Sidney Poitier, the Academy Award-winning actor, formally became the Bahamas' ambassador to Japan during a ceremony Tuesday in Tokyo presenting his credentials to Emperor Akihito.

Poitier, 70, wore a tuxedo and smiled broadly during the ceremony.Born in the United States but a citizen of the Bahamas, Poitier was appointed as the Caribbean island's Japanese ambassador in November 1995. A Japanese official said the lengthy delay between his appointment and the ceremony was caused by the lack of a Bahamas embassy in Tokyo.

Poitier will work out of an office in the Bahamas' Foreign Ministry in Nassau.

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