TOKYO, Jun 28 (AFP): UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived Saturday in Japan, an airport official said, in the first leg of a two- week Asian tour that will take him to China, South Korea and the Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido.
The secretary-general is expected to stay in Japan until July 1, meeting Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Emperor Akihito as part of his stay.
With climate change the main topic on his agenda, Ban is expected to head Saturday to the ancient capital of Kyoto, home of the Kyoto Protocol, where he is scheduled to meet government officials and business leaders.
He is slated to deliver a speech on climate change at Kyoto University Sunday.
It will be Ban's first visit to Japan since he took over as secretary- general early last year. He will subsequently fly to China and then to his home country of South Korea.
After his stop there, Ban -- Seoul's former foreign minister -- is to head for the northern Japanese resort of Toyako for the summit of eight leading industrialised nations.
The G8 is made up of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Japan has also invited other countries -- Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea and South Africa -- to a parallel summit on climate change on July 9.
