Cowen to meet Japanese Emperor

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will meet Japanese Emperor Akihito today on the final day of his week-long visit to the Far East.

Later, the Taoiseach will visit the Tokyo operations of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, where he will hold talks with the chairman, Kazuo Tsukuda.

The Taoiseach and Mr Tsukuda will discuss new developments in renewable energy and environmentally friendly technologies.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries employs 33,000 people worldwide and has an annual turnover of almost €24.1bn.

Today’s meetings are the final engagements of the visit to Japan, which was at the official invitation of the Japanese government.