Relationship dossier
Japan
Venezuela
Relationship assessment
Economic and energy cooperation alongside a political divide over Venezuela’s leadership
Japan toward Venezuela
+5Japan has participated in Venezuelan oil projects and maintained economic cooperation. In 2019, the Japanese government recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president, taking a position opposed by Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Venezuela toward Japan
+15Under Hugo Chávez, Venezuela pursued energy cooperation with Japan, including Japanese participation in Venezuelan oil projects. The scope and continuity of Venezuelan government cooperation with Japan are unclear.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship combines economic and energy cooperation with political disagreement over Venezuela’s leadership. The 2019 dispute over recognition of Juan Guaidó is a significant counterweight to the bilateral economic links, while the durability and present scope of those links are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Japan and Venezuela have pursued economic and energy cooperation, including Japanese participation in Venezuelan oil projects. Relations also faced a political divide in 2019, when Japan recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president rather than Nicolás Maduro. The scope and continuity of bilateral cooperation are unclear.
Areas of tension
- Japan’s 2019 recognition of Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president, which opposed Nicolás Maduro’s claim to leadership.
Key developments
Japan recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president, rather than Nicolás Maduro.
Japan participated in Venezuelan oil projects as part of bilateral energy cooperation.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral energy cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of Venezuelan government cooperation with Japan in recent years is unclear.