Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrived in Fukuoka on Wednesday morning after rescheduling his working visit to the prefecture following a typhoon warning.

Mahathir, who was originally scheduled to be in Fukuoka on Tuesday but had to postpone his arrival to the next day following the typhoon warning, touched down at the Fukuoka Airport about 7am on Wednesday (6 am in Malaysia) and arrived at his hotel about 7.45am. 

Mahathir will have a packed programme during his two-day trip.

His programme in Fukuoka will begin about an hour after his arrival at the hotel (9 am Japan) with the conferment of an honorary doctorate by the International University of Japan (IUJ) in honour of his contribution towards the successful development of Malaysia-Japan bilateral relations.

He will then travel to the Japan Future Leaders School (JFLS) at Munakata City, about an hour's drive from Fukuoka, to deliver his lecture on How Science and Technology will Contribute to World Peace at the summer school.

Mahathir has been the main speaker at the summer school and this year marks his 16th appearance at the JFLS annual lecture.

The JFLS is a specialised programme held annually for selected high school students. Its two-week programme aimed at developing leadership skills among students in various fields of interest through meaningful exchanges with prominent figures.

Apart from the JFLS, Mahathir will also address the Kyushu-Asia Institute of Leadership (KAIL) on Thursday (Aug 8) where he will be sharing his thoughts on "The New Dilemma in Rapidly Growing Asia" with businesspeople and professionals in Japan.

Founded in 2004, KAIL is a non-profit organisation that provides intellectual and social infrastructure for global educational programmes.

Mahathir is also scheduled to receive a courtesy call by the special adviser to the Prime Minister of Japan, Hiroto Izumi, on Thursday.

“The visit by the prime minister to Fukuoka is expected to further consolidate the Malaysia-Japan bilateral relations, especially in education, economics, and people-to-people connectivity under the Look East Policy 2.0,” said Wisma Putra in a statement in conjunction with the visit.

Japan was Malaysia’s fourth largest global trading partner in 2018, with bilateral trade recorded at RM132.57 billion (US$32.86 billion).

- Bernama