Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo on Mar. 11 invited the Imperial Couple to visit Mexico to boost bilateral friendship, officials said.

Zedillo arrived in Japan on Mar. 10 for a four-day state visit coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the start of Japanese immigration to Mexico. Early Mar. 11, Zedillo and his wife, Nilda Patricia, were welcomed as state guests at the Government Guesthouse in Akasaka, Tokyo, in a ceremony attended by the Emperor, the Empress, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, his Cabinet and others. The president, his wife and the Imperial Couple later moved to the Imperial Palace for a meeting.

Zedillo is to meet with Hashimoto Mar. 12 to discuss political and economic relations and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum issues, the Foreign Ministry said. Mexico and Chile are the only Latin American members of APEC. Zedillo is to deliver an address in the Diet Mar. 12.

Zedillo, accompanied by Foreign Minister Jose Angel Gurria and Finance Minister Guillermo Ortiz, will also meet with Japanese business leaders. On Mar. 13 and Mar. 14, Zedillo will visit Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, where he will meet local leaders and attend cultural programs. He will leave Japan from Osaka on Mar. 14.