margaret Myers, published in 2022. Unfortunately, a cursory read shows that “Caribbean” is only mentioned in the context of “Latin America and the Caribbean.” There are no sections focused on the English-speaking Caribbean. Countries like Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname are not mentioned. The one English-speaking Caribbean nation mentioned by name is Belize, as part of a discussion about a 2008 initiative by JICA titled “Project to Develop the Capacities of Facilitators in Improving Productivity and Quality for SMEs,” which trains institutions that support small and medium enterprises across Central America and the Caribbean, including Belize.
A 2016 report by the Inter-American Development Bank on Japan-Latin America & Caribbean relations does not mention any English-speaking Caribbean nation (or Haiti or Suriname) by name. The one exception is a graph that shows Japan- Latin America & Caribbean trade between 2000-2015. In other words, more academic analysis is necessary.
Cultural events are effective cultural diplomacy initiatives that promote a country’s image and strengthen people-to-people relations. For example, Japan and Belize annually organize a Japan Day. The 16th version was held on 10 November 2024 at the Belize City Civic Center; it was organized by the Japanese Community, the JICA Belize Office, and the Embassy of Japan in Belize.
Not all summits and conferences can end with a grandiose agreement that will dramatically affect regional or global geopolitics. In the case of the Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year, the celebrations ended with an agreement to continue to promote close relations between Tokyo and this 15-country bloc. From an ideological perspective, Japan views “many countries” across Latin America and the Caribbean as “critical allies in bolstering global democracy, and reinforcing Japan’s vision of what it calls a free, open, and inclusive international order, based on the rule of law,” Myers concludes. The Caribbean is geographically far from Japan, and trade & commerce initiatives, including high-level diplomatic engagement, remain scarce. However, the two sides have several common interests and goals. Hopefully, the Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year planted the seeds for a stronger tomorrow.
