The former Haitian ambassador to Japan, Helph Monod Honorat, who is the subject of a police investigation in connection with an alleged rape of a Japanese national last year, left Japan a few days ago without informing the embassy, putting the embassy in a delicate situation, Le Nouvelliste has learned. He is now in North America. The embassy is aware of this untimely trip. Mr. Honorat reportedly said he intended to return to Japan, his wife's homeland. The young woman who accused him of rape is an acquaintance. The Haitian government is cooperating with the investigation. Two Haitian police officers from the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) had been sent to Japan in this regard, according to our sources. Le Nouvelliste contacted Mr. Honorat. He has not yet responded to our questions. He presented his credentials to His Majesty the Emperor of Japan on October 7, 2020, as a newly appointed extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador. He had contacts with Japan before that.

"I came to Japan for the first time in 2008, when I was a student. I obtained a PhD in economics from Kobe University. Since my earliest childhood, I have always dreamed of traveling the world to discover new cultures different from my own. My parents have always made me understand that diverse cultures and people make life more interesting, thus giving more meaning to life and existence. It is in this spirit that I chose Japan to pursue my studies, for two reasons. The first being its academic qualities and rich culture, and the second being for the purpose of a different adventure from what I have always known," Mr. Honorat said in an interview with the Japan Association of Latin America and the Caribbean journal.