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U.S. First Lady ends three-day visit to Japan, highlighting girls' education

Xinhua, March 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama concluded her three-day visit to Japan and left for Cambodia on Friday, where she is to continue promoting "Let Girls Learn" initiative.

"Let Girls Learn" is a U.S. government initiative launched earlier March that aims to help adolescent girls complete their education and pursue broader aspirations.

Michelle Obama arrived in Japan's Tokyo on Wednesday, where she met with Akie Abe, the First Lady of Japan, and gave a speech about girls' education at a Japan-U.S. joint event on Thursday.

In her speech, she talked about a global "crisis" that left 62 million girls without the chance of getting education, and stressed collaborating with Japan in advancing girls' education, which, in her words, would issue "a call to action to nations around the world."

On the same day, she also paid a visit to Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko and met with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Earlier Friday, Michelle Obama visited Kyoto's 1,200-year-old Kiyomizu Buddhist temple and the similarly-aged Shinto shrine Fushimi Inari Shrine, where she viewed traditional Japanese shows.

Michelle Obama's visit to Japan came in advance of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the U.S. a month later. Last April, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Japan, but the First Lady didn't come because their daughters were at school. Endi