Accra (Greater Accra) 27 May '99

The former Prime Minister of Japan, Ryutaro Hashimoto is to pay a three-day official visit to Ghana from Sunday, May 30.

An official statement from the Embassy of Japan in Accra, said the visit is to honour an invitation by President Jerry John Rawlings during an official visit to Japan in December 1997 when Hashimoto was premier.

He will arrive from Nigeria where he will attend the inauguration of President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo.

The statement said Mr Hashimoto, who is now Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister, will be accompanied by his wife Kumiko and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He will hold talks with President Rawlings and commission the Sekondi fishing harbour, which was funded by the Japanese government.

Mr Hashimoto will also visit some Japan-funded projects such as the Small-Scale Agriculture Irrigation Promotion Project at Ashaiman, the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. He will tour places of historical interest like the Elmina Castle, School of Medical Laboratory Technology at Korle Bu, also known as Noguchi Laboratory, the National Museum and Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.