The Emperor met with visiting Russian Patriarch Alexiy II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Wednesday at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The agency quoted the Emperor as saying, "I am delighted that as I welcome the Russian patriarch we are deepening the friendship between Japan and Russia."

The visit of Alexiy II, who arrived from Moscow on Friday at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry, is the first ever trip made by a top leader of the Russian Orthodox Church to Japan.

Alexiy II said he had read the Russian printed edition of a video lecture given by the Empress at the 26th Congress of the International Board on Books for Young People in September 1998 in New Delhi, according to agency officials.

As to a comment in the lecture by the Empress saying a bridge should be created in the hearts of each and every individual, the patriarch said he was moved, the officials said.

Mentioning his visit last week to the branch of Russia's Far Eastern State University (FESU) in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Alexiy II told the Emperor that Japanese students of Russian culture and history may help build a bridge between the two countries, the officials said.