Grenada's Foreign Minister, Peter David, spoke on climate change

Tokyo has just hosted Caribbean foreign ministers for a wide-ranging dialogue on regional and international issues.

The Japanese have previously been active in the Caribbean mostly in the areas of fisheries aid to some nations.

And even that is steeped in controversy as critics claim that assistance was linked to support for Japan as a whaling nation - a claim that Tokyo has always denied.

A foreign ministry spokesman said Japan aims to deepen cooperation with Caribbean nations to win their support for its bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council and seek their understanding of Japan's position as a whaling nation.

The ministerial meeting was the second of its kind; the first was held in 2000.

Vulnerable nations

The ministers discussed issues such as climate change, earthquake-hit Haiti, reform of the Security Council and the global economic crisis.

On climate change the two sides agreed to cooperate on tackling global warming.

Japanese officials quoted Grenada's foreign minister, Peter David, as saying he expected Japan to pay due consideration to vulnerable island nations, like those in the Caribbean, at the forthcoming climate talks in Mexico.

Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada, in turn, asked Caricom nations to endorse the Copenhagen Accord, one of the steps toward a global climate deal.

A United Nations summit in Copenhagen at the end of last year ended in serious disarray.

Developing nations say billions of dollars are vital to help them start acting to slow global warming by shifting from fossil fuels, and to cope with challenges created by climate change ranging from droughts and floods to rising sea levels.

In December, Mexico is to host a new formal effort to clear the way for a convention.

Economic slump

Guyana's Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said her country was counting on Japan to conduct a scientific examination to address the impact of climate change on the marine environment and ecosystems.

She said warming seas posed a danger to fisheries - a key industry of Caribbean nations.

Japan also pledged to help Caribbean nations recover from the global economic slump.

No specific aid figures were announced but Tokyo said it would send a public-private joint economic mission to the Caribbean to discover potential business opportunities in the financial and tourism sectors.

Mr Okada said the Japan-Caricom ministerial conference should have been held more frequently but no date was set for the next meeting.