Thursday, January 04, 2001, updated at 08:14(GMT+8)
World
Japanese Prime Minister to Visit S. Africa Next Week
apanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will visit South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa next week, the Japanese embassy in Pretoria said on Wednesday.
Mori will become the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, according to a statement from the embassy.
He is scheduled to arrive on January 8 and visit Pretoria and Johannesburg for three days before traveling to Nigeria and Kenya. While his itinerary has not yet finalized, the prime minister is due to meet South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto visited South Africa in early 1999, but in his capacity as a foreign policy advisor to the then-prime minister.