President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, heading a high-powered delegation, departs the country today for a week-long official visit to Tokyo, Japan, to attend the annual fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, participating in seminars on "Women in the Private Sector: Good for Development and Business," and "From Tokyo to Tokyo: Globalization at a Crossroads."

On the margins of the 2012 IMF-World Bank meetings, according to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf will, as co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel for developing a successor regime to the Millennium Development Goals - a Post-2015 Global Development Agenda - participate in meetings to promote this initiative.

The President will take the opportunity to meet with top Japanese officials, including His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Akihito; Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda; new Finance Minister Koriki Jojima; parliamentarians; heads of renowned Japanese businesses; the diplomatic community; as well as Liberian nationals in Japan.

This visit will also provide the platform for President Sirleaf to further explore additional assistance for the Liberia-Japanese Friendship Hospital, including the potential for establishing a dialysis center in Liberia.

Members of the President's delegation include: Minister of Public Works, Samuel Kofi Woods; Minister of Commerce and Industry, Miata Beysolow; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sylvester Grigsby; the Administrator of the J.F. Kennedy Medical Center, Dr. Wvannie Mae Scott-McDonald; the Executive Director of the National Investment Commission, Ms. Ciata Bishop; and Montserrado County District #1 Representative, Mrs. Josephine George Francis.

While President Sirleaf is away from the country, the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Christiana Tah, will serve as Chair of the Cabinet in consultation with the Vice President, Dr. Joseph N. Boakai, Sr.