French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit Japan on Thursday, becoming the first head of state to visit the country since the March 11 earthquake and subsequent nuclear power plant crisis, his office confirmed Tuesday, DPA reported.
French media had reported the visit on Monday, but had Sarkozy making the visit Wednesday instead of Thursday.
Sarkozy wished "to express France's solidarity at a national level and as president of the G20 and G8" with the Japanese people, the president's office said. During his visit, he will meet with Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the French community in Japan, the statement added.
His visit will follow a two-day visit to China on Wednesday and Thursday.
France, which itself has 58 nuclear reactors, is a supplier of nuclear power plants to Japan. French nuclear experts have travelled to Japan to help deal with the nuclear crisis.
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