Japanese Prime Minister to meet with Pope Francis on May 4: Reports

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet with Pope Francis on May 4 during his official working visit to the Vatican, the Kyodo news agency reported, citing the Holy See.

Kishida's trip to the Vatican will mark the first visit of a Japanese prime minister to the country in eight years. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Vatican in 2014. Kishida is seeking to enlist the Pope's support for a "world without nuclear weapons," a thesis, to which the head of the Japanese government attaches special importance.

Last Friday, Kishida started his tour of five nations in Southeast Asia and Europe. Following his visits to Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, the Japanese prime minister will fly to Italy on Tuesday. After that, he will travel to the United Kingdom. The purpose of Kishida's tour is strengthening relations with partner countries amid China's growing power and the wide condemnation of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.