Guyana has informed the Japanese government of Venezuela’s recent aggressive postures, including its illegal referendum, towards the English-speaking country as both sides have pledged to work together on a number of global security challenges as non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Policy consultations are underway in Tokyo, Japan where Guyana is represented by Foreign Secretary and High Representative for UN Security Council Affairs, Robert Persaud. These consultations involved senior officials of the Japanese government and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Secretary Persaud held discussions with Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Fukazawa Yoichi on enhancing Guyana-Japan bilateral relations.

Persaud told the News Room that Japan has endorsed the respect for territorial integrity and international law.
Guyana has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for provisional measures given the decision of the Venezuelan government to seek a mandate from its people to seize a large portion of Guyanese territory.
The ICJ will hold public hearings on November 14 on Guyana’s application. Already though, Guyana’s lawmakers have strongly denounced the referendum set for December 3, 2023, through a series of declarations at an Extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly on Monday.
Guyana has issued repeated statements denouncing the aggressive new measures taken by Venezuela in furtherance of its groundless and unlawful territorial claim to Guyana’s Essequibo Region.
Guyana insists, as does CARICOM, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and Organization of American States, and the entire international community, that the controversy over the validity of the Arbitral Award and the land boundary must be resolved by the International Court of Justice, which will assure a just, peaceful, binding and permanent solution to this matter, in accordance with international law.
Guyana is taking the justicity and legal integrity/soundness of its denunciation of Venezuela’s current illegal claim to the Essequibo Region to the world to mobilise world opinion against the threat that Venezuela poses to the preservation of peace and harmony within Guyana itself and the Region that can add as incentives to attract huge foreign investments including from Japan to intensify world trade and contribute to the economic and social development of the country and its peoples who suffered too long being isolated in the wilderness of non-development although physical resource and human capital rich and well endowed.
The world must show its affront to Venezuela for its defiance of international norms and values enshrined in the UN Charter that binds all states and with no derogation from this body of customary rules unless it is to be sanctioned by the Security Council in Resolutions and legitimate use of force to restore the status quo in Guyana that is being threatened by a pariah like state of Venezuela.
Japan must show its dissent against Venezuela because of the merits of Guyana’s case as well as the opportunities available in Guyana for Japanese firms to do business and use Guyana as a beach head to launch its economic initiatives into the South American markets.
Japan may possess leverage at the Hague to persuade the ICJ to act judiciously and reprimand Venezuela for embarking upon a most dangerous draconian step of using a domestic referendum to interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign state by the illegal use of superior weaponry and annexe territory of Guyana as Russia is doing in Ukraine and killing thousands of innocent people at present.
Guyana must make the proposed annexation of the Essequibo Region via its multi-pronged, militant, comprehensive and vigorous diplomacy and demarche quite untenable and very costly on several fronts to the aggressor state of Venezuela that will cause it to retreat into more sane conduct to avoid condemnation by the world community because Guyana has a fine track record in conducting global diplomacy that is effective, results-driven and convincing at best.
Its new incarnation post -2015 is a new platform to launch itself into the approval setting of the world community for its efforts to open itself to do business with all states and foreign firms seeking solid and stable investment opportunities that invasion and annexation that stymie and reduce.