Gul to visit Japan

President Abdullah Gul and his wife will travel to Japan tomorrow to pay an official visit upon the invitation of Japanese Emperor Akihito. State Ministers Kursad Tuzmen and Mehmet Simsek, Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu and a large delegation consisting of Turkish businessmen will accompany Gul. During his five-day stay, the president will meet with Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, President of the House of Councilors Satsuki Eda and House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono in Tokyo. Gul will also attend Turkish-Japanese Business Forum in Osaka and meet with representatives of leading Japanese companies to evaluate investment opportunities in Turkey. He will later proceed to Kushimoto town, where a Turkish frigate called "Ertuğrul" sank on September 16, 1890, to attend a memorial ceremony at Ertugrul Martyr Monument. Gul's visit will be the first presidential-level visit from Turkey to Japan.