Michelle Obama to visit Japan next month: media

Tokyo: US First Lady Michelle Obama is set to visit Japan in March for the first time since her husband Barack Obama entered the White House, local media reported Monday.

She will arrive on March 18 as part of a private tour of Asia, Kyodo News and other media said. The US president visited Japan in April last year as a state guest, but his wife stayed at home because of school activities for the couple's two daughters.

She is likely to meet with Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but her visit will "have no particular political purposes", a source familiar with US-Japan ties told Kyodo.