(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) shington April 15 - US President Barack Obama will visit Japan for three days from April 23 on the first leg of a weeklong Asian tour that will also take him to South Korea Malaysia and the Philippines the White House said. Obama will move on to South Korea on April 25 Malaysia on April 26 and the Philippines on April 28 before departing for Washington the following day it said. The Japanese government has invited Obama to visit as a state guest and the trip was initially to have been for two days from April 24. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida reported the schedule change to the Cabinet on Tuesday in Tokyo Japan's news agency (Kyodo) reported. On April 24 Obama is scheduled to hold a summit with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and meet with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. The Japanese and US leaders are expected to discuss strengthening their countries' security alliance against the backdrop of uncertainty about North Korea's nuclear ambitions as well as the prolonged bilateral negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact according to Japanese officials. Obama has visited Japan twice since he became US president in 2009 but will be making his first visit since the March 2011 devastating earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis -- the worst since Chernobyl. In his trip to South Korea on April 25 and 26 Obama will meet with President Park Geun Hye and discuss issues such as North Korea's nuclear programs and implementation of a bilateral free trade pact the White House said. His visit to Malaysia and the Philippines will come after he cancelled a trip to the two Southeast Asian countries plus Indonesia and Brunei planned for October to deal with a partial government shutdown over budget issues at home
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