Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina Gonzalez will visit Japan from April 17 to April 19 to meet with his Japanese counterpart, Yukihiko Ikeda, and State Foreign Secretary Masahiko Komura, ministry officials said April 14.
The hostage standoff at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima will probably top the agenda at meetings between Robaina and his counterparts. Komura visited Cuba late last month to discuss the Peru crisis with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Castro expressed readiness to grant asylum to the rebels who are holding 72 hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima.
Robaina last visited Japan in January 1995, when he met with then Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, ministry officials said. Robaina will arrive in Tokyo after visiting Singapore, India, Malaysia and Brunei, the officials said.