JAPAN/CARIBBEAN: TOKYO CONSIDERS OPENING ANOTHER

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINGSTON 000299 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS CENTRAL AMERICAN CARIBBEAN BASIN COLLECTIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2017 TAGS: PREL PINR EAID OFDP JA CH TW XL, XE SUBJECT: JAPAN/CARIBBEAN: TOKYO CONSIDERS OPENING ANOTHER EMBASSY IN THE REGION Classified By: ADCM EDWARD WEHRLI, REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 1.(C) In the course of a recent private meeting with PolOff, Counsellor Katsumi Maruoka of the Japanese Embassy confirmed that Tokyo is considering the possibility of opening another Embassy in the Caribbean region. According to Maruoka, Japan was keenly sensitive to the fact that China now had no fewer than five embassies in the region, while Japan had full embassies only in Kingston and Port-of-Spain. He said that the Bahamas, Belize, and other countries were under consideration, but Tokyo had not yet taken any final decisions. Maruoka asked that this information be considered confidential and not to be shared with other countries. SIPDIS 2.(U) PolOff thanked Maruoka for sharing the information, and reiterated that, particularly given current USG budget constraints, the U.S. appreciated the economic and development assistance that Japan was providing to our Caribbean neighbors. HEG