Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, accompanied by his wife Kiyoko, left for China Friday morning to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Fukuda will be the first Japanese prime minister to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics since the late Noboru Takeshita was present at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

During his stay in Beijing, Fukuda will hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao on further promotion of mutually beneficial ties between the two nations, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Tuesday.

The two sides will also exchange views on such issues as Japan' s assistance to the reconstruction drive in China's quake-battered southwestern areas, Machimura said.

The Japanese prime minister is scheduled to conclude his visit to China Saturday.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)