Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat will arrive in Japan on Thursday for a two-day visit, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono announced Tuesday.
Kono told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that Arafat will meet separately with himself and Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to explain the Palestinian position on the collapse of the Middle East peace talks.
Arafat is also expected to ask for Japan's cooperation in the peace process.
Arafat is currently on a tour of countries around the world to explain the Palestinian side's views on the state of the peace process. His stops so far have included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, France and China.
A U.S.-mediated Middle East peace summit held last month at Camp David in the United States ended without agreement.