The foreign ministry in Japan has announced that an official visit by the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, will take place later this month.

His trip - the first ever by a Chinese head of state - will include meetings with Emperor Akihito and the Japanese prime minister, Keizo Obuchi.

Mr Jiang's visit , which begins on November 25th, was originally scheduled to take place in September but was postponed following widespread floods in China.