Jacques Chirac in Japan late march : Meet the Emperor, PM Koizumi, visit at 2005 World Expo

French President Jacques Chirac will meet Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi when he visits Japan on an
official visit later this month, the Japanese foreign
ministry said Friday.

Chirac and his wife Bernadette will start their
three-day official visit on March 26, during which they
are also scheduled to meet Emperor Akihito and Empress
Michiko, the ministry said.

The French president will also attend a sumo tournament
in western Japan's Osaka and a seminar on sustainable
development during his visit, according to diplomats.

Visiting French Foreign Trade Minister Francois Loos
said last month Chirac would also attend the six-month
World Exposition in central Aichi prefecture.

Japan hopes 15 million people will visit the World Expo,
which will run from March 25 to September 25 with the
main theme of how to make technology friendly to the
environment.

A political issue during Chirac's visit would be a plan
championed by France to end the European Union embargo
on selling arms to China, which has drawn concern from
Japan and its close ally the United States.

The arms embargo has been in place since the massacre of
pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square
in 1989.

Also on the agenda would be the protracted dispute with
Japan regarding rival bids to host the multi-billion
dollar International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
(ITER), one of the most exciting ventures in
international science.

En Français :

Comme nous l'annoncions il y a plusieurs semaines deja
de sources bien informées, l'information est dorénavant
officielle tant a Paris qu'a Tokyo, le Président
français Jacques Chirac est en visite au Japon pendant
trois jours à partir du 26 mars pour discuter des
relations entre les deux pays, a annoncé le gouvernement
japonais, vendredi. Dans un communiqué, le ministère
japonais des Affaires étrangères a précisé qu'au cours
de sa visite, Jacques Chirac s'entretiendra avec le
Premier ministre Junichiro Koizumi et rencontrera
l'empereur Akihito et son épouse Michiko. Il sera
accompagné de son épouse Bernadette, ajoute le
communiqué. Le Président se rendra au tournoi de Sumo
de Osaka, mais aussi a l'exposition universelle d'Aichi
a Nagoya afin d'inaugurer la Common House, le pavillon
commun a la France et a l'Allemagne parraine pour la
partie française par de grandes sociétés françaises dont
Louis Vuitton et Dassault Systèmes qui ont enregistré
des succès industriels et commerciaux depuis de
nombreuses années en Asie de l'Est.

JjL