Above: Mount Fuji

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti President Michel Martelly and First Lady Sophia Martelly will be heading to Japan next week for an official visit, the National Palace announced Friday.

The trip, which begins Monday, will be in the context of “promoting and boosting trade relations between the two countries.”

Martelly had originally been scheduled to make a four-day visit to Japan in August, a trip that was postponed due to Tropical Storm Isaac.

According to the National Palace, Martelly’s priorities on the trip will include budget support, recovery of national production, support for the Haitian National Police, intensification of cultural exchanges and intensification of trade.

On the agenda is a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and leaders of the Japanese Cooperation Agency.

Emperor Akihito will also receive Martelly at the Imperial Palace.

The President will also visit the Sendai area, which was hit by a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake in 2011.

Last week, Japanese Ambassador Kenji Kuratomi met with Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe to identify potential areas of cooperation between Japan and Haiti.