Members of Congress on technology tour of Japan

A group of four lawmakers will be on an official visit to Japan from January 27 to February 2, 2008. They plan to principally visit several technology centers, but their itinerary does not exclude important cultural sites. 

The visiting officials are Eduardo Frei Ruiz Tagle, President of the Senate, Hosaín Sabag (DC), Carlos Ominami (DC) and Carlos Bianchi (Independent). They have a full agenda for their stay.

The high level visit will include Senator Frei’s audience with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. The group, as a whole, will meet with Satsuki Eda, president of the House of Councillors, and then with Masahiko Koumura, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Akira Amari, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. They will also have a meeting with the Japan-Chile Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union. 

But the main objective of this trip is technology, particularly as regards renewable energy and innovation in the field. As such, they will be visiting the NHK Institute of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation and the Panasonic Center in Tokyo. They will also have discussions with representatives of the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, where geothermal energy and other topics will be addressed.

The legislators will also to Nagoya, aboard the Shinkansen Bullet Train, in order to visit Chubu Electric’s science museum and the Toyota factory. Afterwards, they plan to visit Kyoto, where they will see the Imperial Palace and Kinkakuji, also known as the Golden Palace.

As an end to their trip, the senators will visit the Sensoji Temple, in Asakusa, one the largest and most traditional temples in Tokyo.