2024 New Year Message from H.E. Kayoko Fukushima, Ambassador of Japan to Barbados

Happy New Year to you!

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the heart warming messages of sympathy from the Barbadian people upon the occurrence of the earthquake in Japan on 1 January. This disaster underscores the importance of international cooperation including collaboration between Japan and Barbados to tackle the challenges of natural disasters and climate change.

Last year, Japan and Barbados strengthened their ties through active exchanges of visits, including those of their respective leaders, as Japan endeavors to reinforce its relations with the Global South including Barbados with the Bridgetown Initiative of Prime Minister the Hon. Mia Amor Mottley.

In May last year, Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, then Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs visited Barbados, marking the first visit of the Japanese Foreign Minister to Barbados. Minister HAYASHI met with Prime Minister the Hon. Mottley and Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Hon. Kerrie Symmonds. In June, Minister Hayashi met again with Prime Minister the Hon. Mottley in Paris during the Summit for a new Global Finance Pact. On the occasion of the UN General Assembly held in New York in September, Ms. KAMIKAWA Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister the Hon. Mottley. In November, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, the Hon. Kirk Humphrey visited Japan and gained knowledge about Japan’s experiences in the fields of his mandate including through his meeting with Mr. HORII Iwao, then Minister of State, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Through these opportunities, the leaders of both countries committed to promoting cooperation in global issues at international fora, and affirmed cooperation with Barbados to overcome its vulnerabilities in climate change and natural disasters, as well as person-to-person and cultural exchanges.

In relation to academic and educational exchanges, Professor Clive Landis, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UWI Cave Hill Campus visited Japan at the invitation of the Association for Promotion of International Cooperation (APIC) last April. In September, a graduate of the UWI Cave Hill Campus started her graduate studies at Sophia University in Japan. In that same month at the Cave Hill Campus, I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony for the donation of Japanese Books, which were made available through the Read Japan Project. Under the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) programme five Barbadian youth began their participation. Under the JICA’s Technical Cooperation to Promote Energy Efficiency in Caribbean Countries, four Barbadian experts joined the training trip in Japan. These initiatives and schemes are integral to the fostering of deeper relations between our countries.

This year we are celebrating the “Japan-CARICOM Friendship Year”. Building on the achievements made last year, I will make my best efforts to contribute to deepening the bilateral bond. Your kind understanding and cooperation to that end would be greatly appreciated.

Last, but not least, I hope that you have a wonderful year!