Japanese Emperor and Empress visit Sweden

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko arrived in Sweden this week to kick off a 10-day tour of Europe. They will also make their first trip to the former Soviet Union when they visit the three Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They will end their tour in Britain before heading back to Japan.

Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria met the Imperial family at the Arlanda airport on Monday.

One of the main purposes of the tour is for Emperor Akihito to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Swedish biologist Carolus Linnaeus. Linnaeus is known as the "father of modern taxonomy," as he classified animals, plants and minerals.

Emperor Akihito was elected as a member of the Linnean Society of London in 1980. He has been an honorary member since 1986.